Functional Coatings with Enhanced Optics and Haptics for Flexible Packaging Manesh Sekharan, Yinzhong Guo, Tanya Fry, Nolan McDougal, Himal Ray, Kay Boakye Yiadom The Dow Chemical Company 2301 N. Brazosport Blvd. B-1607 Freeport, TX 77541 msekharan @dow.com Expertise Capabilities Collaboration Solutions Dow.com Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company ( Dow ) or an affiliated company of Dow
Matte Coating in Flexible Packaging Market by Technology Market by Application Method Water based Flexography Over Print Coatings for Flexible Packagin g Roto Gravure Solvent Based Over Print Coatings for Flexible Packagin g UV/ EB curing Market by Application area Non food Food Packaging Snacks Pet Food Wet/Baby Wipes Labels Lawn and Home Care Products Over Print Coatings for Flexible Packagin g 2 Label
New Matte Coating- Technology Aqueous coating made up of blends of proprietary acrylic beads Waterborne Acrylic beads Formulated product-patented composition Proprietary raw material manufacturing process Differentiated matting technique Use of Microspheres Aspect ratio -can rely on an aspect ratio of 1 Excellent flow of particles -differentiated rheology and application characteristics. Film morphology- class A surface Ball Bearing effect- leading to a new application experience- haptics Optical DOW - light RESTRICTED diffusivity Gravure Drying Oven Rewind Printing/Lamination/ Pouching Coat weight Gloss COF 3 Rub resistance 3 Opulux
Performance Benefits from the use of of Acrylic Beads Matte & Color Fidelity Better packaging visual effect Controlled Optics Black looks more like a black and not charcoal Gradient RI Uniform size Core- Shell morphology Acrylic chemistry Provides Haptics Soft touch & smooth Feel Cost Performance Balance 4
What do Brands want in packaging? Shelf Differentiation Brand revitalization Safety Sustainability Premiumization Premium products outpacing total growth of many flex pack categories 5
Sensory Evaluation of Matte Packaging The results of the human panel rating 1 = Least Soft 3 = Softest 3 2 1 Ranking Intensity: Snack Food Visual Softness Soft Matte Spot Gloss Softness ranking based on visual 1 = Least 3 = Most Premium 3 2 1 Ranking Intensity: Snack Food Visual Premium Spot Soft Matte Gloss Premium ranking based on visual 1 = Least Soft 3 = Softest 3 2 1 Ranking Intensity: Snack Food Handfeel Softness Soft Matte Spot Gloss 1 = Least 3 = Most Premium 3 2 1 Ranking Intensity: Snack Food Handfeel Premium Soft Matte Spot Gloss Softness ranking based on hand feel 6 Premium ranking based on hand feel 6
Soft Matte -Effect on consumer Behavior Percent 100 75 50 25 0 Purchasing Power, "Would You Pay More?" Snack Food: Visual Spot Gloss Soft Matte Percent 100 Purchasing Power, "Would You Pay More?" Snack Food: Handfeel 75 50 25 0 Spot Gloss Soft Matte Yes No Yes No Willing to pay more based on visual softness? Willing to pay more based on hand feel? Matte Appearance low reflection Print richness Haptics Packaging is not just visual Brighter and Deeper Colors Spot or Registration Effect Striking contrasts draws eye in 7 Matte packages have better visual appeal and hence have higher purchase intent
New Matte Coating- Formulation Ingredients & Properties Formulation Components Acrylic beads Acrylic Binder Additives Product Properties Result Viscosity (Brookfield, 25 o C, mpa.s) 300±150 ph 8.5±0.5 Solid % 32±2 Appearance White milky 8
Effect of Dry Coating weight on Gloss 20 Gloss Vs Coating weight 18 16 14 60 degree gloss 85 Degree Gloss Gloss Unit 12 10 8 6 4 2 0-0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 Coat Weight lb/ream High coat weight tolerance on gloss 9
Effect of Binder Tg on COF of the coating 3 COF Vs Binder Tg 2.5 2 Static COF Kinetic COF COF 1.5 1 0.5 0-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 Binder Tg O C 10
UV Resistance QUV accelerated Weatherometer CMC tolerance New Matte on PE New Matte on PET L*, a*, b* change New Matte on PE New Matte on PET Before exposure After 1000 hours New Matte on PE QUV Hrs QUV Hrs New Matte on PET Very little color change after 800 hours QUVA exposure for New matte coatings. Yellowing of PET film ( not the coating) upon exposure to UV. Both PE and PET films became brittle and broke apart after 1000 hrs of exposure 11
UV Resistance QUV accelerated Weatherometer testing- New Acrylic Matte Coating Vs PUD Before QUV exposure After 430 hours New Acrylic Matte Coating on PET New Acrylic Matte Coating on PET Before QUV exposure After 430 hours Competitive Matte ( PUD) on PET Competitive Matte ( PUD) on PET Very little color change for Opulux matte coatings. After 430 hrs of QUV exposure, PUD based competitive matte coating fully degrades. 12
Contact Transparency Acrylic Matte-coated PET film placed at ~2 inch distance over printed paper. Acrylic Matte-coated PET upon contact with printed paper. 13 TM: Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company or One of Its Affiliated Companies.'
Process flexibility and efficiency Gravure SB, SL & WB HFFS & VFFS Coat Speed Up to 1000 ft/min Print& Laminate Speed Up to 1200 ft/min Pouch& Fill Print& Laminate Coat Pouch& Fill HFFS VFFS 14
Coating & Lamination COATING Gravure High run speed Speed 300-800ft/min* Films- PET, PE, Nylon LAMINATION Solvent based / Solventless High run rate -up to 1200ft/min Structures- Based on application Multiple passes -No coating scratching/ rub off -No tracking Coating and Lamination conducted at external customers & Dow Pack Studio 15
Properties of Laminated Structures Laminated structures Structure 1. Matte Coated PET//Adhesive1// PE Structure 2. Matte Coated PET//Adhesive2// PE Structure 3. Matte Coated PET//Adhesive 1// met- OPP//Adhesive1// PE Structure 4. PET//Adhesive1// PE Structure 5. PET//Adhesive 1// met-opp//adhesive1// PE Lamination Gloss Gloss COF Static COF Kinetic Rub 60 o 85 o Resistance (# of cycles) Structure 1 10.5 8 2.1 1.2 >1000 Structure 2 9.2 5.6 2.1 1.2 >1000 Structure 3 11.5 9.4 2.3 1.3 >1000 Structure 4 130 81.3 0.25 0.18 N/A Structure 5 355 79 0.26 0.19 N/A 16
Pouching Process- HFFS Totani BH-60D- Three-side-seal, automatic pouch making machine High pouching rate Higher temperature resistance From this point onwards the rollers touch matte coating Gusset introduced for more drag Shape of this roll is an abrasion point Pouch size 6X10 Tested up to 120 bags/ min Heat Seal temperature 300 to 520F -No scratching, tracking -No coating rub off -No gloss change HFFS Pouching conducted at established external packaging company 17
Pouching Process- VFFS Low pouching rate Structures Pouch rate 20-50 bags/min Seal temp up to 400 o F -No scratching/tracking -No gloss change VFFS Pouching conducted at Dow Pack Studio Capability 18
New Matte Coating Performance Summary Soft Touch Cost In-Use Performance Food Safety Acrylic Water borne Gravure Applied Low Applied Coat Weight Excellent Contact transparency Superior Rub Resistance High Heat Seal Resistance Aziridine Free Organic Solvent Free FDA CFR 175. 105 Outstanding Weather Resistance 19
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