Details:
Summary:
More than ten years ago, the first digital print units were introduced on the market and since then, the technology has developed rapidly. Today there is an interest in trying digital printing also for packages. Digital printing on paperboard may, however, require slightly different criteria than digital printing on paper, due to different characteristics. A very important factor in the Packaging Industry is, for example, the functionality after printing. This study reports on an investigation of the packaging functionalities; taste and odor, creasing, toner adhesion and stability of whiteness in digital printed paperboard. Test printing has been performed in digital print units based on both electrophotography and liquid toner technology. Furthermore, three different board types, one sack paper and a fine paper for digital printing were used. Results show that, whiteness stability, taste and odor are marginally affected after printing, but in some cases the amounts of volatile substances increase substantially. Furthermore, toner adhesion is relatively good, but some problems occur in liquid toner technology. The appearance of folding cracks, during manual folding, occurred rarely.