TAKEAWAYS
1. Pago, a german label printer and provider of labeling-machines responds to the demands of environmentally conscious consumers with more sustainable labels
2. UPM Raflatac PE 65 film label face is a significantly thinner version of the industry-standard PE 85 film. It is a sustainable alternative with no compromise in performance.
3. Pago is taking the lead to verify and prove the processability of PE 65. Pago can combine the strengths of a market leading label material manufacturer, a label converter and the end-user.
UPM Raflatac PE 65 film, available in PE Clear 65 and PE White 65, is the thinner version of UPM Raflatac’s standard PE 85 film. With less raw material used in PE 65, it also means less waste. By switching from PE 85 to PE 65, significant reductions in energy use (12%) and CO2 emissions (13%) can be achieved. PE 65 combines the best of functionality, efficiency, and sustainability.
Pago’s focus is to introduce the eco-designed PE 65 film to the fast-moving consumer goods for both local and big global end-users. Because PE 65 offers the same outstanding conformability and squeezability as PE 85, and it can create a seamless, no-edge look on bottles and tubes, it is ideal for household product labels and cosmetic labels.
Change never comes easy
Switching from one material to the other, especially from a thicker one to a thinner one, can be challenging for converters.
“I still remember a few years ago, when the market was changing from a PE100 to PE85. There were big concerns. A lot of customers declined to use the PE85 because they just didn’t want to change something in their production that could affect the performance of their machines,” says Jan Flockenhaus, Head of Project Management & Studio, Labels Division of Pago.
Flockenhaus thinks that PE 65 is likely to get a similar kind of response from customers. Therefore, Pago has printed actual labels with this material to prove to their customers they can get the same performance as with their current materials.
Joint strengths will drive the change
“UPM Raflatac is seen as the driver for innovations and sustainability. Not only into the PE 65, but also when it comes to materials like the UPM Raflatac Forest Film™,” Flockenhaus comments. “It is a very smart idea, especially the raw material used for producing it.”
The award -winning UPM Raflatac Forest Film™ is the world’s first wood-based plastic label material. It is based on UPM BioVerno naphtha, a 100 percent wood-based solution from crude tall oil, a residue from the pulping process.
“There is a strategic collaboration between Pago and UPM Raflatac,” Flockenhaus continues. “For us, this is a perfect opportunity to have a partner with whom we can collaborate and drive the innovations from UPM Raflatac to our customers and to the labeling processes in the market.”
With thinner caliper in these 65-micron (2.6 mil) PE film label, it means more labels per roll and longer roll lengths. This will result in fewer roll changes and less downtime. At the same time, it also reduces transportation and packaging waste at multiple stages in the operational process. With no compromise in performance, PE 65 is a responsible choice in reducing the environmental impact of labels.
The labels with PE 65 film have already been printed and tested for multiple rounds. They were shared with Pago’s machinery teams and have been processed on our linear and rotary labeling-machines with various types of label products.
“The performance of the PE 65 film in our print-production as well as on our labeling-machines matched the level of the conventional PE 85 in terms of accuracy, quality and speed. We believe that PE 65 film might become the new industry standard,” Flockenhaus concludes.