Paper coating
Paper and cardboard are commonly used products in many sectors of activity. The public may consider them to be basic and timeless products, but the French paper industry is constantly evolving to offer an ever more innovative range of products and reduce its environmental footprint.
What do wallpaper, photo paper and cheese wrapping paper have in common? Each type of paper has been subjected to an industrial process called coating.
This industrial activity is a branch of the paper industry. The processes it uses are constantly evolving in order to comply with the various regulations and are the direct result of discoveries in the fields of chemistry, biology and hydrodynamics in particular.
Paper coating and applications
Coating consists of depositing a layer, of one or more constituents, on the surface or depth of a flexible support in order to improve its properties, modify its appearance or give it specific characteristics for industrial or graphic uses. This treatment is used, for example, in the production of technical textiles such as tarpaulins, which are coated with a PVC coating to make them waterproof.
Coating on paper and cardboard is used for a wide variety of applications: increasing the rigidity or watertightness of a sheet of paper, giving insulation or good resistance to torsion to packaging, etc…
The company specializing in the manufacture of coated material receives the raw material to be coated, delivered in real form. The paper for coating must have very specific characteristics, in particular it must be very strong to withstand the mechanical effect of the traction of the rollers during the application phase of the coating sauce. The coating can be applied on one or both sides. Once coated, the substrate is dried in ovens and delivered in rolls of various widths.
Main applications of paper coating
Graphic papers
These are papers used mainly in the printing sector: coated, matt, glossy, glazed, fluorescent, luminescent, fireproof paper for advertising posters for example, gummed paper for envelopes, pockets or even stamps. The treatment will focus on the absorption characteristics of the inks to allow the use of different printing techniques on the paper sheets: offset, inkjet, digital printing, etc… This sector is the most impacted by the development of digital and has suffered a drop in demand. In response, the printing industry is investing in research and development in order to offer innovative papers.
Packaging papers and boards
They are used in the food industry, for transporting goods and for packaging cosmetic products, for example. The treatments are very varied and sometimes even surprising: anti-slip treatment for pallet inserts, antistatic for the transport of computer components, printed electronics to ensure compliance with the cold chain, etc.
Hygiene papers
Toilet paper or tissues soaked in soothing or softening lotion, cleaning paper for various surfaces, paper towels… The applications for this range of papers are also very broad.
Industrial and special papers
The revival of the wallpaper market has given a new lease of life to this type of paper with improvements to the wall covering that now make it printable and customizable. This range also includes washable papers and pre-glued wallpapers in particular.
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