Irish Food Packaging Information Service
    Paper and Paperboards

Properties of paper/paperboard when used as a packaging material for foodstuffs

Advantages of using Paper/Paperboard in Food Packaging

Disadvantages of using Paper/Paperboard in Food Packaging

Paper Properties and Selected Methods of Paper Testing

Product Weight verses Paperboard Thickness

Properties of Corrugated Board

Major Suppliers of Paper/Paperboard

Suitability of Corrugated Board for Different Applications

Advantages of using paper/paperboard in food packaging include:

• Paper or paperboard provides mechanical strength.
• Paper/paperboard is biodegradable and consequently has a good environmental image.
• Paper/paperboard has good printability
• Paper/paperboard is a cheap packaging material to use
• Coatings can be used to improve its "naturally" poor barrier properties, e.g. waxes or polymeric materials. PET coated paperboard is a dual-ovenable material.
• Suitable for use in microwave ovens

Disadvantages of using paper/paperboard in food packaging are as follows:

• Porous
• Opaque
• Poor barrier properties to oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour
• Does not prevent loss of flavour components or volatiles from foods.
• Is not grease/fat resistant, unless previously treated
• Can not be heat sealed
• Can not be co-extruded, consequently to produce a laminate containing paper an adhesive must be used
• Can be easily torn

Paper Properties and Selected Methods of Paper Testing

Paper testing methods are prepared and supplied by the British Standards Institute (BSI), the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) and the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).

1.    Conditioning paper and Paper Products

Test methods BS EN 20187/ ASTM D 685/ TAPPI T 402. All paper products must be tested under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. International conditions for paper testing are 23° C and 50% RH.

2.    Grammage of Paper and Board

Test methods BS 3432/ ASTM D 646/ TAPPI T 410. Paper is measured by "grammage", or basis weight, defined as being the mass (weight) of paper in 1 square metre.

3.    Thickness of paper and Board

Test methods BS EN 20534/ TAPPI T 411). Caliper readings (thickness) are expressed in microns or millimetres. Several readings must be averaged to assign an accurate paper caliper.

4.    Brightness/ Optical Properties

Test Method BS 4432/TAPPI T 452; measures spectral reflectance. Brightness is a measure of the total reflectance to white light. Values are expressed on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 equalling the brightness of pure magnesium oxide. Most high quality paper grades have reflectance values in the middle 80’s. The brighter the paper the greater the graphic possibilities.

5.    Moisture Content

Test method BS 3433/ ASTM D 644; oven drying method. Paper is hydroscopic and absorbs and loses moisture according to the ambient relative humidity (R.H.) and temperature. For example, paper at 20% R.H. will contain about 4% moisture, while at 80% RH, it will contain 15% moisture.

5.    Tear Testing

Test method BS EN 21974/ TAPPI T 414; elmendorf tear test. This test assigns a value to the force required to tear paper in the machine direction and the cross direction.

6.    Water Absorption

Test method BS 2644 (Cobb method)/ BS 5880 (Immersion test method) / BS 6504 (Uses a closed vessel to provide a saturated environment). Measures the amount of moisture absorbed in a given period of time. This is important when the paper must be glued to another surface.

7.    Tensile breaking Strength of paper and Paperboard

Test method BS 4415/ASTM D 828/ TAPPI T 404. A measure of paper strength under tension.

8.    Folding Endurance

Test method BS ISO 5626/ ASTM D 2176/ TAPPI T 423/ TAPPI T 511

9.    Resistance of Nonporous Paper to Passage of Air

Test method BS 6538/ASTM D 726/TAPPI T 460. Passage of air is governed by a papers porosity. It is related to absorbency and has been used to indicate rotogravure ink absorption and to gauge filtering ability.

10.    Puncture Resistance Test

Test method BS 4816, measures the energy (measured in newtons) required to puncture a board with a triangular pyramidal point affixed to a pendulum arm

11.    Bursting Strength of Paper

Test method BS 3137/ ASTM D 774/ TAPPI T 403. Measures the resistance to rupture.

12.    Grease Resistance

Test method BS 6890/ TAPPI T 454; Important for greasy product applications

13.    Water Vapour Transmission

Test method BS 7406/ ASTM E 96/ TAPPI T 464. Usually carried out on barrier coated papers.

14.    Smoothness

Test method BS 4420 (Bendtsen)/ BS 6563/ TAPPI T 479, surface smoothness is important for good printability.

15.    Ply Separation

Test method TAPPI T 812. Evaluate the boards resistance to ply separation when exposed to water.

16.    Stiffness

Test method BS 7424/ TAPPI T 451/ TAPPI T 489. Stiffness of paper or paperboard influences its machinability and presentation.

Product weight verses paperboard thickness

 
Properties of corrugated board

Corrugated board is defined as a packaging material consisting of a central member, which has been fluted on a corrugator. The fluted sheet is glued to 2 flat sheets of paperboard to make a 3 layered structure. The arch provides strength in thickness and the column provides strength in stacking. By combining these structures a very strong rigid lightweight container that can cushion and insulate products is produced.

Suitability of Corrugated Board for Different Applications

Major Suppliers of Paper/Paperboard

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