4 Types of Paper Commonly Used in Food Packaging
Food packaging is an evolving industry. Many players/competitors in the market are launching new ways to package food. Some are efficient, while others are meant to be eco-friendly. Paper packaging is one such method of food packaging, that is taking the industries by storm. Let’s take a look at some of the most common types of paper used in food packaging.
Why Choose Paper Packaging?
There have been multiple restrictions imposed by states and countries across the globe, over packaging products that pollute the environment. Environmental pollution is increasing, and there are many restrictions when it comes to packaging products.
Green-paper packaging, however, is picking up speed. It has a wide impact on people’s daily lives. From your everyday coffee cup to the bags used while buying groceries – all are examples of paper packaging. It is being used widely across the globe. Some other basic examples seen in everyday life include oil-proof snack bags in food stalls, to take – out bags used for delivery. Bags and small cartons used in packaging food at restaurants such as McDonald’s and KFC also come under the category of paper packaging.
Paper packaging also allows for printing beautiful patterns crafted according to requirement. It offers a modern, more artistic look to packaging in the modern era.
Bags that are used for food packaging can be modernized in various ways, but the food packaging materials used most often are – Coated Paper, Offset Paper, Kraft Paper, and Cardboard. Each of these variants of paper food packaging materials is different in smoothness and toughness. Aesthetics are a go-getter in this commodity, and each of these variants offers a different take on it. Each of them has different characteristics that suit a customer’s diverse needs of packaging.
4 Types of paper used in food packaging – Food packaging materials
Coated paper
This variant offers a smooth, clean, and textured finish on the end product. The main raw materials used in manufacturing this variant of paper packaging are paint and copper-plate base paper. There are also other auxiliary materials used in the making of this variant of paper packaging but are mostly used based on the requirement. Pigments, adhesives, and these auxiliary materials are made into a specific special coating.
This special coating is applied onto the surface of the paperboard using the equipment. This is then dried, and the finished product is a smooth and thick product. The finished variant is also long-lasting, and the ability to print efficiently on the surface is good. It is mostly found to be used in cigarette boxes, and other labels and cartons. It is used mostly for outer packaging.
Offset Paper
The quality of this variant is quite less than Coated Paper. Specific qualities such as whiteness, rigidity, and texture are lower. However, this type of paper packaging is quite suitable for printing multi-color text, pictures, trademarks, etc. The process to manufacture this variant of paper packaging is not as time-consuming, nor as expensive as Coated Paper. It is widely used in packaging products such as dry fruits, loaves of bread, etc.
Kraft Paper
This is a highly specialized variant of paper packaging. It is made of a highly unique softwood sulphate. The finished product after processing is usually thicker and off-white in color. Some are light brown, while others are yellowish brown or cream in color. The thickness is high, about 80 grams to 120 grams in width. It also has a high tensile force and is suitable to package products that undergo heavy transportation.
It is mainly used in other industries to manufacture products such as envelopes, portfolios, medical record bags, and quick-access paper bags. However, in the food industry, they are commonly found to be used in takeaway bags, at supermarkets as grocery bags, and so on. Compared to the other variants, this type of paper packaging is more eco-friendly.
Cardboard
This variant of food packaging paper is found largely to be used in packaging food products such as pizzas. It is made with the use of high pressure and heat, by compressing chemical paper pulp.
It is either a single or a multi-layer combination of compressed, bleached paper pulp and other chemicals. The surface of the finished variant is smooth, and the quality of the packaging material is firm. This type of paper packaging is highly used in the food industry today. It is especially used in the take-out and delivery segment of the industry, where there is a high need for sturdy packaging for the transportation of food. In other industries, it is seen to be used as general packaging material.
As evident, the industry is going through a lot of upgrades and considerations as we move forward. Stay in touch with the latest updates only with Coniferous, India’s leading supplier of kraft paper and other greener solutions to the public.
