The satiné lamination film was launched in Q1 2010 and took 2 years to develop. Clarifoil said the new film is made from a renewable polymer and is biodegradable. The film is accredited to EN 13432 and ASTM D6400 standards which means it biodegrades at least 90 per cent within six months and has low heavy metal content.
Clarifoil marketing manager Marion Bauer told ConfectioneryNews.com that the standout qualities of this new material was its “bio-degradability and compostability, its brilliance and its scratch- and scuff-resistance”
Properties and benefits
The film, which possesses similar physical properties to Clarifoil’s standard P20 grade cellulose di-acetate films, is produced using cellulose from non-GM wood from managed forests.
The firm said extremely pure whitening additives with a small amount of brightening agent gave the film a bright white finish.
“The film gives good adhesion with standard water and solvent based laminating adhesives, and also accepts foil blocking well,” said Clarifoil
The company also advised using primers and/or over-varnishes for over-printing, especially with UV curing systems.
Metallic trends
Bauer said that demand for an environmentally friendly high gloss metallised film were informing future developments in cellulose acetate film manufacturing.
Confectionery industry trend watchers claim that white is the new black in premium chocolate packaging, with the organisers of the 2010 Cologne-based Pro-Sweets trade show at the end of January noting that the colour white symbolises freshness and lightness and, as it is a reserved colour, “it also reflects a certain qualitative value”.
European Union Producer Responsibility Obligations, set to take effect in 2012, stipulate that EU companies with a turnover of over £2m and that use over 50 tonnes of packaging annually, must ensure some or all packaging is recyclable, compostable or reusable.