AR Metallizing’s (ARM) metallised paperboard laminate provide customers a way to achieve a distinctive, metallic finish on the packaging of their products at only a fraction of the aluminium content and without any films or foils.

Today, metallised boxes consist of a first-grade board with a smooth surface laminated to metallised PET film. ARM’s metallised paperboard laminates are made of low-grade, recycled-board laminated to a 53g/m² thick metallised paper. The smoothness of the paper will cover the low-surface-quality of the board. Downgrading the board’s quality will result in significant cost savings. Lowering the total weight of the box is a second cost-saving opportunity because metallised PET film does not add any stiffness; however 53g/m² long fibre paper does. First-grade board with 10g/m² of clay-coat is less stiff than its uncoated recycled alternative.

Certification from the Centre Technique du Papier in Grenoble, France has proven ARM’s metallised paperboard laminate is 100% re-pulpable, in contrast to only 91% for the traditional metallised film laminates. The reason for this is that the re-pulping plant will sieve out the polluted pulp. In case of metallised film laminates, a minimum of 9% will be contaminated foil waste that can only be placed in a landfill or incinerated at a high cost.

In the case of ARM’s metallised paperboard laminate, the initial pollution is 3%. Once further analysed, this 3% consists of long fibre pulp that can also be re-used as pulp. With metallised paperboard laminate, there is no landfill waste or CO² generation. Each kilogramme of non re-pulpable waste generated by metallised PET will, after incineration, result in 1.15kg of CO².

Converters will also notice an increased efficiency in their production lines when running metallised paperboard laminatem, compared with metallised PET. Metallised paperboard lamination runs faster, due to better reel tension management. The use of metallised paperboard lamination also results in a reduction of the glue curing time, saving money on oven energy. There is also less waste in the production process when using metallised paperboard laminate because the product runs like regular paper, not like film. The die-cutting process is faster because the knife is cutting through paper, rather than film; also equating to a lower knife consumption rate.

ARM’s metallised products are printable in nearly all technologies, including conventional offset, heliogravure and flexo. As such, it avoids the additional and costly adding of an overlay coating on PET.

Another advantage of AR Metallizing metallised paperboard laminate is that this same sustainable technology applies to the HoloPRISM® holographic metallised paperboard. AR Metallizing has won numerous awards with various projects using the HoloPRISM holographic metallised paperboard. End-users can have benefit from stronger brand identity and greater shelf-appeal using AR Metallizing’s line of holographic and metallised paperboard laminates, while considering the environmental.