Specialty Grades market
This market segment includes metallizing, label grades, ink jet, thermal print and those perfume sample grades one finds in magazine ads. Label grades are usually C1S and use some of the same manufacturing strategies as coated woodfree. Most of these grades use woodfree fiber almost exclusively. Most of them have requirements related to their print specialty. Ink jet requires a porous surface that will absorb and quickly capture the ink to prevent it from wicking and fuzzing out the print. High surface area pigments and cationically treated pigments. The cationic treatment captures the dye and keeps it from spreading and wicking.
Thermal grades require a highly porous surface that gives the melted waxy ink something to bite into. It also requires a surface that is somewhat of a thermal barrier. Calcined clays like Alphatex are best for this type of application.
There is a strong drive towards the development of more sustainable packaging paper and board. Water-based barrier coatings are being used to replace fluorocarbon and extruded polymer barrier coatings. Imerys’ latest development, BARRISURF, helps customers produce high performance and cost effective barrier coatings.
