GL BARRIER is a range of barrier products from Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (hereafter Toppan Printing; head office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President & Representative Director: Shingo Kaneko), including transparent barrier films that enjoy a leading share of the global market.
Toppan Printing has now developed a new product in the GL BARRIER range that is made of paper material and has barrier properties. This is the first paper-based product in the GL BARRIER series. Sample shipments for the food and toiletries industries in Japan and overseas will begin in spring 2018.

This new product is a paper-based barrier material for packaging that has been developed in collaboration with Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (hereafter Nippon Paper; head office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President: Fumio Manoshiro) by combining Nippon Paper’s SHIELDPLUS®, a new material boasting the highest level barrier performance for paper in Japan, with a new converting technology developed based on expertise accumulated over the years by Toppan Printing. With conventional paper-based packaging materials it has been necessary to combine with materials such as aluminum foil because the paper material does not have barrier properties to maintain the freshness of contents. However, as this new product achieves barrier performance with paper material alone, it not only enables reduction of manufacturing burden and environmental impact but also packaging design that exploits the texture of paper.

Samples of this product will be displayed in both the Toppan Group and Nippon Paper Group booths at EcoPro 2017 - International Exhibition on Environment and Energy- held at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center from Thursday December 7 to Saturday December 9, 2017.

© Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

■ Background to development

Measures to reduce food loss and achieve sustainability have become essential in today’s society. Product packages are expected to not only maintain freshness and preserve contents for long periods, but also to reduce environmental impact through recyclability, resource saving, and other features. Diversification of consumer lifestyles and the increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan in recent years have also meant an expanded role for packaging as the “face” of the product.

In 1986 Toppan Printing launched sales of GL BARRIER, a series of transparent barrier products that can help address social issues including food loss and the need for resource saving. It is used for approximately 15,000 products in about 45 countries and regions and enjoys a leading share of the global market.

The addition of this paper product to the existing lineup of film products expands the scope of possible applications for GL BARRIER, enabling paper-based packaging material that can maintain content freshness, something not previously possible.

■ Features of the product

- Paper-based packaging material providing barrier performance
By combining the barrier functions of Nippon Paper’s SHIELDPLUS® with Toppan Printing’s sealant processing and other advanced converting technologies, it has been possible to optimize the product for all kinds of packaging and provide barrier performance with packaging materials made only from paper.
- Reduction of manufacturing and environmental burden
Since giving the paper barrier properties means that combination with aluminum foil is no longer necessary, reduction of manufacturing and environmental burden can be anticipated.
- Selection of environmentally friendly layer structure possible
The paper-based barrier packaging material can be marketed as an environmentally friendly packaging material because it is possible to choose from a wide range of eco-friendly materials, such as biodegradable and biomass materials, for the sealant layer.
- Optimized for digital packaging
The material is optimized for digital printing processes and offers outstanding printability and processability, enabling the production of high-quality digital packages, fully exploiting the advantages of digital printing, such as short lead times and small lot production.
- Enabling package design taking advantage of the texture of paper
The barrier properties of the product mean that film or other materials are not required, and package design can take advantage of paper’s characteristic texture.

■ Future targets

Toppan Printing intends to proceed with further development of this product, targeting mass production in 2019. The lineup of products will also be enhanced through ongoing development of new paper-based barrier products for packaging. Toppan Printing is targeting sales of approximately \10 billion in 2025 for paper-based barrier material for packaging and related orders.