Dunapack and Apex accelerate CO2 reductions in corrugated post print

“In the face of growing consumer demand and today’s sustainability objectives, many brand owner customers have shifted their focus. Rather than on-shelf standout being a primary concern, the demand for sustainably printed packaging is becoming increasingly important, with brand owners choosing suppliers who are focusing on eco-friendly packaging while balancing out the cost of production.” - Marcus Graßler, Sales Representative Dunapack Packaging Straßwalchen

CO2 emissions in cartonboard printing can be reduced significantly using the new GTT 2.0 anilox, according to a market-first project conducted by Dunapack Packaging Austria (Dunapack) and Apex International (Apex).

The project was undertaken at Dunapack’s Straßwalchen facility in Salzburg, Austria, with results showing reductions as much as 18% in the amount of ink, thanks to the innovative anilox design which led to a reduction of the CO2 footprint related to the weight in kilograms of CO2 per kilogram of ink.

Delivering better laydown on press means less ink and varnish is needed to achieve the same optimal outcome as using regular aniloxes. “Simply put, we can attain the same high-quality resultant print while creating around 18% less CO2 pollution related to ink consumption,” said Stefan Schneider, Key Account Manager Corrugated with Apex. “The precise number is actually higher in some cases, but this figure is an average value of multiple print runs with Dunapack using the GTT 2.0 technology.” 

“Utilizing a unique ‘slalom’ engraving instead of traditional anilox rolls, our Genetic Transfer Technology (GTT 2.0) anilox offers a revolutionary approach to printing,” explained Stefan Schneider. “We undertook this project with Dunapack to demonstrate that using the GTT 2.0 anilox not only enhances print quality but is also more in line with sustainability objectives and crucially leads to a printing process with less resources needed.”

Christian Rieger, Print Expert with Dunapack, said one of the keys to the project was achieving the same high-quality print while using a reduced amount of ink, without changing the ink formulation. “With climate change and issues of income inequality on the rise recently, sustainability has taken center stage in the growth of the world,” he said. “The importance of achieving CO2 reduction is evident.

“Corporations, which are vital to economic activity, have a duty to push society toward sustainable development. This means that businesses must develop business models that balance economic efficiency and sustainable growth while pursuing profit maximization, actively adopting the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) concepts.

“Customers of - as well as Dunapack itself as one of their key partners in the supply chain - aim to reduce their corporate carbon footprint,” said Christian Rieger. “The future of the planet as we know it is endangered and all facets of society should take notice as serious concerns are posed by issues of environmental degradation. This is not only of utmost importance to us at Dunapack, but also for me personally.”

Peter Kern, head of converting at Strasswalchen site, explained that as part of the project, Dunapack ran a series of comparisons to ensure the colour density of the print remained the same, with reduced ink usage. “We first run the job with our conventional anilox, and then again with the Apex GTT 2.0,” he said. “We compare each product across the full job, which has an average print run of between 5,000 and 20,000 sheets, and we can see how much ink we have used. Based on those results, we can compare our CO2 emissions.

“We’ve also trialled printing white ink on brown substrate, which as everyone knows is a real challenge in and of itself - and a big trend coming from the design agencies,” added Peter Kern, “but we have achieved remarkably good results there too. We saw that the GTT 2.0 simplifies the printing process.”

Marcus Graßler, Sales Representative Dunapack Packaging, said that the project print runs were in association with customer Milchwerke Berchtesgadener Land Chiemgau eG, which focuses on natural products and sustainable packaging.

“The customer produces dairy and milk products, which are printed under cost pressure,” he said. “It’s important we conduct the project on repeated jobs so we can ensure we are tracking the same results against the same sample. While this means it can take time to complete a project, we want to be sure we compare like with like so that the results are robust, and we have tracked data across almost six months to ensure reliability.”

Better print quality, fewer press stops, better OEE
“The print runs were standardised using water-based inks and printing on both coated and uncoated papers,” Peter Kern said. “As soon as we could see that the print quality was at least the same or even better, the test became solely about the ink consumption. We have now carried out several tests and use the GTT 2.0 anilox rollers daily for a growing number of jobs on one of our presses. With it, we produce better quality, more smoothly, with fewer press stops - and all while reducing our CO2 emissions.”

Christian Rieger added that project data had been checked by Dunapack’s ESG specialist Sandra Frühwald, and that he was looking to expand GTT use across the whole group. “This could theoretically lead to a reduction of as much as 40-70 tonnes of CO2 per site per year,” he said. Dunapack Group operates 18 sites across Europe.

Stefan Schneider said that the unique design of the GTT engravings offers other substantial operational benefits, including reduced maintenance and enhanced press uptime. “Printers have observed a notable decrease in the need for plate cleaning and maintenance, which results in more consistent print quality and longer uninterrupted runs for better productivity,” he said.

“While laying less ink down means using less materials, it also leads to a reduction in drying time - anywhere between 15 and 25%,” he said.  “Optimising drying time delivers the added benefit of using less power, which is clear to see in the bigger runs but more difficult to prove. This will of course be a benefit in ensuring compliance with upcoming ESG regulations regarding energy consumption.”

Stefan Schneider said the collaboration between Apex and Dunapack had taken a lot of hard work, but was paying dividend. “We are grateful to Christian Rieger and the whole Dunapack team for their dedication to this long-term project and for sharing the data with us,” he said. “We are thrilled by the successful results and look forward to working closely together to roll out a CO2 reduction program across other sites in the near future.”