Stora Enso offers paper labels as substitute for plastics during IML

Paper labels for IML are not new, but they have not gained much ground in injection molding. At the K 2010 trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, injection molding machine manufacturer Ferromatik Milacron ran one of its Vitesse 300 (3000-kN) molding forming in-mold labeled rectangular lids with a 4+4-cavity stack mold in a cycle time of 5 seconds. In one parting line in the stack mold four PP lids labeled with PP labels from Belgium label supplier Verstraete were produced. In the second parting line, four lids with paper labels from Engelhardt were molded.

Stora Enso produces the paper for these labels at its mill in Uetersen, Germany. The paper labels don't just mean a shift away from plastic ones, says the company, but are a means for packaging processors to cut the weight in their packaging. The paper labels, it claims, combine with the plastic melt to create a package that is much stiffer than packaging made using a conventional film label.

The higher top-load bearing pressure of the package permits higher stacking, and the thickness of the packaging's sidewalls can be reduced by up to 50%, says Stora Enso.

Paper labels obviously are fine for printing. InnoMould labeled packaging already has successfully undergone testing under real-life conditions, says the supplier, which predicts the labels could eventually see use in injection molded packaging such as yogurt and dairy containers, or ones for processed fish, butter or paint

Plastic labels (typically polypropylene) and the containers (ditto) are easy to recycle in a single stream. We have questions in to Stora Enso's product manager on these labels, to include on recycling of the packaging with these labels and for quantitative data on that added top-load strength, and will update the article once he has responded.