Packaging Material

Introduction
Besides constituting a container, giving the steadiness needed to shape and
maintain the shape of the package, the packaging material protects the product
from being affected by the environment.
Furthermore, the packaging material gives information about the contents of
the package, and makes it easy to transport and handle.

Construction
The packaging material is a laminate, which means that it is built by several
layers. The structure of the packaging material varies depending on the prod-
uct being packed. Further information is given in section Different material for
different products, page 15-5.
TBA = Tetra Brik Aseptic A typical TBA material is built, from outside and inwards, as shown in the pic-
ture and description below.

1
2

5
6
7
8
Construction of the packaging material.

1. Outer coating protects the package against external humidity.

2. Printing
3. Paper board, bleached or claycoated, offers a good printing sur-
face.
4. Paper board, unbleached, strengthens the package.
5. Lamination, a plastic layer which enables the paper board to stick
to the aluminium layer.
6. Aluminium protects against oxygen and light.
7. Internal coating 1 offers adhesion against the aluminium layer.
8. Internal coating 2 offers tightening against the product and enables
package sealing.

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The picture below describes what type of effects the different layers in the
material protects against.
Moisture Micro-or-
of water Light ganisms Oxygen Odours

Outer coating
Printing
Paper board, bleached
or claycoated

Paperboard, unbleached

Lamination
Aluminium
Internal coating 1
Internal coating 2

Product Flavour

The converting process

The converting process is what takes place when the paper board is trans-
formed into packaging material, ready to use. The process can be divided into
three phases:
• Printing and creasing.
The design is printed on the paperboard which continues through the creas-
ing tools. The creasing tools create creases, which means the folding
instructions on the package, as well as opening perforations and holes for
straws.

Printing press, flexography

Printing Creasing

Opening perforation

Crease pattern

Crease pattern and opening perforation on the packaging material

15-2 TM-00080 Training Document. For training purpose only. Technical Training Centre 3/0109
 • Lamination
Roll = Roll of packaging material
several packages wide. The roll will be transported to the laminator. In the laminator different lay-
ers will be added to the printed paperboard. First the paperboard passes
through a flame treating unit in order to burn off dust and to make it easier
for the plastic layer to stick. When all layers have been applied on the
paperboard, the thickness of the different plastic layers, and the surface of
the packaging material, will be checked according to specifications.

Lamination

• Slitting
After lamination, the roll is transferred to the slitter where it is slit into
reels. The slitting process is almost fully automatic. If any defect on the
packaging material is detected, the reel will be sent to rewinding; the faulty
part will be cut off, and the reel will be spliced. Each approved reel is
wrapped in shrinking film and stacked on a pallet.

Slitting

Plastic The plastic used in the packaging material is a PolyEthylene. PolyEthylene is

thermoplastic, which means that it can be melted and shaped more than once.
There are different kinds of PolyEthylene. The most common ones are
• HDPE High Density PolyEthylene
• LDPE Low Density PolyEthylene
Tetra Pak mainly uses LDPE.
PolyEthylene possesses positive as well as negative properties.
Positive properties are:
• It is water proof.
• It enables sealing of the package.
• It is possible to apply in thin layers.
• It is transparent and thus does not affect the printed design.
• It is neutral, meaning that it does not affect the product.
• It is chemically resistant, meaning that it does not react with other substan-
ces.
Negative properties are:
• It does not resist much heat or cold.
• It is fat-soluble.
• It does not protect the product against oxygen.

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In all j-materials, for example TBA/j, the packaging material contains a type Adhesion plastic
of adhesive plastic as internal coating 1, see page 15-1, that offers a strong and
durable adhesion to the aluminium. This prevents the product from penetrating
the plastic and the plastic will not unstuck from the aluminium layer.

Paperboard is used as main support, to allow the package to stand up, to main- Paperboard
tain its shape also with product inside, and to sustain a certain amount of phys-
ical exposure.
The type of paperboard used varies due to type and size of the package and
printing technique involved. The most common types of paperboard are du- Duplex
plex, unbleached and bleached.
• Duplex consists of two layers of paperboard; one thin bleached
(white) layer, to print on, and one unbleached (brown) layer,
which strengthens the material. Duplex is the most common Unbleached
material and a standard for TBA packages. The picture on
page 15-1 shows a duplex material.
• Unbleached material merely consists of unbleached (brown) paperboard
with the design printed on the brown surface.
• Bleached material merely consists of bleached (white) paperboard. Bleached

All types of paperboard can also be claycoated. This means that the board is Claycoat
coated with a layer of white clay offering an even and white surface with ex-
cellent printing properties.

Claycoated
Aluminium offers good barrier qualities. It protects the product against light, Aluminium
oxygen, odour, and external humidity. It can be laminated into very thin layers
and only a small amount is used for each package. The thickness of the alu-
minium layer is less than 7 µm.
Furthermore, aluminium possesses good conductivity, which enables sealing
by so called induction heating. Packaging material without an aluminium layer
cannot be sealed by this method.

Packaging material containing K-film in the innermost layer, is used when K-film
packing aggressive products and products that are sensitive to residual fla-
vours. Examples of aggressive products are: tomato products, alcohol, oil, and
feta cheese. Water, and other small-tasting products, are sensitive to residual
flavours.
K-film is manufactured through film blowing techniques. This method means
that the plastic is stretched and oriented in length as well as transversal direc-
tion. K-film is applied to the material as ready-made film, unlike other plastic
coatings which are applied by extruding a thin layer of melted plastic onto the
packaging material.
K-film decreases the possibility for residual flavours to affect the product. It is
also tighter than extruded film, which makes it more difficult for aggressive
products to penetrate the plastic and cause microscopic cracks. When using K-
film, there is no risk of corrosion in the aluminium layer.

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 Different materials for different products
The type of packaging material chosen depends on what product is to be
packaged. The most common types of packaging materials provided by
Tetra Pak are:
• TBA/m Used for UHT milk products, sweet and condensed milk,
flavoured milk products, and soya bean products.
• TBA/j Used for juice and drinks, flavoured milk products, soya bean
drinks, coconut drinks, tea, coffee, and vinegar products with
maximum 1% acetic acid.
Outside LDPE layer, 12 g/m2

Paperboard and printing

Lamination layer LDPE, 25 g/m2

Aluminium foil, 17 g/m2

Adhesive polymers, 6 g/m2

Inside LDPE layer, 29 g/m2

Example of TBA/j material

• TBA/w Used for wine and alcoholic drinks with less than 20% alco-
hol.
• TBA/m MF Used for the same products as TBA/m. MF
has
• TBA/j MF Used for the same products as TBA/j.
• TBA/w MF Used for the same products as TBA/w.
k = a layer of k-film has been • TBA/jk Used for products that will be heated in their package.
added on the inside
• TBA/wk Used for alcoholic drinks with more than 20% alcohol.
• TBA/ok Used for oil products.
• TBA/tk Used for tomato products, dressings, soups, and sauces.
• TBA/ak Used for water.
• TBA/lk Can be used instead of any TBA material with k-film.
• TWA/j Used for juice products in Tetra Wedge Aseptic machines.
• TFA/j Used for juice products in Tetra Fino Aseptic machines.

Strips
Two types of strips are used in Tetra Brik packages: Longitudinal seal strip,
generally called LS-strip, and PullTab strip.

LS-strip The longitudinal seal strip is applied on the inside of the packaging material,
covering the edge of the longitudinal seal. It prevents the product from soaking
into the packaging material, so called edge suction. The strip also ensures pro-
tection against oxygen and contributes to the sealing of the tube.
Tetra Pak uses three different strip core polymers, depending on the oxygen
permeability desired:
• HDPE High Density PolyEthylene
• PET PolyEthylene Terephtalate
• EVOH Ethylene Vinyl Acetate with Alcohol groups
From these polymers three basic types of LS strips have been developed:
• LHL has a core of HDPE, coated on both sides by LDPE. This strip
is suitable for products that do not require a dense oxygen bar-
rier, for example pasteurised milk.

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 Packaging material

Longitudinal seal strip

LDPE LDPE LDPE

Primer Primer

HDPE PET EVOH

Primer Primer
LDPE LDPE
LDPE

LHL PPP/PPPW LSE

LHL−STRIPS PPP−STRIPS LSE−STRIPS
Longitudinal
7,5/0,1 seal and different types7,5/0,075
of LS strips. 7,5/0,075

• PPP/PPPW has a core of PET, coated with primed layers of LDPE. This
strip is suitable for products that require a dense oxygen bar-
rier, and has been developed to resist alcoholic products.This
is the standard strip for all TBA materials.
• LSE has a core of EVOH, coated with primed layers of LDPE. This
strip is suitable for products that require a massive oxygen bar-
rier.

When producing packages with PullTab openings, a hole is punched into the PullTab strip
packaging material before it enters the filling machine. A patch is applied on
the inside of the packaging material, covering the hole. Then the PullTab strip
is applied on the outside of the packaging material, covering the hole and the
part of the patch left uncovered by the hole.

PullTab opening

To enable this, the patch and the PullTab strip must consist of different mate-
rials. The patch is made of a multi layer blown film, composed with a core of
EVOH, coated with primed layers of LDPE. This gives a dense barrier against
oxygen and a thin enough patch to make the PullTab easy to tear off. The Pull-
Tab is made of a laminated foil, composed of printed aluminium, which pro-
vides mechanical strength and aesthetics, and LDPE which enables sealing to
the patch and the packaging material.

LDPE Al
Primer

EVOH LDPE

Primer

LDPE

TBA patch and PullTab strip

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 Different printing methods
Printing is the process of applying ink to create colours, words and designs.
Tetra Pak uses different printing methods such as Flexo, Offset and Rotogra-
vure, as described below.

Flexo Flexo has become the most common printing method and it is today used for
all types of designs.

Relief printing = Printing method

Flexo is a relief printing method. One roller collects the colour, transfers it to
where the cliche’ sections, which the colour transfer roller (anilox roller), which applies the colour onto the cli-
transfer the colour, are raised. ché. The cliché applies the design directly onto the packaging material.
The plates used for flexo printing are flexible and could be made of mouldable
natural or synthetic rubber compounds or of photo polymer materials.

Cliché Counter
Anilox roller = A laser engraved pressure
roller that has a specific pattern roller
of holes or “cups”.
Colour transfer roller
(anilox)

Roller, collecting
the colour

Packaging material

Function principle for Flexo

CT = Continuous Tone. Like in a There are two types of flexo printing:

photograph or an illustration. • Lineflexo Used for more simple designs without any photos.
• Flexo process Used for photographic designs (CT).
Screen pattern = small dots The main difference between lineflexo and flexo process is that process is a
four-colour print method. The design is built by screen patterns. Using the four
Yellow Cyan process colours; yellow, magenta, cyan and black, applied one after another in
balanced amounts, makes it possible to represent any tint. As for line printing,
the desired tint is first prepared in a bucket and then poured into the printing
machine.
The pictures below show examples of a typical line design and a typical proc-
ess design.

Magenta
K Key colour

Line design Process design

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Offset is used for designs with photographic pictures. Compared to flexo proc- Offset
ess, offset yields a somewhat better quality of the picture.
Colour roller
Dampening roller

Printing plate

Packaging material

Rubber roller

Counter pressure
roller

Function principle for Offset

Offset is a flat printing method. A colour roller applies the colour on the print- Flat printing = Printing method,
ing plate. The colour is then transferred to a rubber roller, which applies the where the sections which transfer
the colour are in level with the
design onto the packaging material. plate.
The principle of offset printing is that certain parts of the printing plate are
water-repelling while other parts absorb the water. Damp is continuously
transferred to the printing plate from the dampening roller. As the printing col-
our contains a certain amount of grease, it will not stick to the wet surfaces.
The colour will only stick to the water-repelling surfaces.
The offset printing plate is made from a sheet of aluminium.
Offset, like flexo process, is a four-colour print method. The design is built by
screen patterns. Using the four process colours; yellow, magenta, cyan and
black, applied one after another in balanced amounts, makes it possible to rep-
resent any tint.

Rotogravure is a printing method that is rather rare today. It yields an extreme- Rotogravure
ly high printing quality and may be used for exclusive printed designs or very
large series.
Rotogravure is a gravure printing method. The printed design is engraved in a Gravure printing = Printing method
cliché. The cliché will collect the colour itself. Excess colour will be removed, where the immersed sections col-
lect the colour and transfer it to the
leaving colour only in the engravings. When the packaging material is pressed
pckaging material.
against the cliché, the colour will soak into it.
Since the engravings can vary in depth, the gravure printing method offers a
variation between 0 and 100% of colour saturation. This is the answer to the
extremely high printing quality. i
Counter pressure
roller

Packaging material

Cliché
Scraper

Colour
Function principle for Rotogravure

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 Production Order Label and Pallet Label
Production order label and Pallet label are labels on the packaging material
reel and on the pallet containing reels.These labels contain information about
the content and are used, as an example, for claims.
1

Production order label

3
9

10
8

Production order label

The Production order label contains the following information:

1. Place of production
2. Production order number
3. Web position number (reel number)
4. Identification number
5. Type of packaging material
6. Volume of package
7. Quantity of packages on the reel
8. Date of production
9. Customer address
10. Bar-code containing parts of above information
The Pallet label contains the following information:
1. Production order number
2. Pallet number
3. Reel number
4. Quantity of packages on the reel
5. Quantity of packages on the pallet

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 Pallet label
1

5
Pallet label

Packaging Material Claims

Packaging material claims, usually cost a lot of money.Therefore, every effort
must be made to use the packaging material produced and delivered. As a rule,
a claim will not be accepted by Tetra Pak if the packaging material was pro-
duced and delivered within specification.
One condition for accepting a packaging material claim, is that the filling ma-
chine is upgraded to recommended standard and adequately maintained. Pack-
aging material claims will not be accepted if the material has not been stored
in accordance with local recommendations or recommended storage condi-
tions in the Installation Manual.
Below follows a description of how a packaging material claim is handled:
1. The customer makes his complaint to the Area Technical Service Man-
ager, on a packaging material report form, or in accordance with the local
producer.
2. The Area Technical Service Manager confirms the complaint by returning
a copy of the packaging material report form to the customer.
3. As a first step, the Technical Service Department sends a service engineer
to the customer to investigate the nature of the complaint.
4. The packaging material on hold is moved to a separate location and
clearly marked. When the complaints are involving suspicious packaging
material, the producer is contacted and the responsible market is informed.
5. A detailed description of the fault in accordance with the Fault Code List
Packaging Material, the disturbances occurred on the packaging machine
and the name of the person who inspected the goods, are given on the
claim report form. The original of the completed claim report form is sent
to the receiver at the producing plant together with representative samples
of the faulty packaging material, two meters from each reel.

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 Fault Code List The Fault Code List consists of seven head groups. Within these groups there
Packaging Material are ten sub groups, each sub group consists of ten detailed fault denomina-
L009 tions. The head group, 900 Filling machine, is intended to be used by Techni-
cal Service as an indication to the producer of how the packaging material
behaves in the filling machine. The codes 100-800 are used to give a more pre-
cise direction of where the fault occurs on the packaging material. This to en-
able faster handling of the claim.

Tetra Pak Carton Packaging Division Carton Support

Fault Code List Packaging Material L 009

4. Fault Code List Packaging Material

More detailed information are available from Market Companies in these doc-
uments:
General Rules For Packaging Material Claims, G007
Packaging Material Claims and Complaints, I011
Fault Code List Packaging Material, L009

Recommendations
Storage Tetra Brik packaging material is supplied in protected and palletised reels,
which are sufficiently resistant to any damage it might be exposed to in the
course of normal handling and storage.
Below follows some advice to ensure maximum utilisation of the packaging
material:
1. Keep the storage premises clean and use them exclusively for the
packaging material.
2. The optimal temperature range for storing the packaging material is
between 10 and 30 °C. Do not allow the temperature to fall below 0 °C.
3. Maintain a relative humidity between 30 and 70%. Do not store the
packaging material in excessively damp or moist areas. No pipes etc.
which may produce condensation should run through the storage
premises.
4. It is important that the packaging material attains a temperature close to
that of the packaging room. Therefore it is advisable to withdraw it from
the storage premises one day before use and keep it in a suitable place
inside the packaging room.
5. Under normal circumstances, reels of packaging material are double-
wrapped. Each reel is tightly shrink-wrapped and each pallet is enclosed in
shrink material. Do not remove this until shortly before the reel is placed
in the machine.

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6. Always store the reels on pallets and not directly on the floor. Position the
pallets at a sufficient distance from the walls to ensure efficient handling
of the pallets.
7. Pallets can be stacked three high provided a rigid divider board is placed
on top of the lower pallets. The transportation pallet is only a one-way unit
and its strength has limitations, therefore avoid excessive scuffing and
chafing.

Always take the greatest care when handling the packaging material. Below Handling
follows some advice:
1. Before touching the packaging material, disinfect your hands.
2. The packaging material must never touch the floor.
3. Do not remove the shrink wrapping from the reel until you have placed it
in the trolley.
4. Unwind one revolution of the packaging material from the reel and check
for damages. If damages are found on the packaging material, be sure to
remove enough packaging material to avoid this to enter the filling
machine.
5. Keep the Production order label.

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