Beyond recycling: the cost of avoidable packaging & printing waste

Reducing production waste in the packaging and printing industry

In the packaging and printing industry, much material disappears into the recycling bin without having served any purpose. This so-called pre-consumer-, substrate-, or production waste is often seen as collateral damage. But is all of it unavoidable?

Rejected corrugated board, packaging material, and printed matter that never reaches the consumer — just like used packaging and paper — are recycled. Then the producer buys it again in a new attempt to turn it into usable packaging or printed matter.

In the era of lean production, we need to look for better ways. This post shows the costs of avoidable production waste, its major causes, and easy-to-implement solutions to this money- and time-consuming problem.

The cost of recycling unnecessary waste

Needless to say, recycling rejected materials is better than dumping them in a landfill. And, of course, there is a fee for turning in reusable paper and cardboard. But that fee doesn’t outweigh all the costs of recycling unused materials. Just think of:

• lost substrates
• loss of salable production
• lost labor time to collect and dispose of the rejected materials
• lost time for cleaning, set-up, and re-starting

Environmental impact of recycling avoidable waste

Perhaps even more important is the environmental impact of the recycling process. Transportation, sorting, shredding, and drying all use energy that releases CO2. Adding to this are the large amounts of water and chemicals used to de-ink printed rejects.

So, recycle used materials? Great. Recycling unused materials? Prevent as much as possible!

Waste in the packaging and printing industry – is it avoidable?

Most pre-consumer waste occurs because a product does not meet minimum quality requirements. Insufficient print quality is the main reason in the packaging and printing industry. When do these rejections arise?

During printing, quality control systems check the number of printing errors, such as hickeys and unprinted spots — errors caused by ink contamination or on the substrate itself.
The printer halts the press when the number of printing errors exceeds a limit. The copies produced during this process are unusable and head for recycling.

Recycle used materials? Great. Recycling unused materials? Prevent as much as possible!

After this, a cleaning pause follows. Depending on the printing process, this involves a blanket wash or cleaning the ink or the print heads. Then, the setup process is repeated, which again causes material waste. And so, the inspection, rejection, and cleaning cycle repeats itself.

Apart from calculated material loss during the print order setup, we see waste in later stages mainly due to contamination. These are micro-particles, trim residue, fibers, and environmental dust that clings to the statically charged substrate. Along with the substrate, they enter the printing press, contaminating ink, blankets, substrate, or print heads.

Less contamination = improved quality and productivity = less waste

More and more packaging manufacturers realize that addressing contamination can proportionately reduce unnecessary waste and improve productivity and quality.
One example is Adara Packaging Finland. Adara began manufacturing corrugated board in 1933 and has become a leading producer of quality printed packaging. Adara invests in the latest production machines and systems; quality and sustainability are key focus areas.

Innovative solutions in action: Adara Packaging Finland

In 2021, Adara successfully started eliminating contamination by installing a Corrucleaner HE-90 in its BHS corrugator’s slitter scorer/ section. This step doubled the wash distances on the press units.

After solving dust problems in the slitter/scorer section, a HE-90 sheet cleaner was integrated into the cut-off section to remove trim and cutting dust. Again, the closely monitored results of this installation were impressive:

• 40% less dust on the flexo presses
• 46% less cleaning time

By thoroughly tackling these two dust sources, lost production time was thus halved twice, and the amount of material loss was reduced accordingly.

Comprehensive waste prevention: from corrugator to press

Another production stage where effective cleaning prevents waste is at the press infeed, a method Kroonpress, Tartu*, uses. Here, a HE-70 web cleaning system installed in the KBA heat-set press showed an immediate improvement in printing results and a significant reduction in cleaning stops and rejected material.

* Why is cleaning necessary at this stage? The substrate re-releases fibers and dust during winding, stacking, and transporting operations. As soon as these particles enter the printing press, they cause problems such as dirty ink, poor print quality, waste, and production losses.

The press infeed – flexo and digital

The same concept applies to flexo and digital printing. At the request of Koenig&Bauer/Celmacch, for example, we developed a single-sided sheet cleaning system for the flexo press feed. This single-sided Corrucleaner HE sheet cleaning system in a Chroma High Tech 2100 improved printing results to such an extent that we have since offered it as a standard option for flexo and digital printing.

Quantifiable benefits: Improved efficiency and reduced waste

These solutions are some of the many possibilities for reducing rejects, waste, and production downtime. Implementing our virtually maintenance-free cleaning system is possible in most setups and available spaces, and the investment pays for itself quickly.

What if you can turn production waste into cash?

What if you could complete your orders without avoidable production downtime? What if you could reduce rejects and convert expensive substrates into high-quality, salable products? It is possible. Contact us for solutions that cut costs and waste while increasing packaging/print quality and productivity.