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Packaging and labels are used for a variety of products and have become an indispensable part of daily life, while products without labels or packaging cause uncertainty among consumers. The global trend is to reduce the amount of packaging waste by recycling and reusing the same material or using other available waste raw materials. With large quantities of stalks remaining discarded in the fields after harvest each year, cereal straw is emerging as an alternative source of lignocellulosic fibers for secondary green packaging and labels. In this study, the usability of printed papers with discarded lignocellulosic fibers by offset and gravure printing processes for secondary green packaging and labels was observed based on the qualitative parameters of reproduction and ink penetration into the printing substrate. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that gravure prints have greater penetration of the ink into the printing substrate, resulting in more uneven surface coverage with printing ink, compared to offset prints, where the viscosity of the ink and the printing process itself have the greatest influence. Therefore, these substrates with discarded lignocellulosic fibers can be used for secondary green packaging and labeling printed by the offset printing process, while gravure printing requires an additional coating or a larger amount of filler in the paper structure.

Surface characteristics of printing substrates are of the utmost importance to all types of paper that interact with ink. During all types of printing processes, the behaviour of the liquid phase (ink or dye) on the paper is directly defined by the paper cellulose-based surface. The printed ink spreads and penetrates more into paper fibres when the paper surface is rougher and more permeable. Contact angle measurements by sessile drop method are considered the most appropriate for determining the paper sheet surface energy. Paper as hydrophilic material has a high absorption rate resulting in a low contact angle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the surface free energy of laboratory-made papers containing straw pulp obtained from residues after the harvest of the most cultivated cereals in Croatia (wheat, barley and triticale). The obtained surface free energy results are promising for straw pulp usage in the manufacture of printing paper.

From the moment of production, paper as a printing substrate is exposed to the process of natural ageing regardless of the type of cellulose fibres in its composition. Accordingly, the prints produced by the various printing techniques are also exposed to several factors that impair the quality of the print i.e. its colour over time. Therefore, it is very important to properly select the printing substrate for achieving a high quality of graphic products. For that purpose, three types of papers with hemp fibres were used as printing substrates which were printed with laboratory hand-operated instrument Esiproof using flexographic cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K) water-based inks. Prints were artificially aged in SunTEST XLS+ test chamber according to standard ASTM D 6789-02 for 48 and 96 hours. Based on changes in the reflectance spectra of each printed ink after exposure to electromagnetic radiation it was noticed how composition of printing substrate strongly influence on colour stability of prints due time. An increase of exposure time to electromagnetic radiation leads to a decrease in the value of the reflectance of the printing substrate and cyan, magenta and yellow prints. It was confirmed how electromagnetic radiation have the greatest impact on the reflectance of yellow print, while the black one is the most stabile regardless of the substrate it was printed on.

Natural ageing has a major influence on the properties of paper, while light, heat, and humidity are the environmental influences that most disrupt the stability of paper. This research focuses on changes in straw-containing papers caused by accelerated ageing. The papers were made in the laboratory by mixing straw pulp with the pulp of recycled fibers in different weight ratios and were artificially aged by a dry-heat treatment (thermal oxidation) and UV radiation treatment (photo-oxidation) over a 24 h period to simulate natural ageing. The observed changes in the optical, surface, and chemical stability of papers were analyzed and are discussed in this paper. It is evident that, regardless of the origin of straw for pulp production, it forms papers that undergoes similar optical properties (photo-yellowing and brightness lose), while certain differences have been observed in surface and chemical stability. Based on all analyses performed as part of this research, it was found that paper produced with the addition of wheat pulp is the most stable of all laboratory straw-containing papers. However, it must be emphasized that, if lignin-containing straw pulp is used as the main constituent of paper, the brightness stability of such pulp must be improved, or the paper surface must be improved by surface finishing in order to obtain greater stability against ageing.

Considering that optical properties play a very important role in the printing industry, this research focused on analysing the optical properties (opacity, whiteness, brightness and yellowness) of laboratory made papers from recycled wood pulp, with the addition of different straw contents, coated with titanium dioxide white ink. Titanium dioxide white ink was applied on laboratory papers to achieve optical characteristics as those of commercial papers recommended by ISO 12647. All the coated laboratory papers presented whiteness within the recommendations of the standard. Almost all the coated papers made with the addition of straw pulp achieved satisfactory optical properties, especially those containing 10% and 20% straw pulp. Coated laboratory papers containing 10% and 20% wheat pulp were comparable to commercial paper and reached a similar value of brightness, while their opacity and yellowness values were even better than those of commercial paper. In order to preserve the natural appearance of papers made with the addition of straw pulp, it is possible to conduct selective white printing as background for high-quality printing.

Today, the paper industry is faced with a global deficiency of raw wood materials, so alternative sources of virgin cellulose fibres are playing an important role in paper production. Agricultural countries produce large quantities of crop farming by-products such as straw, which is an interesting alternative raw material for cellulose fibres. Straw is used in many industries because of its numerous advantages: animal food industry, biofuel industry, construction industry and as artistic material. The potential use of straw production residues is of great importance in paper and printing industry. The focus of this research is on triticale straw, which was used as a non-wood fibre source for paper production. Namely, triticale straw was converted into semi-chemical pulp and was combined with recycled wood pulp in order to produce alternative laboratory papers. The usability of this kind of laboratory papers in printing industry was analysed based on line reproduction quality. This research evaluated and analysed line reproduction quality based on four line attributes: width, blurriness and raggedness. The results of this research proved that triticale pulp in laboratory papers has equal influence on line printing quality as the recycled wood pulp.

This research observes changes in the properties of commercially available hemp office papers exposed to photo-oxidation for artificial aging. In order to accelerate the changes that naturally occur in paper, photo-oxidation was performed using a Xenon light source. The electromagnetic radiation was administered in doses of 550 W/m2 over 24 hours with a temperature of 60°C. Three types of hemp office papers that differ in chemical composition and manufacturing process were used as samples. The strength properties (tensile index, elongation at break, tear index), surface properties (Bendtsen roughness, Bekk smoothness), pH of paper extracts, and optical properties were observed. The listed properties of artificially aged samples were compared to those of unaged commercial paper samples. The results show that, after only 24 hours, accelerated aging with a Xenon arc lamp affects all observed paper properties. For all analyzed office papers, the values of the tensile index, Bekk smoothness, and pH of paper extracts decreased, while the values of elongation break, tear index, and Bendtsen roughness increased due accelerated aging. Regarding the CIE L*a*b* color space value, lightness (L*) generally decreased after the aging treatment, and all paper samples became less reddish (a* decreased) and more yellow (b* increased). The obtained results of this research reveal that pulp with hemp fibers can produce higher-quality office paper that is more stable against light and temperature influences than those made with post-consumer fibers. However, to increase the durability of manufactured paper, hemp fibers must be bleached.

The objective of the research was to investigate colorimetric changes of the waterbased flexographic ink printed on hemp-based papers subjected to artificial ageing. Three types of commercially available hemp office papers were used as printing substrate and by Esiproof instrument were printed manually in full tone with process waterbased flexographic inks. Both, papers and prints were exposed to artificial ageing in the Suntest XLS+ test chamber according ASTM D 6789-2 standard. The L∗, a∗, b∗ colour coordinates were measured and ΔE00 colour difference was calculated for different stages of light exposure in order to determine the change from the original color value. In total exposure time was 96 h. The results have shown how the paper optical stability is dependent upon manufacturing process and that bleached hemp fibers provides better optical stability of papers than unbleached hemp fibers. Further, stability of prints made on hemp-based papers is for the most part defined by ink color, while the impact of the printing substrate is less pronounced. Generally, it was noticed how the most stable among prints were prints covered with the black ink, while prints with the yellow ink had the greatest changes in color under the influence of light.

Paper performance qualities strongly depend on the origin of cellulose fibers. Awareness of environmental issues and sustainable development has led to the increase in the use of recycled printing papers. Recovered fibers are often used as a substitute for virgin wood fibers in the production of certain types of papers. As recovered fibers cannot provide the same quality level of paper products as virgin wood fibers, alternative sources of virgin cellulose fibers need to be identified. The aim of this research was to analyze the printability of laboratory papers made of different contents of straw pulp. Therefore, the printing papers were formed using straw pulp of three different cereal species (wheat, barley, and triticale) and mixing them with recycled newsprint in different weight ratios. The printability of these laboratory papers was analyzed by classifying dot reproduction quality based on four dot reproduction attributes. Printed dot reproduction greatly affects the quality of reproduction in graphic products, as dots are the most important element in multi-color reproduction of texts and images. It was confirmed that laboratory papers containing straw pulp provide the same or even better dot reproduction quality than laboratory control papers formed only of recycled newsprint.

Three parts of first volume of a book in possession of the National and University library in Zagreb (call numbers: RIIF-4- 358- sv.1, RIIF-4- 358- sv.2, RIIF-4- 358- sv.3) were preliminary observed by image analysis and by spectrophotometric method. Regarding the optical features of these old books paper, these books were analyzed through paper thickness, watermarks characteristics and reflectance. Similarity of reflectance measured on front pages and random pages for all volumes supported by the same watermarks reveals monotonous paper production. Measurements results showed that printed map paper of third part has been made from different type of paper according to its watermark and reflectance. Typeface stylization for initials IMB is image analysis result of typographic watermarks measured through three parts of the first volume, therefor watermarks should be treated

This research observes alteration in optical properties of two commercially available hemp office papers exposed to various methods of accelerated ageing. Both handmade office papers, natural colored and non-chlorine bleached were formed from 100% hemp plant fiber. In order to establish their optical stability under controlled conditions two different accelerating ageing treatments were carried out for the period of 24 hours as a simulation of different degradation processes that naturally occurs in cellulosic materials: thermal oxidation (TO) and photo-oxidation (PO). Before and after ageing treatments the changes in the optical properties of papers were monitored by X-rite DTP 20 spectrophotometer and obtained differences in Reflectance index (R), Euclidean difference (ΔE00*) and Yellowness Index (YI E313) have been discussed. The results have shown how the paper optical stability is dependent upon manufacturing process. Namely, it was found that bleached hemp pulp provide better optical stability of papers than unbleached hemp pulp.

Flexographic printing process has been established as a very competitive printing method and a broadly used printing technique. Consequently, as a more demanding packaging printing has to be performed, flexographic printing process became a strong competition to the gravure printing process. It is a quality and cost-effective printing technique used in respect to various types of substrates. This research analysis was focused on testing flexographic prints on six different polymer materials. Namely, it is mandatory for good quality prints to have good coverage even at low film thicknesses when printed on the printing substrate and the previously printed ink film, respectively. Therefore, the acceptance of cyan ink to the different polymer printing substrates and acceptance to the previously applied white ink were analysed. A number of samples of cyan ink acceptance with various viscosities were compared with each other by using spectrophotometric values converted into colorimetric values L*, C*, h˚.

For paper industry and consequently graphic industry it is very important that fibres used in paper production provide high quality and printability of the paper. In pulp and paper industry fibres of cellulose pulp derived still predominantly from wood, but in the last few years the consumption of non-wood raw materials for that purpose has grown. This work presents research on the chemical stability of printed hemp fibre based papers to water, alcohol and alkali. Evaluation of chemical degradation on prints was determined through the spectro-photometric measurements. Deviations in colour of prints have shown that highest chemical stability provides prints made on industrially paper formed from mixture of hemp and post-consumer fibres with high share of inorganic components. Further, bleached hemp fibres in handmade 100 % hemp fibre based paper give prints with the lowest chemical stability.

Global awareness that packaging has to be fully adequate and of high quality, is gradually increasing. That is why printing inks and substrates, which have no detrimental effect on packed products, should be considered a compulsory precondition for food and tobacco packaging. Printing inks that have been developed in the recent years, especially for food and tobacco packaging, have low-odour and low migration into the printing substrate during the drying process. Their migration into the printing substrate is within the acceptable limits and has no detrimental effect in terms of food safety. Another extremely important element of prints in high quality food and tobacco packaging is their stability, as they have to be resistant to liquids and chemicals, which are a part of packed product. The selection of an appropriate printing substrate is also extremely relevant, since the interaction of substrate with printing inks should have zero effect on the packed product and should not change the physical appearance of packaging. This paper presents the results of analysing the stability of laboratory samples printed with low-migration inks, observed immediately after the printing (unaged) and two treatments of accelerated aging. The accelerated aging of prints was conducted in order to simulate conditions in which food and tobacco packaging can be found due to the prolonged indoors storage. The stability of prints was analysed based on optical characteristics by observing the prints’ relative reflectance curves.

Nowadays, flexographic printing process is the most cost-effective printing technique. Due to its capacity to produce very good print quality it is predominantly used for labelling and packaging applications. Additionally, flexography has become a very strong competition to the gravure printing process in performing more demanding printing tasks. In order to improve reproduction quality obtained by flexographic printing technique, some modifications in producing printing plates have been developed in the recent years. In this paper, two new technologies, DigiCap and SquareSpot, are presented. The aim of the research was to analyse and define the quality of reproduction obtained with DigiCap and SquareSpot technologies in the production of printing plates. The definition of the overall reproduction quality was determined using objective and subjective analysis. Three image quality attributes were observed: line reproduction quality, circularity of dots and dot gain in objective analysis.

Barcode is a kind of code in which the words, sentences or their parts, such as letters and numbers of plain text, are replaced by groups of letters or numbers depending on code replacements. Codes are used for securing confidential content (military, diplomatic, etc.). The basic theme of this paper is the functionality of barcodes after their printing on labels. For that reason, quality tests are performed with lines printed by means of two types of digital printing technologies on three different printing substrates. Contrast, blurriness and raggedness of lines were tested and compared on prints to see which digital technique and what kind of paper substrate were the most suitable for printing barcodes on labels. These three properties, among many others, define readability of bar codes. Today, digital printing is a very popular printing technique. Ink-jet and laser printing technique, also known as electrophotography, is used for printing simulated EAN bar codes.

Visokopigmentirane boje imaju mogućnost s tanjim slojem boje prekriti rasterske elemente pri čemu je intezitet njihova obojenja veći u odnosu na klasične boje. Upotrebom takvih boja otisci dosegnu točku gdje se prirast rastertonske vrijednosti i prostor reprodukcije mijenja, a koja je usko povezana s granicama kvalitete otiska. Ovo je također izravno povezano sa standardizacijom tiska i ponovljivosti tiskarskog procesa. Upravo zbog toga naše istraživanje smo usmjerili na povećanje kvalitete reprodukcije upotrebom visokopigmetiranih boja. Otiskivanje je provedeno na dvije vrste papira koji se najčešće koriste u tehnici ofsetnog tiska. U ovome radu, kvaliteta reprodukcije vizualno je ispitivana s promjenjivim vrijednostima gustoće obojenja, prirastom rastertonskih vrijednosti i gamutu boja. Ovaj rad sadrži također i nove, preporučljive vrijednosti prirasta rastertonske vrijednosti i prostora reprodukcije boja kada se otiskivanje obavlja korištenjem visokopigmentiranih boja., Highly pigmented inks have the ability to cover screen elements with a thinner layer of ink applied whereby the intensity of their inking is higher compared to the classical inks. When using such inks, the printing reaches the point where the ink dot gain and the space of reproduction changes, which is closely related to the limits of the print quality. This is also directly related to the standardization of the print and the repeatability of the process. For this reason our research is focused on increasing the reproduction quality by using highly pigmented inks. The printing was carried out on two types of paper that were most commonly used in offset printing technology. In this paper, the reproduction quality was visually determined at changeable values of the inking densities, dot gain and gamut of colour. This paper also contains the new, recommended values of dot gain and gamut for printing processes using highly pigmented inks.