Paper packaging

Buy paper packaging - a trend for more sustainability

Paper for packaging is not only good for the environment, but also offers you a suitable wrapping for your goods. Paper packaging can replace a high percentage of plastic packaging in industry and trade. The raw material of wrapping paper grows back or is obtained by recycling waste paper. However, there are differences in sustainability depending on the manufacturing process and the contents. The most important characteristics, uses and advantages are worth a detailed look.

Properties and production

Paper products are strong and light. They provide support for the packaged goods, for example in the case of strewing articles. Environmental influences without moisture content are reliably kept out. Other properties are influenced by the manufacturing process:

Paper as a packaging material is first obtained, like any type of paper, by detaching the primary fibres from the raw material wood. After the manufacturing process, the paper layers can be refined into corrugated board, cardboard, wrapping paper or composite packaging. Packaging whose individual components are completely biodegradable is environmentally friendly. At the same time, they are food-safe and thus suitable for processing cups or bottles. Paper bags are mostly uncoated and environmentally friendly packaging made of paper. The desired stability can be achieved by the thickness and the folding technique of the material. When printing, manufacturers also make sure that the imprint is food-safe and that everything can be recycled or composted. An enormous amount of energy is needed to produce paper. The paper industry's goal is to reduce CO2 emissions in order to protect the climate and the environment. The increased use of waste paper is a good way to achieve this, as it does not need many processing steps to return to the cycle.

The environmentally friendly extraction of waste paper

If your packaging is paper, you can do your bit to protect the environment, for example by using recovered paper. Secondary fibres are wood fibres that have already been used in paper packaging. To be used as packaging, recycled paper layers only need to be cut, coated, folded and glued. There is no need for additives, which are often added to freshly produced paper rolls. A high percentage of necessary energy is also eliminated. If there is not enough waste paper or if it has already been recycled several times, primary fibres can be added. Recycled paper rolls can be further processed and used for wrapping, stabilising or filling. From thin tissue paper to robust wrapping paper or cardboard, all qualities can be efficiently provided. Recycled paper is also environmentally friendly in terms of water consumption in the manufacturing process. In terms of its carbon footprint, it clearly outperforms freshly produced paper rolls. The state of development of paper recycling now even makes it possible to use it in the food industry and in retail.

Versatility of shippable packaging

Through purely physical treatment, paper packaging can even be used to wrap frozen food. It does not become soaked in frost, protects contents from freezer burn and is food-safe. After use, it can be disposed of in a waste paper container or composted completely. Packaging paper can be lined with compostable coatings for use in microwave and oven packaging. Such articles are already on the market. Machines that previously produced plastic packaging can cope optimally with paper as a packaging material. Converting the machines for the benefit of the environment and the climate is therefore associated with little effort and high benefits in the long term. Buying and using paper packaging is the first step towards a sustainable use of resources. By offering paper packaging in different thicknesses and qualities, private consumers also get a sustainable component back. Wrapping silk around gifts, tissue paper over wrapped contents and a sturdy wrapping paper on the outside allow individual packaging for traditional occasions such as birthdays, weddings or Christmas.

Use according to contents and function

Paper packaging is versatile and sufficiently strong to ensure high functionality in packaging. These uses distinguish the purchase of these practical paper wrappings:

Gifts are traditionally wrapped with colourful or plain wrapping paper. If they are to be shipped, wrapping paper made of recycled waste paper, for example, serves as transport protection against various stresses. The wrapping is not affected by slight moisture. The inside of the box is also protected against impact or crushing loads. A gift bag is folded in such a way that the bottom is automatically reinforced. Even heavier contents such as a bottle of champagne or a fine perfume can be transported safely in it. Packing silk gives the contents an additional decorative cover. For use with food, the paper packaging must be food-safe. With compostable coatings, it can even offer better moisture and wetness protection, for example against unintentional leakage of liquids. Paper as a packaging material made from recovered paper or with virgin fibres in hot beverage cups is also physically treated for heat and moisture resistance and additionally coated in an environmentally friendly and food-safe way. In this quality, it can be used for preparation and transport, preparation in the microwave or cooking in the oven.

Kraft paper is often used as wrapping for paper packaging. It makes the surface of the contents tear-proof, resistant and at the same time sufficiently flexible as any form of packaging. It is also suitable for filling cavities between packaged goods. A popular filling material is Schrenzpapier. It can be recognised by its brownish or greyish colour and its structured surface. These characteristics are due to the fact that it is made only from waste paper without any special sorting. It is also common to use shreds for filling or layers of paper for lining. If it is not used as a filling material, it is further processed into corrugated board. Packing silk is also used for packaging and as decoration at the same time. Its smooth surface and the thin processing make it almost arbitrarily formable. This delicate but tear-resistant packaging material is often used to wrap paper for items during removals, as gifts or to fill cavities in fragile items. A strength between tissue paper and sturdy wrapping paper is paper packaging for food at the butcher, baker or supermarket. It is food-safe and suitable for packaging moist contents in an environmentally friendly coated way. Food-safe paper bags, sheets or a bag made of waste paper can be disposed of in the waste paper or compost heap after the goods have been purchased and removed.

Special paper packaging and its advantages

These advantages distinguish the respective paper packaging according to the material properties:

Packing paper: Packing paper usually looks brown and is offered on rolls. The weight of this kraft paper can vary between 80 and 100 grams per square metre. It is always tear-resistant and can be cut to any size. Low humidity has hardly any effect on the protective function. The composition of the primary fibres used is environmentally friendly. These can be recycled without much effort. Even if the original roll is reused, the hard-wearing, protective and stabilising properties are retained.

Tissue paper: Tissue paper also varies in thickness and in the weight of the rolls or sheets. Packing silk typically has a rough underside and a silky smooth top. The most important advantage of tissue paper is its high suppleness. This guarantees that even delicate works of art and fragile items can be wrapped tightly and protectively. Depending on the article, tissue paper is available in a food-safe version, for example for storing dry bakery products. For highly sensitive works of art from jewellers, extra jeweller's silk is available as packing silk.

Border paper: If your paper is packaging material, this material can be reused in various forms. The simplest form is border paper. It is pressed from unsorted paper scraps and therefore usually looks brownish or greyish. Certain processing steps, such as the addition of new fibres, give it a high degree of strength. Border paper is used as crumple paper for filling, as sheets for wrapping to protect fragile objects or as paper shreds in scatter fillings. Remaining scraps are further processed into versatile and stable corrugated board. This makes this unsorted waste paper particularly environmentally friendly. If it does not end up in the paper container, it can also be completely and biologically degraded on the compost heap.

Paper bags made from waste paper: a sustainable all-rounder

Paper bags are prefolded wrapping paper, usually in the thinnest and thus lightest version. Different variations are available according to size, paper thickness and bottom fold. In most cases, a cross bottom is folded in, which provides stable support for the bag and its contents when placed vertically. Coatings are not found in this type of paper packaging and are not necessary. The exception is paper bags for food packaging, which are then to be prepared in the microwave or oven directly with the outer packaging. But such coatings are also environmentally friendly and food-safe.

A high-quality average material thickness is a weight of 70 grams per square metre (comparable to normal copy paper). The dimensions range from very small for Advent bags to large for the next market shopping. It is possible to place an imprint in environmentally friendly colours on the paper bags in the large set. Printing ink adheres well to the uncoated surface.

Paper bags in colourful variants are often produced with environmentally friendly inks without harmful substances. Environmentally friendly colours are used for bags made from primary raw materials and paper packaging made from recycled paper. They can be used for handicrafts, packaging or decorating. If the paper bags made of kraft paper are no longer attractive or worn out at some point, they will rot completely on the compost heap within a short time.

Paper bags offer numerous advantages, especially for light contents and in various shapes. Even a small gift bag with a cross bottom offers stability and thus decorative protection for small contents. The smallest variants in different colours are often used for a sustainable Advent calendar. The rough surface provides an absorbent and adhesive base for stamping inks, coloured or felt-tip pens, glue and other craft materials. The cross-bottom and practical pre-fold also allow large stacks of these paper wrappers to be stored in a space-saving way.

All about kraft paper/packaging paper

Various types of kraft paper can be classified in terms of the thickness of the sheets well between bags and solid cardboard. It can be ordered on rolls several hundred metres long and in different widths. Furthermore, wrapping paper can also be used in envelopes or bubble envelopes, long rolls for large packaging, carrier bags and much more.

The thickness of wrapping paper on sheets is 70 grams per square metre, but it can also be considerably thicker. With a corner stretcher, it can be turned into practical office binders, in thinner, colourful quality as spine labels for file folders. Prefolded kraft paper bags with a cross-bottom are even more stable.

Kraft paper is predominantly used as paper packaging for shipping boxes and pallets. It is usually made from a large proportion of recycled paper and is therefore environmentally friendly with multiple uses. Due to its thickness, this paper packaging is difficult to crumple. But it is ideal for filling cavities and separating packed layers as scratch protection.

The advantages of kraft paper range from mechanical protection of the contents to stabilising soft inner packaging. It can also be recycled or composted as waste paper in an environmentally friendly way. The surfaces of kraft paper are either rough for continuous rolls or smooth and padded on the inside for envelopes.

Why use tissue paper for packaging fragile goods

Tissue paper is available in different variants. As stiff, tear-resistant packaging silk it is suitable for fragile items, as soft tissue paper for pure scratch protection. Other variants include coloured tissue paper, burl paper, jeweller's silk or food-safe tissue paper for baked goods. Thin tissue paper can also be coloured differently for decorative packaging purposes. Each type can be fully recycled.

Packing silk is often used as paper packaging for delicate furnishings when moving or for shipping in online retail. Common packaging units are sheets in kilograms. One kilogram of packing silk comprises 100 sheets of this. Tissue paper made from recycled paper weighs 25 grams per square metre despite its soft structure. The difference between wrapping paper made from virgin raw materials of this quality and recycled ones can be recognised by the colour. A light grey is typical for packaging silk made from recovered paper and white for paper packaging made from primary raw materials.

Packing silk and tissue paper are used for transport purposes, very often of glass or ceramics. When crumpled, it has a cushioning effect against material stress under mechanical loads. Scratch protection is created by wrapping it in two sheets of tissue paper. Packing silk is also very suitable for crumpling and filling gaps in transport packaging. Depending on the type, tissue paper can also be used in a food-safe way. Taste, wetness or colour of food packed in this way are not absorbed by the smooth structure. At the same time, the silk quality does not give off any flavour changes to rolls, cakes or other food.

One of the most important advantages of tissue paper is that it is inexpensive to supply in large quantities. Even enormous quantities of 30 kilograms or more take up little space during storage. Tissue paper made from fresh primary raw material can be recycled and thus become wrapping silk again as waste paper. If this is not desired, both packaging made from fresh paper and waste paper packing silk can be fully composted. Thus, this paper is also practical and environmentally friendly for packaging and shipping.

Border paper from waste paper as a particularly environmentally friendly option

Border paper is a term for waste paper that is unsorted and pressed into new sheets of paper. The uneven feel of the various types is created by using different types of waste paper in any thickness and colour, printed or unprinted. Through certain treatment processes, the properties of paper packaging made from Border paper become equal to those of wrapping paper made from sorted or new materials. It is light and flexible, absorbs shocks during transport and fills gaps to protect against wobbling as required.

The use of border paper is not limited to its use as a packaging material made from waste paper. Painters use it to underlay the painting area, private individuals like it as wrapping paper, mail-order companies put it in the packages between their shipped goods. For removals, it is similar to tissue paper in that it adapts perfectly to any shape and thus has a protective effect. Border paper is not offered as food-safe. For that, this special waste paper would at least have to be coated. However, it is environmentally friendly due to the short production time and the possibility of recycling it after use. Of course, it can also be composted completely and without any problems.

Sustainable packaging material paper: everything at a glance

If you use paper for your packaging, you can use it in many ways. For private users, paper packaging offers many uses, far beyond the actual shipping purpose. It can be crumpled, folded or formed into extremely strong and stable packaging by folding it over several times. In bright colours it becomes an advertising medium for traders and manufacturers or decorative paper for gifts. Waste paper is particularly environmentally friendly, due to the energy saved in recycling compared to the production of new paper. But also primarily produced shipping paper has a long-term positive environmental balance. It can be used as described and recycled by disposing of it in the paper bin. If it is no longer suitable for this purpose, it rots completely on the compost heap in an environmentally friendly manner within a few weeks and months. If paper is used in different types of packaging, it not only looks uniform, but no longer needs to be separated before disposal and can simply find its way back into the cycle after use.

For some time now, the food industry has been increasingly discovering the advantages of paper material for packaging as a customer-friendly service. In the trend of environmental awareness, many customers like to reach for the sandwich with a wipe made of tissue paper. No one has to do without the popular ToGo for hot drinks and take-away food. Many cups, bottles and menu boxes are food-safe and temperature-resistant thanks to internal coatings. In addition, an attractive promotional print from vendors fits on the outside of the lid and side walls.