DSM extends their Royal DSM Skins range adding new Skins Sandy coating function. It will give the customer the haptic feeling of sand, as if you were touching uneven surface like sand. Skins Sandy application, used mostly for packaging, specialises in applying an additional sensory layer.
Skins Sandy’s potential compliance with food and how to make it real was a serious problem. As the new sensory layer technology was going to be used in food industry, there couldn’t possibly be any harmful substances or solvents in the layer texture. The manufacturers decided to use waterborne systems instead of any chemically borne solvents. Although single-component waterborne polymers can bring some technical problems, too, water is still much cheaper and is so much liked. It’s because because water doesn’t lead to any environmental issues. Another plus of using waterborne polymers is that with them, we can say no to additives and fillers. In this case, we can minimise the contact with any harmful and environmentally unfriendly substances. In the end, all this resulted in Skins Sandy’s high level compliance with food packaging industry.
As it was mentioned, the Skins Sandy coating can be easily used with food. According to what Adri van der Waals, Product Launch Director at DSM, says, in the future there is going to be a higher demand for food packages with some unusual texture, just like the one that DSM Skins Sandy can offer. It is highly possible that the manufacturers of food packages, including crisps, cookies, etc. will be eager to use the new coating application. Also, as the Product Launch Director implies, customers now tend to associate sensory upper layer packaging with brand premium products. It is clear that this will lead to increased sales numbers.
The manufacturers also claim that Skins Sandy can be used for non-food packaging, too. As examples of Skins Sandy’s potential fields of use, we can mention covers for books, brochures, tags and labels.
The manual work with Skins Sandy is minimised, too. First, no paddling is necessary. Second, no additives are required. Third, both flexo and gravure presses can combine with Skins Sandy coating. Third, after the haptic layer is applied, it shouldn’t take much time to clean the equipment. As for portability, even here Skins Sandy stands out. She is very lightweight and that is why wouldn’t cause many difficulties with carrying.
One of the biggest advantages of DSM Skins Sandy application is its versatility. For anyone doing in print business industry, it is obvious that today we print smooth texture, and tomorrow we will print rough texture etc. So, packaging applications which are suitable only for one type of print job, are not in the competitive business anymore. The time of Skins Sandy and other applications like this one, has come. The Skins Sandy has a lot of different kinds of texture on offer: beginning from fine and ending up with coarse. Additionally, the new sand-like coating application will do fine even if you need to apply OPV (Overprint Varnish). Paper, paperboard and flexible packaging – if you are going to create a wonderful sensory packaging surface, the Skins Sandy coating is just for you!
The biggest challenge that the manufacturers of DSM Skins Sandy faced, was finding the way they could transfer particles at high speeds when applying an additional sensory layer. To solve the problem, the actual designers of Skins Sandy were working in alliance with, van der Waals explains, ‘specific customers, manufacturers of aniloxes and flexo plates, as well as an integrated printing machine maker’. Together they solved the problem.
Finally, here should be some technical data on DSM Skins Sandy sensory layer coating. It is available in/for:
- Book covers
- Packaging lamination
- Overprint varnish
- Brochures
- Labels
- Wine and spirits
- Luxury packaging
- Cardboard and paper packaging
- Corrugated packaging;
Skins Sandy is compatible with:
- Flexo
- Forward and reverse gravure
- Roller coating
- Spray coating;
Skins Sandy is available in the following after-effects:
- Glueble
- Stapleable
- Printable
- Folding
- Hot stamping;
+The available additional haptic layer thickness ranges from 2 to 4 gsm dry.
The DSM have a nice ‘Skinnovation Haptic Team’ which is responsible for extending DSM Skins range with the new Skins Sandy coating application. The team keep developing new ideas and establishing their influence over food and non-food packing industry. We do believe DSM’s Product Launch Director, Adri van der Waals, who says that they still have ‘multiple ideas and options’ which can help proceed to new, bigger ideas.
