Decovery® SP-6200 XP, is a self-crosslinking emulsion resin, and is all about performance. It is usable in everything from deep freezer packaging to hamburger boxes and coffee cups.
It is a bio-based acrylic designed for multiple substrates and print layers, and is ideal for flexo and gravure printing. As well as being easy to formulate, it displays good chemical resistance as well as excellent results in Satra rub resistance and blocking tests.
Decovery® SP-6200 XP environmental impact
Verified by Beta Analytic Inc. (biobased and biogenic carbon testing laboratory), according to ASTM D6866-16 Method B (AMS)
Data based on internal calculations. Results may vary slightly compared to the final, 3rd party reviewed, life cycle assessment (LCA) report. LCA is currently being conducted according to ISO-14040-14044, IPCC 2013 GWP 100a standard and the WBCSD chemical sector guidance; data expressed in kg CO2/ kg resin; absolute CFP SP-6200: 1.71 kg CO2 / kg resin
Calculation based on data from United States Environmental Protection Agency
The story behind Decovery®
The packaging market is experiencing a surge towards more sustainable technologies. Driven by end-consumer demand, brand owners have announced ambitious sustainability pledges. Now it is up to the entire industry to deliver on these challenging goals. Our partially plant-based Decovery® resins are well suited to contribute to greater circularity and bio-based materials.
Most packaging has to be varnished after printing to ensure the print is rub resistant. Some blues and greens can easily rub off if a packaging is not varnished.
● Rubbing tests determine whether products such as lacquers actually protect the print.
● Inks and film must be durable in normal handling to prevent the ink or varnish film becoming marked, scuffed, or smudged when it rubs against surfaces such as metal or plastic.
● Rubbing can happen on conveyors and during processing on gluers, packaging machines, and machines used in print finishing.
● Rubbing can also occur in surface-to-surface contact in conversion, distribution, shipping, and storage. So wet rub resistance is important where printed and varnished surfaces may come into contact with water or condensed moisture (e.g. frozen and chilled foods).
● Rub resistance and adhesion were tested on bio-based SP-6200 and compared to starch-based inks formulations.
● This test uses a weight (normally 2.5 kg) to check the rub-off from a clean substrate – paper, polyester (PET), polyethylene (PE) & oriented polypropylene (OPP) – onto a printed stock. The weight strokes in a back-and-forth motion until surface appearance can be rejected.
● For normal paper stock, 50 strokes is usually considered sufficient (Klemanski, 1998) Other patents in the market use around 100 rubs in Sutherland* test conditions (Spiekermann et al., 2019).
●To describe and quantify the mechanical hazards that packages are subject to during handling, stacking and transport. The load a box can withstand depends on shipping requirements, stacking methods and climate.
●When packaging is stacked for a long time, ink components can detach from the printed surface when the stock is separated for final use.
●This can also occur due to ‘set-off’-mechanisms, where substances used in printing inks transfer from the printed (outer) surface to the inner, food-contact surface.
●That is why we use a stacking test and a compression test. Our blocking test for coatings calculates the overall effectiveness of the coating when stacked or compressed against other printed items.
●The blocking test compresses the sample with a pressure of 1 kg/cm2 in the block tester before it is placed in an oven at 52°C for 16 hours.
●In blocking tests, the contact areas of the coating are examined and scored on a scale of 0-5 (5 being the best and 0 being the worst).
Covestro's Decovery® portfolio is well suited for the creation of high quality coating resins that meet the environmental demands of the packaging markets: they contain zero-to-low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), yet can match, or exceed, the performance of starch-based alternatives.
All our Decovery® resins are partially made from plant-based resources, such as bark and beans, which are sustainably sourced and do not compete with the food chain.
The search for more sustainable packaging
Consumers want more sustainable packaging. Top brands are committing to it. Are you ready for this?
