A cigarette is a tobacco product made of cigarette paper rolled into strips, also known as paper cigarettes, cigarettes, and tobacco rolls.
There are more than 300 million smokers worldwide, the largest number in the world. The large scale and stable demand support the domestic tobacco
industry is highly prosperous. Cigarette packaging materials have a direct impact on the quality and shelf life of cigarettes. Each year, tobacco losses due to poor packaging
tobacco losses due to poor packaging are increasing year after year.
1 Boxed Cigarette Packaging Systems
Cigarettes are rolled into strips of tobacco products using cigarette paper. A quantity of cigarettes is neatly packed into a cigarette box with an inner
A certain number of cigarettes are neatly packed into a cigarette box with a paper liner and wrapped with a transparent film, which constitutes a boxed cigarette packaging system. Minimal boxed cigarettes
See Figure 1.
Cigarette packaging is designed to beautify the product and ensure quality. There are vertical and horizontal soft packs, vertical lid, flip-top and drawer hard packs, and listening packs.
type, flip-top type, and drawer type hard boxes, as well as listening boxes, containing 20, 10, 5, or 50 cigarettes, depending on market needs.
The number of cigarettes is 20, 10, 5, and 50, depending on market demand.
Unlike other consumer products, cigarettes are still sold in multi-layered minimum packages that include a foil liner, a soft or hard packet in the middle, and a soft or hard packet in the middle.
Unlike other consumer products, the minimum package for cigarettes is still a multi-layer package, consisting of an inner layer of aluminum foil, a middle layer of soft or hard pack, and an outer layer of transparent plastic film, each with its own separate protective function.
2 Boxed cigarette packaging system main investigation performance
2.1 Main performance of cigarette film and liner
In the boxed cigarette packaging system, the barrier properties of the outer transparent film and the liner paper are the core of the moisture barrier effect of the cigarette packaging system.
The heart of the The outer cigarette film is generally made of biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP), which has high transparency and gloss.
Although the oxygen barrier performance is general, the moisture barrier performance is good. Cigarette liner paper is a paper material that isolates the cigarette from the outer layer of the film.
Commonly used are printing paper, laminated aluminum paper, aluminized paper and non-aluminum foil liner paper. It can be said that the liner paper is the second layer of moisture barrier for the cigarette packaging system.
The liner paper is the second barrier to moisture in the cigarette packaging system, strengthening the moisture barrier of the system and preventing the breakage of the outer transparent film.
It also prevents the breakage of the outer transparent film.
Referring to the standards YC/T 266-2008 Tobacco Packaging Film and YC/T 315-2009 Abrasion Resistance of Tobacco Packaging Film.
The main properties of cigarette films are as follows: (1) thickness; (2) width; (3) barrier performance; (4) tensile strength; (5) elongation at break; and (6) elongation at break.
elongation at break; (6) tensile modulus of elasticity; (7) thermal shrinkage; (8) haze; (9) gloss; (10) dynamic friction
(10) dynamic friction coefficient; (11) heat sealing (closing) strength.
2.2 Cigarette paper basic performance requirements
Cigarette paper, as a special paper, occupies a high position in thin paper, and at the same time, as a cigarette material, also occupies a place in the tobacco industry.
Tobacco industry has a place. Cigarette paper for cigarette rolling is called cigarette tray paper, and cigarette paper for hand-rolled cigarettes is called flat
cigarette paper. The production technology of cigarette paper is unique and difficult, and only a few countries in the world are able to produce it. At present, the
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The amount of cigarette paper used worldwide is about 300,000 tons, one-third of which is produced in China.
Water pine paper is a cigarette packaging material used for the outer packaging of filter cigarette sticks, and is a special industrial paper. It is named for its appearance, which resembles
Pine wood grain and named. The paper is in direct contact with the smoker's lips, so the printing ink and coating of the paper must be
Non-toxic, in line with food hygiene standards, and has a certain degree of water resistance and wet strength. According to the different processing processes, the water pine paper
Paper is divided into two categories: printing type water pine paper and coating type water pine paper. The printing type water pine paper is printed by gravure printing process.
Beautiful surface, good leveling, high technical requirements, suitable for medium and high-grade cigarettes; coated water pine paper using coating technology
The coated water pine paper is processed by coating technology, and the process is simple, the surface pattern quality and leveling are poorer than the printed water pine paper, and it is often used in low-grade cigarettes.
3 boxed cigarette packaging testing
3.1 BOPP cigarette film testing items
3.1.1 Thickness testing
The thickness of BOPP cigarette film is the basic index for laboratory testing of film performance. Uneven thickness will not only affect the
thickness not only affects the tensile strength and barrier properties of the film, but also affects the subsequent processing of the film. The thicker the film, the better its performance and
The thicker the film is, the better its performance and stiffness, and the better the visual aesthetics of the pack's appearance and contours, but the higher the cost. In order to find a balance between packaging effect and packaging cost
In order to find the balance between packaging effect and packaging cost, precise thickness inspection is needed to ensure the uniformity and thickness of BOPP cigarette film. Guangzhou Standard
The electronic thickness gauge GH-D (see Figure 2) has a measurement range of 0~6 mm and a resolution of 0.1 μm, which is a kind of integrated optical, mechanical, electrical and
GH-D (Figure 2) has a measurement range of 0~6 mm and a resolution of 0.1 μm, which is a kind of high-precision digital thickness gauge integrating optical, mechanical, electrical and calculation for laboratory use. And can be connected
and can be connected to a computer for automatic control. While measuring the thickness, it is also necessary to control the deviation of the cross and longitudinal direction, according to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008.
According to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, the requirements of the thickness of BOPP fume film and the extreme difference of transverse thickness are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 BOPP fume film thickness requirements
3.1.2 Barrier performance
The barrier performance of BOPP cigarette film is the key item for testing, cigarette packaging requires a high water vapor barrier
Cigarette packaging requires a high water vapor barrier to prevent mold and mildew problems caused by moisture. Currently, there are three methods for testing water vapor transmission rate, namely, the red
According to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, the water vapor transmission rate is tested according to GB/T 1037.
According to GB/T 1037, that is, according to the cup method (weight gain/weight loss) to test.
W900 (see Fig. 3) is based on the principle of water vapor transmission test by cup method, with reference to GB/T 1037, ASTM E96, and ISO 2528.
ASTM E96, ISO 2528 standards, provide a wide range and high efficiency of water vapor transmission rate testing for low, medium, and high water vapor barrier materials.
It provides a wide range and high efficiency of water vapor transmission rate testing for low, medium, and high water vapor barrier materials. According to YC/T 266-2008, the requirement of moisture permeability is ≤2.0 g/(m2-24
h-0.1 mm).
3.1.3 Mechanical properties testing
Cigarette packets require high tensile strength of BOPP film, which will minimize the "breakage" of the film during the packaging process.
This will minimize the phenomenon of "packet breakage" during the packaging process. According to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, the tensile strength of longitudinal ≥140 N/mm2 and transverse
≥220 N/mm2.
The elongation at break test is used to analyze the cutability of the film, and the higher the elongation at break, the better.
In order to achieve the purpose of easy cutting during the production process and smooth operation of the assembly line, according to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, the elongation at break
According to YC/T 266-2008, the elongation at break is ≤180% in the longitudinal direction and ≤70% in the transverse direction.
With the more specific requirements for film stiffness and easy cutting due to high-speed production, there is now a
requirements for testing the modulus of elasticity, according to YC/T 266-2008, when the design value of thermal shrinkage ≤ 5%, the
According to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, when the design value of the thermal contraction rate ≤ 5%, the modulus of elasticity should be ≥ 2000 MPa when the design value of the thermal contraction rate > 5%, the modulus of elasticity should be ≥ 2400 MPa.
GBPI electronic tensile tester GBH-2 (see Figure 4) multi-functional single-column electronic tensile tester, the plastic, plastic, film, fiber, fiber, and other materials.
material, plastic, film, fiber, rubber sheet, composite materials, tape, soft packaging materials, paper, non-woven
Medicine package materials, syringes, caps, corks, and other packaging materials to test the mechanical properties to meet the needs of different users
3.1.4 Thermal shrinkage
The thermal shrinkage rate of BOPP cigarette film is mainly used to evaluate the dimensional thermal stability of BOPP cigarette film under different conditions or factors.
under different conditions or factors. According to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, the longitudinal and transverse thermal shrinkage rate of BOPP cigarette film is ±2.0% of the design value.
of ±2.0%. For rigid cigarette boxes with good support, the thermal shrinkage rate is slightly higher, while for soft cigarette boxes, the shrinkage rate should be prevented.
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The thermal shrinkage rate is slightly lower than that of hard cigarette boxes because of the need to prevent the deformation of the boxes due to high shrinkage rates. And to fully evaluate the film's
The heat shrinkage performance of the film can be evaluated in accordance with the standards GB/T 34848-2017 and ISO 14616-1997.
GBPI's film shrinkage performance tester, GBK-D1 (see Figure 5), uses the air heating principle (i.e., air bath)
It is used to test various heat shrinkage properties of films. It is suitable for heat-shrinkable films made of polyethylene, vinyl copolymers, and their blends.
It is a device that can accurately and quantitatively determine the heat shrinkage force, cold shrinkage force, shrinkage rate, shrinkage time, and other properties of plastic films in the process of heat shrinkage.
It is a device that can accurately and quantitatively determine the heat shrinkage force, cold shrinkage force, shrinkage rate, shrinkage time, and other properties of plastic films during heat shrinkage. The test results are available in a variety of data to evaluate the heat shrinkage performance of the film from different aspects
3.1.5 Optical Properties
Higher transparency and higher gloss are the eternal requirements of the market for BOPP films to match the cigarette packets to show better
appearance. The two main indicators of the optical properties of the film are haze and gloss. Haze is also commonly referred to as
transparency, and gloss is surface brightness. The lower the haze value, the higher the transparency of the film, and thus the clearer and more
The lower the haze value, the higher the transparency of the film, and thus the clearer and more colorful the trademark pattern of the packet; the higher the gloss, the more beautiful and brighter the packet appears, and the visual effect.
A low haze, high gloss film will make the appearance of cigarettes more high-grade, thus increasing consumer interest in purchasing.
GBPI's light transmittance/haze tester SGW-810 is suitable for all transparent and translucent parallel flat
Surface samples (plastic plates, sheets, etc.) light transmittance, haze testing, liquid samples (water, drinks, etc.) turbidity or clarity
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Measurement of clarity.
GBPI's intelligent gloss meter GZ-1 is used to test the gloss of plastic films, paper, ink, adhesives, etc.
The glossiness of plastic film, paper, ink, adhesive, etc. It can measure multiple points of specimens and process data, and print out average value, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation directly.
The average value, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation can be printed directly. The machine has high precision and good stability and can measure the gloss of paint, paper, plastic, ceramics, stone and
It can measure the glossiness of flat products such as paint, paper, plastic, ceramics, stone, and metal.
3.1.6 Coefficient of Dynamic Friction
The slip performance of BOPP cigarette film is an important indicator in the comprehensive index, which is produced with the detection of high-speed packaging
requirements. In the cigarette packaging process and throughout the production process, the coefficient of friction is tested in four ways: (1) the outside of the film
(1) the coefficient of friction between the outside of the film and the mechanical metal surface or the conveyor belt; (2) the inside of the film and the inside surface; (3) the inside of the film and the outside surface
(4) the outside of the film and the carton. The coefficient of friction between the outside of the film and the mechanical metal surface should be low in order to facilitate the transport of cigarette packs on the
The coefficient of friction between the outside of the film and the mechanical metal surface should be low to facilitate the transport of cigarette packets on the production line and improve the production speed of packaging. The coefficient of friction between the inside of the film and the inner side of the film should be slightly higher than the coefficient of friction between the outside of the film and the
to facilitate the precise fixing of the film and the paper and improve the heat-sealing quality and packaging effect.
The friction coefficient between film and carton The coefficient of friction between the film and the carton should be low so that the cigarette package can be loaded smoothly.
According to the requirements of YC/T 266-2008, the coefficient of dynamic friction (outside a
/ outside) ≤ 0.28 (a with the strip, box packaging
(a and the non-contact surface of the packaging paper). The Guangzhou Biaoji GM-1 (see Figure 8) is used to determine the coefficient of friction of plastic film, sheet, paper, and other materials on their own or in contact.
The GM-1 (see Figure 8) is used to determine the coefficient of friction of plastic film, sheet, paper, and other materials when sliding on their own or other material surfaces.
ASTM D1894-01, ISO 8295, TAPPI 816.
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