Paperboard coating

Improving operational efficiency, or making better quality products at lower cost, is a never-ending challenge for paperboard manufacturers. That's why BASF coating specialists work daily to develop products that can help these manufacturers improve their processing and reduce their formulation costs. The result is an extensive array of high-performance pigments (see below) that deliver finishes from dull to very glossy, improve ink holdout, extend titanium dioxide and other higher-cost ingredients and make ink and colors on product packaging really stand out.

Other BASF products used in paper coating applications incude Mearlin® , Lumina™ , and Firemist™ special effect pigments, which are used to impart luster, opalescence, pearlescence and other unique characteristics. And Alsibronz® mica reinforcements are used to help create a high-quality and recyclable moisture barrier in paperboard products used in food packaging applications.

Glossing grades

For example, for glossing applications, the Miragloss™ pigment family offers unprecedented solids levels, superb viscosity, exceptional brightness and a strong blue-white shade and easy finishing. The finished coated paperboard has high coating uniformity, exceptional sheet and print gloss, improved brightness and high ink hold out, all of which mean enhanced product quality and mill productivity. BASF Ultra Gloss® 90 pigment also can be used in high-glossing paperboard applications, and is especially well-suited for high-speed coating operations.

Standard grades

BASF offers several standard coating-grade products, including Ultra White® 90, Lustra® , Ultra COTE® and HT® . Lustra pigment, for instance, is a standard brightness product designed to provide good opacity and coverage and excellent high-shear viscosity at a very effective processing cost. On the other end of the spectrum, Ultra White 90 pigment is a premium brightness product that optimizes brightness, opacity and coverage and is extremely well-suited for high-end graphic art applications.

Engineered grades

In the engineered grades, Miraclipse™ PG pigment provides excellent fiber coverage, smoothness and printability while reducing the need for plastic pigment and other expensive coating ingredients. Other engineered-grade pigments, such as  Mirana™, products are specially designed to deliver exceptional hiding, sheet opacity, brightness and printability.

Calcined grades

BASF calcined-grade products include Excaliber®, Luminex® and Ansilex® 93. One of these products, Excaliber, is a standard-brightness, low-abrasion pigment that can significantly extend titanium dioxide without losing opacity. That means lower production costs. It also improves ink receptivity, glueability and helps control binder migration for enhancing final product quality.