How does understanding how are paper bowls made help your food business?
Are you looking for further information about paper bowls or does your store use them for packaging? Understanding how paper bowls are produced is necessary before selecting the proper sort of paper bowl. Let's read about the basics of paper bowls and how this useful product is made in the article that follows.
What is Paper Bowl?
A paper bowl is a disposable round container constructed of paperboard or molded paper pulp. They are frequently used to serve food, particularly hot or cold items. Paper bowls also work well with liquid-based foods. These typical paper bowl characteristics allow them to be used with a variety of foods:
- Lightweight and portable
- Liquid resistant
- Heat resistant
- Food safety
- Eco-friendly
Paper bowls are a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bowls and styrofoam food containers.
Discounts when you buy paper bowls in bulk at Kimecopak's supplier
Popular take-away food packaging today
What is Paper Bowl Made Of?
In general, paper bowl consists of two main components: paperboard base and coating.
Paperboard Base
The bowl's main structural component is the paperboard base. The primary body of the bowl is typically made of paperboard or pulp. It gives the bowl its form and structure.
Paperboard bases can be made from a variety of paper materials. Here are some examples and their properties:
|
Paper Material |
Properties |
|
Kraft Paper |
Strong, durable, high tear resistance, grease and moisture resistant |
|
Virgin Pulp |
Smooth, bright, consistent, suitable for printing and food contact |
|
Recycled Paper |
Environmentally friendly, diverts waste from landfills |
|
Mixed Pulp |
Balance of strength, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability |
|
Specialty Paper Fibers |
Unique properties, environmental benefits (bamboo: strength, flexibility, biodegradability; sugarcane: renewable, sustainable) |
Coating or Lining
On the interior of the bowl, a thin coating of wax or polymer is used as the lining. By keeping food from holding onto the inside of the bowl and liquids from leaking out, it helps to make the bowl grease-proof and waterproof.
Although wax is a traditional covering material. PE film, PLA film (biodegradable bio-plastic film), and water-based barrier coating (plastic-free barrier coating) are examples of poly layers.
Can you put paper bowl in microwave?
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The following table lists them along with their characteristics:
|
Property |
Wax |
Polyethylene (PE) |
Polylactic Acid (PLA) |
Water-Based Barrier Coating |
|
Water resistance |
Good |
Excellent |
Moderate |
Moderate |
|
Grease resistance |
Good |
Excellent |
Moderate |
Moderate |
|
Heat resistance |
Low |
High |
Moderate |
Moderate |
|
Biodegradability |
Not biodegradable |
Not biodegradable |
Biodegradable |
Yes |
|
Food safety |
Generally safe |
Generally safe |
Generally safe |
Generally safe |
|
Environmental impact |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Low |
Low |
|
Common applications |
Cold or dry food items |
Hot or greasy food items |
Food items that require moderate barrier properties |
Food items that require moderate barrier properties and sustainability |
How is Paper Bowl Produced?
In general, the paper bowl production line consists of four primary phases: raw paper roll lamination, paper roll printing, paper roll die-cutting, and paper bowl molding. Here are the details of each phase.
Raw Paper Roll Lamination
- The technique of "paper lamination" involves applying a thin layer of a polymer—usually polyethylene (PE), polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), water-based barrier coating, or another appropriate material—to improve the qualities of paper. This coating guarantees greaseproofing and water resistance.
- There are multiple processes in this process: melting the polymer, producing a thin sheet, pressing it onto the paper, allowing it to cool, and selecting the suitable raw material for the paper.
- The raw paper material used can differ based on the desired qualities of the paper bowls.
- The coating process can achieve speeds of up to 300 meters per minute, making it an efficient and high-volume production method for paper bowls.
Paper Roll Printing
- Food package printing is a multi-step process that starts with paper lamination and ends with the transfer of the desired logo or branding onto the paper roll. A custom logo printing plate is carefully prepared before printing to guarantee accurate and superior logo replication.
- Flexo printing and UV printing are the two most popular methods of printing for food packaging. Flexo printing, on the other hand, is ideal for basic logos due to its efficiency and low cost. Complex designs with full-color printing are best suited for UV printing. UV printing is used because of its high-quality outcomes.
- Flexo and UV printing both provide quick ink drying, reducing manufacturing downtime.
Paper Roll Die-Cut
- In this process, a high-speed roll die-cutting machine efficiently turns raw paper rolls into various paper bowl fan shapes by swapping out molds. Maximum die-cutting dimensions are 1150 x 350 mm. These paper fans serve as the sidewalls of paper bowls.
- At a staggering 300-380 times per minute, this adaptable die-cutting device swiftly slices through all sorts of paper bowl fans. However, because of its thicker PLA liner paper, PLA coating paper tends to cut more slowly than PE film coating paper.
Paper Bowl Molding
- Forming, or molding, is an essential stage in the production of paper bowls. In order to guarantee ideal paper fan shaping and tight bottom paper sealing, the paper bowl machine carefully regulates the outlet speed and temperature.For the purpose of forming the paper fan and sealing the bottom paper, the paper bowl machine carefully regulates the temperature and speed of the outlet.
- Up to 48,000 cups can be produced in an 8-hour shift or 4.3 million cups in a month (3 shifts) when the forming process reaches a high speed of 100–120 cups per minute.
There are two additional steps involved, the water leakage test and auto packing, to ensure product quality and effective packaging.
Water leaking test
To ensure product quality and avoid consumer discontent, this test is run at random during each production shift.
Water will be put into the paper bowl in order to check it for leaks and other form problems. With the use of a separate set of raw paper rolls, a lamination machine, and a paper bowl machine, it can determine the cause of any quality problems quickly.
Auto packaging
Paper bowls are automatically fed into an auto-packing machine once they are made. A single packaging machine may handle the output of up to four paper bowl machines. Packing paper bowls in a single or double row at a rate of 15 bags per minute, the machine automatically feeds in bag poly film (15um-50um).
What does Knowing Making Paper Bowls Process help Your Food Business?
Knowing how paper bowls are made can benefit your restaurant in a number of ways.
- Improved product quality: To ensure that their paper bowls are robust and leak-proof, food establishments can use premium ingredients and manufacturing techniques.
- Smoother supply chain: Food service businesses can collaborate with suppliers to prevent issues and ensure that they have paper bowls on hand when they're needed.
- Lower costs: By reducing the use of materials and waste, food service companies can save money.
- More innovation: Food companies can collaborate with manufacturers to design distinctive paper bowls that complement their line of goods.
- Happier customers: eateries can guarantee their customers' satisfaction through the use of premium, leak-proof paper bowls.
In brief, understanding the paper bowl manufacturing process provides numerous benefits to organizations, including quality control and making the best decision for the company. Kimecopak offers a variety of paper bowls made from eco-friendly materials such as bioplastic, sugarcane fiber, or kraft paper.
Kimecopak is a big supplier of eco-friendly packaging products for restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets such as to-go box, paper coffee cups, biodegradable straws, biodegradable beer rings, and so on. Furthermore, Kimecopak offers numerous exclusive benefits to our long-term partner, including scheduled shipment, savings ranging from 5-7%, fixed prices for six months, and storage policies. Please contact through Kimecopak Facebook Fanpage or by email at halo@kimecopak.ca with any questions regarding the product.
