David met with Biological Services to discuss the compostable material options from our extensive and ever growing environmental material portfolio.

The team was drawn to our Compostable Semi Gloss paper for its OK compost INDUSTRIAL (EN13432) certification. Packaging or products featuring the OK compost INDUSTRIAL label are guaranteed as biodegradable in an industrial composting plant. This certification matched the environmental credentials of the kraft tubs, ensuring a sustainable end of life solution for the product. Our Compostable Semi Gloss is the ideal option for those wanting a white, smooth biodegradable paper stock and is importantly matched with a compostable adhesive.  

We also needed to be mindful of the tapered nature of the compostable tub. Tapering means that the container isn’t perfectly cylindrical, having either a wider top than bottom or a wider bottom than top. A standard rectangle label on a tapered product will result in a diagonal slant, or “flagging” where creases occur in the label material after application. Our prepress department applied a curved die line to the artwork so the labels would apply seamlessly to the tapered nature of the packaging.

The labels were printed using our digital capabilities at our Sydney site and were finished with a matt varnish to protect the digital ink. Digital printing is an ideal solution for shorter runs, such as the Biological Solutions label project. This method of printing does not require any printing plates, therefore reducing the preparation costs and minimising setup waste.

Our HP Indigo digital presses are designed with the environment in mind, with each subsequent press model using less energy and supplies per printed page than its predecessor. We print using HP Indigo Inks which are certified for both home and industrial compostability.