Qa Departament

This is the main parameter, where the value is the weight of 1 m2 of a corrugated cardboard sheet expressed in grams (g/m2). The grammage is an important element when choosing the right type of cardboard, because the higher the grammage, the thicker and more rigid the cardboard.

edge crush test indicator - force related to the length of the edge of the cardboard sample, acting parallel to the direction of the waves and causing the sample to break. This force is critical when boxes are stacked. The type of waves has essentially no effect on ECT. What has the biggest impact on the ECT value is the grade of paper used in the production.

Indicator of packaging resistance to compression. It is expressed as the value of the force acting directly on the packaging during its crushing, which causes its deformation or destruction. This parameter depends on all the individual characteristics of a given packaging - its dimensions, construction, and the type and strength of the cardboard used. The value of the BCT depends directly on the ECT.

This indicator shows the ratio of the weight of water contained in the cardboard to the weight of the whole product. It depends not only on air humidity, but also on the ambient temperature and the composition of the cardboard. To maintain the proper properties of cardboard, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for its storage. The rooms must be dry and airy, and temperature inside must not fall below 4°C – it is recommended to maintain a temperature at 18-22°C. Humidity should be maintained at the level of 60%, with the minimum value of 45% in heated rooms. Excessive moisture content in the cardboard causes changes in its physical properties: a decrease in stiffness, linear deformation, greater compressibility, thickness and roughness. On the other hand, not enough moisture causes cardboard's flutes and, consequently, whole cardboard sheets to break. 

An indicator measured with an X-Rite spectrodensitometer, which shows the degree of deviation of a printed colour from a given pattern. The X-Rite eXact spectrodensitometer is a modern device that takes into account the new needs of customers who demand better and better quality of delivered packaging. X-Rite eXact enables us to control and manage the colour, to ensure the highest accuracy of the colour measurement. Therefore, if we want to print a specific colour, the closer we are to this colour on the final printout, the closer to 0 the delta E indicator will be. If the spectrophotometer shows 0 during the measurement, it means that we have obtained a colour perfectly consistent with the pattern. It is assumed that a printout with a delta tolerance <2.0 is not distinguishable by the human eye by most people.

Testing the degree of whiteness of the substrate is a key activity in order to obtain a high quality printout. Already at the stage of project preparation, we must be absolutely sure that the given paper for printing meets the requirements. The whiteness of the substrate is especially important if bright (transparent) colours are used in the graphic design because it has a direct impact on the final printout. The measurements are taken with the X-Rite eXact spectrophotometer. This way we can verify the quality of the substrate and develop appropriate paint recipes for a specific project.