Viappiani Printing will present an innovative application for the production of in-mold labeled compostable coffee capsules at NPE 2018 in booth S16088. The exhibit will feature a Netstal injection molding machine with a mold built by Fostag, a robot from Beck Automation and IML labels from Viappiani Printing. 

“We are talking about a coffee capsule that is injection molded with PLA, a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from renewable resources,” said Stefano De Gregorio, Business Manager IML for Viappiani.

“To close the green circle of sustainability, the capsule is decorated with an in-mold label that is printed by Viappiani on a special PLA film. This way we obtain a mono component PLA capsule that fully conforms to the EN 13432 standard regarding industrial composting.”

The exhibit combines the need for a green alternative for capsules with improved packaging performance compared to commonly used plastic materials in terms of both mechanical and barrier properties. The combination of high-end decoration provided by the IML technology fully integrates the PLA label into capsule making, said the company.