Technology, Science, Development and Knowledge Needs of the Coating and Graphic Arts Industry
It is well recognized in North America and Europe that the level of funding and attention to research, development and knowledge building has been drastically reduced. The number of dedicated faculty to paper industry related research and teaching has drastically fallen off as well. Paper degree opportunities are disappearing being replaced by a certificate. On top of that paper companies and universities haven’t quite figured out how to dance with each in today’s intellectual property focused environment. Budget cuts to meet short term financial goals combined with a lack of support of any type of business activity that isn’t easily seen to have a direct return on investment means scientists and engineers are creating less and filling support roles instead. Add to this the fact that those who once were involved in research and development in the paper industry are retiring at a rapid rate. The result is that tribal technical knowledge is disappearing. This is especially noticeable in coating and graphic arts.
Fundamental knowledge development and retention is critical in problem solving and grade development in coated paper in printing and writing, packaging and specialty papers. Some of those areas where we need to capture our knowledge and continue to build on it are: rheology, materials science, chemical bonding, chemical interactions, in-situ reactions, fluid flows, mass transport, heat transfer, thermodynamics, optics, statistics, and surface energy.
Many of us involved in the paper industry do not put a lot of stock into modeling. Partly I believe because of a lack of feeling the need to deal with those math concepts. Another reason is the expense of the software and the need to have dedicated personnel on it. Of course, some of the work didn’t do itself any favors by not being relatable enough to the practical issues and problems faced. This is not necessarily the case in many other fields and the paper industry needs to not give up. This is a great area for industry and academia to work on together. There are plenty of professors and students who work with the theoretical every day. They need guidance from industry-based scientists and engineers to develop practical applications of the best in computational and mathematical modeling capabilities at universities. The next frontiers in modeling in my opinion are: thin layer optics, particle & fluid flow dynamics, particle packing, better process modeling for improved process optimization and control.
Knowledge management is currently a hot area in every walk of life. Since we are losing key knowledge holders it is paramount that we find a way to store their knowledge. There are large sets of data and information contained in a lot of company computers and paper files. We need to retain it and find more efficient ways to access it all. Things like cooperative building of databases of knowledge, better use of modern search engines, big data mining and analysis, and machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) can be useful tools in accomplishing this.
Nanotechnology is still a very hot area and that division within the TAPPI universe is full of energy, creative ideas and funding. New ways of imaging make it possible to understand what is going on at that scale in improving ways. Every year many new materials and ways to use them are being invented. Applying these new technologies to cellulose means we have a renewable bio-based industry to build and universities are excited to work in this area. Bio-renewable sources of materials will lead to new binders, dispersants, and other coating additives.
Bio-based material development should not be exclusive of developments in areas where other new materials or re-purposed can be applied. Specialty synthetic minerals has not been fully explored by the paper industry. Continued development in the area of higher abrasion resistance in machinery can keep a capital-intensive industry for longer periods without shutting down for failures or maintenance. There is always plenty of extra money to be made with improvements in reliability.
Application development is end use applications is my last area of interest. Continuous improvement of the converting processes like folding, cutting, stamping and printing will lead to lower costs of delivery printed material and packaging. Alternative barrier materials to the use of oil-based polymers is still developing and optimizing. This area can benefit from nanotechnology and bio-based material developments. In today’s printing world multi-functional printing papers will be important. Variable information, tailoring to regions and the creative latitude they bring will all have value. A particular area of fundamental technical and scientific knowledge development is in solving the problem of being able to print a surface with oil-based offset lithographic inks, water-based inkjet inks and by electrophotographic processes.
While we are losing technical resources and our human knowledge base I hope I have made a case for the need to continue in the research in and development of the coating and graphic arts industry, to capture the knowledge we have, and to find ways to make that knowledge more accessible. I urge the industry to break new ground and figure out how to work with universities in a way that allows both constituencies to flourish.
Tony: I agree. Most of the people who joined the paper and mineral's industries at the time I joined (1980) have retired or will do so in the next 3-5 years. Sad to hear what is happening when I talk with old friends and colleagues who are still working and have concerns for their jobs.
Agree with your paper, however I'm trying to do "a little" with a mathematical modeling of Converting processes with using a data mining & machine learning tools. Even my PhD thesis is about that... :)
Great article Tony - but a chicken and egg question, few paper companies in the US have teams capable of doing this work anymore, and the difficulties hiring good people for production roles will not make it easier as those are both urgent and important where new technology development is just important. As someone who spent years in technology in the paper industry and am now in converting - there are not many exciting opportunities in the paper industry that I have seen. But the need is still very clear.
Unfortunately, the paper industry -as a whole, overindulged in technology investments during the 80's and early 90's rather that taking a judicious approach to growth. When the bottom fell out of the market, these companies - not necessarily comfortable with technology advancement, cut their R&D efforts to support the market view that they are a commodity business and protect their capital investments. The research areas you mention were significant opportunities then, and apparently continue to be: barrier coatings, printing advancements, inclusion of new materials, etc. The paper industry has always had difficulty justifying advanced research with maintaining its capital based infrastructure (paper machines/converting/printing equipment is expensive). This outlook has reinforced the knowledge gap you mentioned after industry cuts in the 90's and early 2000's (one such event led to my exit from the industry). Yet, until some of the industry leaders decide that advanced technology investment is necessary, even incrementally -the paper industry will likely continue to suffer losses in competitive recruiting for scientists and engineers, and continue to lose market share to lower cost production overseas.
Fantastic article Tony. While obviously the point of the article is that your industry is lacking younger talent it seems that the industry continues to innovate and present exciting challenges for someone interested in material science.