Metsä Board Magazine – Summer 2026

PHOTO: METSÄ BOARD

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PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

Digital technology gains ground OFFSET PRINTING still dominates pharma­ ceutical packaging. But as printing technol­ ogies evolve and machines become faster, smarter and more automated, digital print­ ing is steadily taking a larger role. This adds flexibility and delivers growing cost efficien­ cies, including beyond cartons and into thin, uncoated medical leaflet papers that now meet both quality and regulatory demands. At the same time, digital workflows reduce manual complexity and help compensate for the shrinking pool of skilled offset specia­ lists, making pharmaceutical printing more scalable.

In pharmaceutical packaging, reliability isn’t just a feature, it’s a prerequisite.

PHOTO: METSÄ GROUP

SUSTAINABILITY

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Transparency – the new baseline IN PHARMACEUTICAL packaging, sus­ tainability is about proof. Customers

4 5 PACKAGING REGULATIONS

now expect verified environmental and social responsibility creden­ tials; regulators demand full raw material traceability. Transparency across the value chain has become a baseline requirement. Nordic car­ ton manufacturers are especially well positioned to turn

Smarter choices in materials

EVOLVING PHARMACEUTICAL packaging regulations are driving another major shift. In the EU, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets clear bound­ aries for what packaging can be placed on the market, and how packaging waste, in­ cluding empty space, must be reduced and managed. Ambitious carbon-reduction tar­ gets are a step in the right direction, but in pharmaceutical packaging, lengthy approval processes and strict safety requirements make it challenging to replace plastic and aluminium with viable alternatives. Material choices must balance sustainability goals with regulatory reality.

sustainably managed for­ ests into a true competitive advantage and a brand asset. Those who make sustainability visible, measurable and credible stand out, setting the standard.

PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

BOARD MAGAZINE

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