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The ink industry is one of the world's largest markets due to the increasing demand for printing inks for the packaging industry. Flexography printing is a well‐known promising technology for large‐area printing due to its high printing speed and roll‐to‐roll capability to print economically on a variety of surfaces and is used in nearly in all areas of packaging printing. Water‐based inks are considered non‐toxic, odourless, and more environmentally friendly options compared to solvent‐based inks. Therefore, in this article, the goal was to develop new water‐based ink formulation with different acrylic binders for flexographic printing on commercial solid bleached sulphate (SBS) board. Five inks were formulated with four different acrylic binders and compared to a commercially available ink to study their performance. The developed inks were investigated with regard to their print qualities and print characteristics. It was found that the binder type influenced some print quality while the effect was not significant for others. Using flexography printed cyan inks, the ink formulated with the highest molecular weight had the lowest print density and the largest tonal value increase (TVI) observed between 40 and 60 tone values. The same ink had the largest mottle values and variation in topography. For values of print contrast and delta gloss at 75°, although differences were observed between average values, data had inconclusive variation and spread around averages, where no conclusive trends or effects of acrylic binder type on these response factors were observed. Print chroma and dot roundness results were equally close for all printed samples.

A gas-fired paper dryer (GFPD) was evaluated in pilot- and full-scale environments. A corresponding study was done on the effect of high temperature on paper drying rates and paper properties. The process variables studied include temperature, moisture level, refining, and basis weight. In an ideal location, heat transfer rates are maximized with a minimum effect on sheet properties. Sheet curl is a function of recycling, refining, basis weight, and drying temperatures and can be minimized by correct placement of the GFPD. Results of this study indicate optimal installation location. The heat transfer coefficient is independent of the shell temperature in the constant rate drying zone and in the first following rate zone, but decreases with an increase in shell temperature in the second following rate zone. If a gas-fired dryer is located in either the constant rate zone or in the first following rate zone, the overall drying rate increases by approximately two to four percent per single gas-fired cylinder. By using several gas-fired dryers, it is possible to increase the overall drying rate by as much as 20%.

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