Emtec Electronic raises the bar for measuring tissue paper softness at Tissue & Paper Bangkok 2022

The international trade convention for the tissue, paper, pulp, and packaging industries takes place this year under the banner of "Building a Community for Sustainable and Resilient Growth.” More than 3,000 senior decision-makers from all over the world are expected to attend the event, which is Asia’s largest event for tissue- and papermaking professionals.

Showcasing a product line geared toward optimization of production and converting processes as well as quality control, instrument manufacturer emtec Electronic GmbH will be on site this year in cooperation with local representatives CLC Thai (Certified Lab Consulting) and Sambo Scientific. The 27-year-old company specializes in the manufacture of measuring and testing equipment for pulp, paper, board, and textiles and serves customers in more than 80 countries around the world.

Its innovations include the TSA - Tissue Softness Analyzer, which has since become a standard measuring tool in the industry and was recently featured in a TAPPI Technical Information Paper (TIP). The Tissue Softness Analyzer objectively measures the micro- and the macro-surface variations (determining softness and roughness) as well as in-plane stiffness of any kind of tissue paper, whether base material or finished products.

Since the human hand is unable to distinguish between these three basic haptic parameters, the TSA technology has a major advantage over traditional hand-panel testing, which relies on the average overall impression to determine the hand-feel ranking of a tissue sample. The TSA allows for much more precise adjustments along the haptic parameters, and its results nevertheless correlate nearly completely with hand-panel test results. For example, a converter aiming to provide a softer product by adding a lotion can use the TSA to precisely and graphically measure the effect of different lotions on the softness parameter (micro-surface variations) to compare and finally adjust the dosage accordingly.

In addition, having an objective value to represent the way a sample feels makes it easier to recreate results using local materials, as well as adjust to market preferences.

“The TSA allows manufacturers to virtually compare hand-sheet samples based on an objective, numerical value of its hand-feel,” explains Alexander Grüner, Global Marketing and Business Development Manager at emtec. “This opens the door for them to adjust their softness settings to account for variables such as local softness preference, which varies not only among individuals, but from culture to culture.”

Besides the TSA, the German company will also display two innovations for the wet end area of the papermaking process: the CAS touch! - Charge Analyzing System to detect the particle charge in the filtrate of the pulp; and the FPA touch! - Fiber Potential Analyzer to determine the surface charge of the fibers in the pulp for adding correctly dosed chemicals. This topic is old hat for papermakers and chemical suppliers, but the light weight and small size of both devices surpass all expectations.

Visitors to the Tissue & Paper Bangkok trade fair are encouraged to stop by Booth E09 in Hall EH3 for more information about how the emtec Electronic product line can take tissue and paper manufacturing to a new level.