Abstract
The effects of globalization, technology improvement, capacity consolidation, and rising customer demands drive the printing and papermaking business worldwide. Consumption of paper, paperboard, and tissue exceeded 500 million tons in 2007, and it is estimated that one-third to one-half of this production is printed. Paper production in total is not experiencing drastic growth rates due to the increasing market share of digital media; however, market segments such as paperboard and packaging are showing growing demand. In printing, new technologies focus on production speed and quality improvement. For both printing and papermaking, the cost of energy and raw materials requires ongoing improvements in production efficiency. For equipment and machinery manufacturers serving these industries, high-end technology that lowers cost and improves quality drives the market leaders. In both industries, functional roll surfaces generated by thermal spraying help to achieve design and development objectives. The paper gives examples for the role of thermal spray coatings in both industrial areas.
