The New Wood competition 2025: Origami folded paperboard results in visually pleasing packaging solutions
Uusi puu – The New Wood Project shows what wood can do. The project promotes wood-based innovations and provides information about them.
Origami folded paperboard produces a stronger and visually attractive packaging material. Traditional origami folding and design software combine to bring a substantial reduction in raw material consumption.
The popularity of online shopping has increased the demand for packaging materials, while also causing concern over the environmental impact of packagings. In particular, there is a great need to replace fossil-based plastics, including foam plastics, with more ecological solutions.
Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd responded to the challenge by creating an innovation named Origami folded paperboard, which combines traditional origami folding with modern packaging technology.
The key element in the solution is the Miura-ori fold, thanks to which it is possible to work paperboard into a protective, flexible and eye-catching packaging material. The paperboard can be formed to fit the product shape closely, using software to design the appropriate folds, cuts and layers, as well as the moulds produced with 3D printing. The result is a closely tailored solution which only uses the requisite amount of material.
The origami folded paperboard solutions can be made of various commercial grades of paperboard. The actual manufacturing is fully mechanized and requires no chemicals. The process consists of two stages, starting with the printing of a static Miura-ori folding diagram onto the paperboard. After this, the paperboard is compressed along the folds to the desired width, thus producing a flexible, strong and versatile structure.
Tests by Aalto University and VTT show that the origami folded paperboard can withstand a compression force many times greater than with traditional corrugated paperboards.
The origami technology reduces the consumption of raw material. Thanks to being visually attractive and saving space, the package is likely to be kept by consumers for re-use.
Forest.fi and New Wood are initiatives of the Finnish Forest Association.