1. Incoming material

Paper grade, resin grade and pulp batch are checked against the declared specification before the run starts. A substitution here is invisible in the finished straw and shows up three months later in a customer complaint.

2. Forming

Paper straws are wound from 3 or 4 plies and glued along the seam; PLA and PP are extruded; bagasse is pressed in matched metal moulds. The seam and the wall thickness are the two measurements taken on the line.

3. Printing

Up to six colours with food-grade ink. Registration is checked on the first sheet and at fixed intervals, because a print that drifts mid-run is the most common cause of a rejected batch.

4. Assembly and wrapping

Individual paper wrap, PLA film or printed sleeve, depending on whether the straw is handed to the customer or laid on a counter.

5. Inspection

Final AQL inspection before the carton is sealed: dimension, seam, print registration, count per bag. The result is recorded against the batch number, not against the order.

6. Packing and loading

Carton marking matches the packing list, which is what the customs broker and the receiving warehouse both work from.