Gravure printed banded wrapper paper

Abstract

A smoking article includes a tobacco rod includes a column of filler and a wrapper surrounding the column of filler. The wrapper includes a base web having parallel first and second side edges extending in a longitudinal direction and two ends extending in a circumferential direction. The base web includes at least one circumferentially extending banded region of fibrous crystalline cellulosic material thereon. The fibrous crystalline cellulosic material is in a condition of having been gravure printed on the base web as a fibrous crystalline cellulosic.

1 . A method of making a banded wrapper paper for smoking articles, the method comprising:
 contacting a base web with a patterned gravure roller having a fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry applied thereto to apply a band of the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry on the base web, the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry including water, crystalline cellulose, and chalk and having a solids content of about 10% or less by weight of the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 applying the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry to the patterned gravure roller.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry is not heated before the applying the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry to the patterned gravure roller. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry is continuously agitated before the applying the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry to the patterned gravure roller. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 advancing the base web to a first printing station where the base web is contacted with the patterned gravure roller having the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry applied thereon.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 drying the band of the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry as applied to the base web.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the drying includes passing the base web over at least one steam can. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the band has a weight of about 2.5 gsm. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contacting is a first contacting, the band is a first band, and the method further comprises:
 contacting the base web with the patterned gravure roller having the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry applied thereto to apply a second band on the base web.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a second coat weight of the second band is at least 1% greater than a first coat weight of the first band. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 drying the first band before the contacting the base web with the patterned gravure roller having the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry applied thereto to apply the second band.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the second band is applied on top of at least a portion of the first band. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first permeability of the banded wrapper paper in regions outside of the band of fibrous crystalline cellulosic material is about 20 CORESTA to about 100 CORESTA and a second permeability of the banded wrapper paper within the band of fibrous crystalline cellulosic material is about 12 CORESTA or less. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry includes:
 greater than or equal to about 90% by weight of the water,   greater than 0% by weight to less than or equal to about 10% by weight of the crystalline cellulose, and   greater than 0% by weight to less than or equal to about 1% by weight of the chalk.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry consists essentially of the water, the crystalline cellulose, and the chalk. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry further includes a binder. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contacting a base web occurs in a single pass. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous crystalline cellulosic slurry includes:
 greater than 0% by weight to less than or equal to about 9.5 weight % by weight of a cellulosic fibrous crystalline material, and   greater than 0% by weight to less than or equal to about 5.5 weight % the chalk.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the crystalline cellulose has a fiber size of less than or equal to about 200 micrometers. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the gravure roller has hexagonal cells separated by cell walls having a thickness of greater than or equal to about 12 micrometers to less than or equal to about 20 micrometers.