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Product category: General packaging materials, equipment and services
News Release from: RPC Containers | Subject: Plastics packaging
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 03 September 2007

Plastics packaging has yet to develop
further

When it comes to innovations in packaging, plastics is still in its infancy, writes Ashley Salter, as there are more new materials and ways of improving packaging.

There's no end to the innovative packaging solutions that plastics can deliver Such a sweeping statement may be difficult for many to believe, particularly when you consider what the material has already achieved

There are numerous examples of how plastics packaging has helped to establish, grow or redefine a market, very often at the expense of other materials.

The move of engine oil and paint from tinplate, and ketchups, sauces and soft drinks from glass are obvious examples.

Perhaps that's partly the problem.

There is almost a feeling that plastics has nothing else to prove.

It is a natural choice now for so many different products and end markets and its design flexibility - coupled with the selection of polymers and manufacturing processes available - offer huge potential for the creation of eye-catching customised packs.

* An evolving material - nevertheless, in many respects, plastics is still an evolving material.

There is more to discover and every new development offers the potential to further enhance and improve packaging possibilities.

Look at what is being achieved in terms of material developments.

Surlyn has been creating new opportunities in the luxury sector, such as for cosmetics and beauty brands.

The material not only offers excellent transparency but is also able to achieve this with the kind of thickness usually associated with glass - thus adding an important additional quality dimension to many packs.

Another emerging material is the co-polyester PCTA, which is finding favour in a wide variety of cosmetic and personal care applications - everything from perfume bottles to toothbrush handles.

Its flexibility enables it to be injection and extrusion blow moulded and thermoformed, and it offers excellent clarity and chemical resistance.

SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile) has also had an impact in the design and manufacture of cosmetics packaging.

Even more important, this material is now making inroads into other lower value market sectors, notably as a replacement for tin.

* Environmental coniserations - not surprisingly, a lot of the latest work into new polymers is focusing on the environment and we are seeing the introduction of biodegradable/ compostable materials such as PLA, PEG and Starch.

One notable recent development has been in mixing of Starch and PVOH (Poly Vinyl Alcohol, which is water soluble).

This has been used to create products that require degradability over a relatively short space of time - and varying the thickness of the finished pack can help to control this process.

Selecting the most appropriate forming method for these new materials - injection moulding (single / multishot / 2k moulding process), injection blow moulding, extrusion blow moulding and thermoforming - is of course a critical factor in the successful development of a new container.

At the same time, new technologies are also being introduced.

The technique called 2K moulding process is where two different materials are combined in a single injection moulding process to produce the finished product.

This allows manufacturers to mould sealing parts from TPE (thermo plastics elastomer), incorporate company logos, create products in various colour combinations, or make multilayered products.

In addition, the 2K moulding technique offers aesthetic advantages and greater freedom in terms of product shape.

Probably the most striking example of this process is the cap produced for the famous Grolsch swing-top bottle, which has moved from porcelain to plastics.

It is not just new materials and processes that continue to advance the possibilities for plastics packaging.

The choice of decoration techniques now available is equally varied and continually expanding - on-pack printing (tampo print, silk screen, dry offset, foil blocking), in-mould labelling, self-adhesive labelling, metallising, embossing, spark finishing, specialist masterbatches, co injection and shrink sleeves - the list is seemingly endless.

One notable innovative new decoration process is selective plating (achieved by the 2k injection moulding process).

This is where customers can determine very precisely which area of the surface of an injection moulded part they want to galvanise.

In terms of new pack innovations, therefore, plastics' potential is still immense.

All this on-going development work provides a much wider range of design, manufacturing and decoration possibilities, which means the final solution can be tailored exactly to a product's requirements or brand image.

What is important is to be able to maximise this potential - selecting the most appropriate materials, forming processes and decoration methods to satisfy a product's characteristics or meet a brand's marketing objectives.

This necessitates talking to the experts who have access to the latest developments and can select from all the major technologies and materials to develop the right solution - the specialisations of the many sites that make up the RPC Group make a good starting point.

In terms of future developments, nothing is 'off limits'.

And that bodes well for tomorrow's innovations as well.

* About the author, Ashley Salter is general sales manager, RPC, Market Rasen, UK.

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