Newsletters

Good Morning Packaging: Keeping pace with packaging around the world, Issue# 47, Vol. 4, 2009

23 November 2009

Renewable and bioderived inks could be part of the sustainable green printing agenda in the near future. Sustainable green printing might be emerging as a key driver of future packaging initiatives but the first goal is getting across exactly what that is. The key is the start of discussions with customers that printers don’t normally talk to. There is a lot that customers could be doing but didn’t know that they cared about. In a probing panel discussion at the 2009 Sustainable Packaging Forum on green printing, a panel was asked about the emergence of sustainable printing and some of the common misperceptions. One of those is the common mistake -- found on the labels of some packages -- that soy inks are more “sustainable” than other nonpetroleum alternatives. Rich Czarnecki, chief technical officer with Superior Printing Ink, said other alternatives, such as inks made from linseed oil, are just as environmentally responsible and perhaps better for performance. Soy ink was the creation of the American Soybean Association more than 30 years ago that was to sell more soybean oil.

Unique packaging for consumer wound care. Protection from water, moisture and contamination. Easy to use (push-pull-apply). Approved patent. Easy to recycle (only polypropylene used). Suitable for other consumer products also. No adhesives used (ultrasonic welding). Ideal for travelling (robust and durable). Plasters also wrapped in polypropylene-film. Cederroth International AB • Sweden Phone: 0046 8 590 96 466 • Fax: 0046 8 590 96 473 E-mail: goran.wiberg@cederroth.com www: www.cederroth.com

The Pack is designed for a retort pouch and hence assumes a triangular cross section when formed, has a tear strip for tamper evidence and a Euro hole to serve as a hanger in the supermarket shelf. The graphics are printed on a white background providing an arresting contrast to the dish and the brand colour scheme. The pack is spot UV varnished to enhance the appeal of the food item and embossed to highlight the dishes. ITC Limited • India Phone: 0091-44-2573 4363 • Fax: 0091-44-2573 3852 E-mail: akshat.dubey@itc.co.in www: www.itcportal.com

MAGIC LID SYSTEM flip-top with double function ( to dose with tube inside and ventilation) Garanteed Airtight Security (for sports people, children and drivers). Hygiene (liquid and mouthpiece protected by a cap). Practicality (to open and close with just one hand). Injection moulded with recyclable polypropylene. ESCO LTDA • Colombia Phone: 0057 1 2174262 • Fax: 0057 1 2174262 E-mail: esco@sky.net.co

Refillable pouches from Japan, spouted pouches from Europe, and electron beams for sterilization are among a host of technologies that could fulfill the quest in North America for innovation in pouches. In several presentations at the 2009 Global Pouch Forum that ran the gamut of global developments, speakers offered a vision of pouches and flexible developments that could arrive in the near future. Among those offering novel technologies was Akira Gotoh, president of Daiwa Gravure, who discussed the pouch refill packaging revolution in Japan and its current emergence in North America. Gotoh said in Japan, close to 1.3bn refill pouches were produced in 2007, a lofty number considering the low volume of refills in the United States. Among the innovations fueling Japanese market growth is the Cartridge Pack produced by Daiwa. The packages consist of an inner pouch chamber that is removed from a rigid plastic container and substituted for a new pouch. The outer container includes a pin that pierces the pouch before the first use. In the United States, Method Home, Dial/Henkel, Estee Lauder, and other manufacturers are beginning to see the sustainability and cost advantages of a refill pouch. Laurens Last, president of IPN Europe, discussed the emergence of spouted pouches, offering new dispensing technologies that have taken Europe by storm for beverage applications. Those include new spouted pouches, just introduced by IPN, that create a vacuum when a valve is pushed that allow only a certain amount of liquid to be released and avoids spills. The company also is working on barrier properties that help defuse issues of cost that sometimes challenge pouch producers. Josh Epstein, marketing director of Advanced Electron Beams (AEB), offered new solutions in the area of pouch sterilization and shelf stable packaging. AEB has commercialized in-line electron beam sterilization techniques that use virtually no heat and as little electricity as that found in a few hair dryers, Epstein said. The process is starting use with a broad set of shelf-stable packaging, including stick packs and thermoformed cups. Epstein chronicled use of the electron-beam technology with Farmright Group, a British dairy producer that has released Dairystix, semi-skimmed milk products in a stick pack. The shelf-stable packages, a replacement for creamer cups, have gained a 20 percent market share in the British single-serve dairy market, using novel stick pack and sterilization technology.