The power of metal packaging
In the second one-half of the 20th century, the global fascination with plastic for everything including rigid and flexible packaging put metal packaging on the back burner. Still, metal packaging is making a comeback in the 21st century. Woep Moller, commercial managing director of the Ardagh Group writes in the introduction to the group's illustrated volume The Power of Metal Packaging, "If metal packaging were invented today, information technology would be the packaging awareness of the 21st century."
Metal packaging is unbreakable, easy to shape and decorate, and completely impervious to oxygen, light, leaner, and vermin. Information technology is infinitely recyclable, an arable natural resource that transforms naturally through oxidation and which can easily be extracted from the waste stream because of its magnetic properties. Canned nutrient cached in the Antarctic past the earliest expeditions and found by explorers 60 years later, was perfectly edible.
Loftier impact blueprint
New processes have brought metal packaging back with a bang non only for food and beverages but also for a wide range of personal and luxury products. Cans today are 33% lighter than they were just twenty years agone — and innovative opening systems take fabricated them consumer-friendly. As an Indian packaging designer says, "The issue of ink on metal is loved by every designer because information technology doesn't sink, information technology remains on the surface and creates fantastic furnishings with a full saturation of colors."
The metal pack itself is in some cases an over-blueprint but appreciated by designers and consumers alike because information technology is non simply recyclable but reusable. Although metal packaging is oft used to evoke nostalgia it is as well quite often an object of desire in and of itself. Biscuit tins remind us of our mothers in the days when they were the repository of a collection of threads, buttons, and sewing needles. In a newsroom, it was not uncommon to find a colorfully printed biscuit tin in the photographers' desks. Ofttimes, with gods and goddesses on their lids, the tins were used for storing their 35 mm picture show strips.
As Moller writes in his introduction, "Perception is reality and consumers particularly appreciate the tin can's reliability. Cans are economical and metallic packaging preserves the quality of the content throughout the supply chain. It's a fact that the largest CO2 emission in retail is caused by refrigeration simply canned nutrient has the advantage of being shelf-stable."
In the sometime days opening a can was a adept and slightly dangerous project that left a serrated border that could easily autumn back in the tin. I could of grade buy more than expensive can openers with a magnet that picked up the serrated chapeau and even electric tin openers.
Now with what is nigh a revolution in the area of sealing, closures, and caps, these tools and skills accept become obsolete. New sealing and opening closures such equally Easy Open End and Like shooting fish in a barrel Peel have transformed the metal tin can of yesteryear meant for pet nutrient or broiled beans into a consumer-friendly container for the nearly exotic gourmet delights. Innovative plastic caps can be used for resealing contemporary metal packaging.
The innovative use of an aluminum foil sealed to the inner office of the can allowed Nestle to identify a plastic spoon on top of the foil in its award-winning Nestle Nan infant formula range in 2010. The utilise of this stop seal and 'Easy Scoop' solution significantly enhanced convenience, hygiene, and safety in a solution that tin exist adapted for many specialized applications.
In a hugely competitive market place, brand owners and packaging designers are constantly looking at new shaping and press technologies to enhance the natural sheen and beauty of metals. However, non all the latest techniques are universally available. This seems to be particularly true in Republic of india where the can suppliers are not always able to keep up with the trends for thinner wall containers and the uniformity of thickness is itself a challenge.
Moreover, Indian packaging designers have to contend with metallic printers who have ancient commencement equipment. These metal decorators cannot match the reproduction quality of halftones now easily produced on monocartons and flexible packaging. Contemporary designers are technically adept and quite naturally want the control that digital prepress technology allows. Confounded past the mystifications presented by traditional metallic printers, they only want to empathise the process. "If someone could explain the rules nosotros could understand the limitations and mayhap work around them," says a well-known packaging designer in New Delhi.
Enlightened of color separation technology and having mastered software layering tools, designers understand the print procedure. They empathize transparency and trapping and are quite prepared to provide separations and plate-fix files suited to the metal decorating process.
However, the metallic decorators demand to modernize in lodge to keep up with new metal ornamentation and press techniques. And they need to explicate the limitations of the process and their own constraints. This volition encourage designers to take on metal packaging with both the liberty to innovate too as a mensurate of control over the quality and finish of the end product that is desired by the brand owners.
Advantage metal packaging
Metallic packaging is one of the fastest-growing packaging segments in India due to strong customer conviction in metallic for aerosol packaging and drinkable cans. While the market did witness a certain inclination towards plastics as a replacement for metal due to a larger catenary of applications, the premium positioning of metallic packaging by manufacturers reinstated metal equally a viable packaging proposition. This, coupled with the 100% recyclability of metallic cans, further dented the case of plastics which were already under the scanner of environmentalists.
Structural rigidity is another characteristic of metal which renders it suitable for the packaging of products which require to withstand strong and rugged transportation conditions. The life of a product packaged in metal is longer than plastic containers. This has been proved through various case studies around the globe. What works best in favor of metallic packaging is the rich visual appeal it provides on the shelf which is an important conclusion-making point for the end consumer. Printing techniques accept also complemented the evolution of metal packaging and innovations like embossing have furthered the cause of metals as a luxurious packaging pick.
The metal packaging challenge
What metallic packaging needs today is the evolution of depression-thickness metal cans which are the norm in countries abroad. This requires heavy enquiry and development and with the growing demand for metallic containers, manufacturers are assured of getting good returns on their investment. More often than not imported, the price of metal is directly related to the value of the dollar (bought as per rates of the London Metallic Exchange). Hence any fluctuation in international currency rates volition accept a detrimental bear upon on raw material prices. This tin only be offset by increasing productivity which depends on an increase in demand. High-finish applied science is involved in manufacturing metal containers, which results in many packaging companies giving it a miss. However, certain products are best packaged in metal, and so there are some structured investments by companies such as Zenith Tins and Hindustan Tin can Works being made in this segment.
This article was kickoff published in the April 2014 issue of Packaging Southern asia.
Source: https://packagingsouthasia.com/supply-chain-function/design-marketing/the-power-of-metal-packaging/
0 Response to "The power of metal packaging"
Enviar um comentário