March 26, 2008
· Number 32
DESIGN: FLEX and DJPA Create a New Design to Continue 111 Years of Grolsch Tradition
The Grolsch brand has been closely tied to swing-top bottle for 111 years. The designers from the Dutch design office of FLEX/the INNOVATIONLAB® recently developed a new, contemporary design of the brand icon.
In cooperation with Grolsch, FLEX has developed a bottle that meets the brewer’s objective to put the swing-top
on the map more clearly in The Netherlands as well as abroad. In addition, Grolsch wants to appeal to the younger target
group by giving the brand icon a more contemporary appearance. The new green swing-top bottle has several
characteristic details that go well with the bright, powerful Grolsch image.
FLEX has also worked on the new crate that holds 16 swing-top bottles. The Netherlands brand identity firm DJPA
Partnership is responsible for the two-dimensional graphic design of both bottle and crate. The new green swing-top
bottle is scheduled for market introduction in The Netherlands at the end of April 2008.
The new swing-top
bottle once again emphasizes the Grolsch mission to break the homogeneity in the beer market. One year ago,
Grolsch introduced the highly successful green Grolsch return bottle, also designed by FLEX. They succeeded in realizing
a design that turned the embossing on the bottle into part of the brand strategy, making the Grolsch identity tangible.
The FLEX designers have held on to this tactile philosophy in the design of the new swing-top bottle. Once again, the
striking and familiar Grolsch logo has been prominently debossed into the glass on both sides of the bottle, and the
sides are again flattened for convenient gripping. This grip is even further improved by adding three embossed stripes
on both sides of the bottle, a reference to stripes that once adorned the swing-top bottle.
The bottle is slightly higher and narrower than its predecessor, but the designers deliberately maintained the classic
swing-top and characteristic form elements to be clearly recognized. In designing the crate, the designers clearly
aimed at optimizing the visibility of the brand icon in the beer shelves and at being distinctive. “The swing-top
is synonymous for the unique and adventurous image the Grolsch brand has,” says Ab Pasman, chairman of the
board at Grolsch. “Introducing the new small green bottle in 2006 and the new swing-top now definitely adds
‘contemporary’ to our brand values.”
COMPONENT: Rexam’s Mechanical Finger-Pump Enhances Appeal of New Kid-Cleaner
Cofounders Kim Dixon and Lucie Hunter invented their sassy line of MomSpit® no-rinse cleansers to be
used by on-the-go parents to clean little hands and faces. Rexam instant-foam dispensing technology was chosen
by MomSpit to deliver on the brand’s functionality promise.
The innovative, three-scent line with the high fun factor is powered by the Rexam Airspray M3 and F2 mechanical
finger-pumps (for the 2-oz. and 7-oz. sizes). Rexam provides innovative instant-foam dispensers that are
computer-engineered mechanisms with sophisticated, proven technology. The dispensers allow a precise mixture
of liquid and air to create rich, creamy foam reliably and easily.
“No matter how big you are, new product success in today’s marketplace depends upon an
exciting, creative offering that captures consumers’ attention and meets a real need,” says
MomSpit cofounder Lucie Hunter. “These foamers are an integral part of MomSpit cleansers’
appeal. They are fun to use, look great—in the purse or on the kitchen counter—work flawlessly
and deliver with outstanding quality and efficiency. For more, visit
www.rexam.com.
STRUCTURE: Amcor Helps McCormick Launch Liquor Bottle with Built-In Handle
McCormick Distilling Co. in Weston, MO, commercializes the first liquor bottle with a built-in handle. The
1.75-liter polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for the company’s popular vodka brand is being supplied
by Amcor PET Packaging.
Up until now, no one had been able to successfully create a commercial, handled
PET liquor bottle due to the difficulty of blowmolding around a grip. This industry first is a result of a two-year
cooperative venture between McCormick and Amcor.
“McCormick is the No. 2 domestic vodka brand,” says Jim Zargo, McCormick president and COO.
“With a lot of competition in the value-priced category, we were looking for a way to differentiate
ourselves.” McCormick brought its vision to Amcor two years ago and challenged its engineering team to
come up with a commercial solution. The project would end up pushing both container and equipment engineering
to new limits.
“This is an extremely difficult process to execute,” explains Jonathan Jarman, project engineer,
Amcor. “One of the trickiest elements is to make sure that the grip is perfectly placed inside the mold. The
other major issue is that there wasn’t a machine with a proven track record for this type of application.”
Since there were no commercially available units, a proprietary “reheat-blow” machine was built for the
project. With all of those variables in the mix, the bottle design itself also needed to make accommodations for the
volume displaced by the grip. “McCormick wanted us to emulate the look of their former 1.75-L bottle, but we
needed to modify that a little to still get the right volume. The solution was to move the shoulder up and reduce the
neck height,” Jarman says. For more, visit
www.amcor.com.
Alpha Introduces New Line of Large Indented PET Rounds
Alpha Packaging has added a new line of three large polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Indented Rounds to its stock
packaging for the nutritional industry. The 2000-cc, 2500-cc and 3000-cc Indented Rounds fill a need in the industry for
a single reliable source for all three popular sizes. All three bottles are built off the same 141-gram preform and feature
a 110-400 continuous thread neck.
The PET Rounds are ideal for large quantities of protein powders and bulk nutritional supplements. The indented label
panel protects labels from scuffing during shipping and at retail, and the generous neck allows consumers to use large
scoops to measure the contents. The three new PET Indented Large Rounds are ready in any color, and Alpha is stocking
all three sizes in clear PET at its St. Louis warehouse. Samples of clear, cobalt blue and dark green Indented Rounds may
be ordered by visiting www.alphap.com and clicking on
“Request a Sample.”
MATERIAL: MeadWestvaco Offers KlaFold® Paperboard for Value and Performance
MeadWestvaco Corp. is now offering converters and consumer products companies around the world an alternative
to lightweight coated paperboard. KlaFold, a coated unbleached kraft paperboard manufactured by Klabin, Brazil’s
largest paperboard producer, is now available from MeadWestvaco as part of the sales and marketing agreement the
companies announced in September 2007.
With its unique three-ply structure, KlaFold paperboard delivers on strength, printability and converting performance while
requiring less fiber than competitive boards. KlaFold is particularly well-suited for lightweight packaging applications, and KlaFold
offers a higher yield at the same caliper as most other coated paperboard in its class.
According to third-party testing conducted by Applied Paper Technology, KlaFold has a 15% to 25% yield advantage and
a significant strength-per-pound advantage at a lower basis weight versus most other competitive coated paperboard
grades. In all cases, KlaFold had a clear advantage with more cartons per ton of paper and greater stiffness per pound. Tests
comparing smoothness, brightness, and stiffness characteristics of KlaFold versus other paperboards also were conducted, and KlaFold matched or outperformed the competitors across the board. For more, visit
www.meadwestvaco.com.
Multivac Introduces More Affordable Darfresh® Skin Packaging System
Multivac announces the launch of its R175 CD skin packaging system. This affordable compact packaging system has
been developed to deliver the advantages of Cryovac Darfresh skin packaging to processors with lower to moderate volumes.
“Skin packaging gives meat and seafood processors a tremendous advantage not just in package appearance, but often
in a significantly extended fresh shelf life,” says Bob Koch, director of sales for Multivac’s food division. “With
the R175 CD, we’re bringing these benefits to more businesses than ever before in a powerful, compact system with
the same capabilities as our full-size models.”
A genuine Darfresh packaging system from Multivac is capable of rendering a flawless skin package above the web line without
the tell-tale extra “webbing” around the base of the product. Regardless of shape, Darfresh skin packaging forms
a second skin over the product with a top film web and hermetically seals it to the bottom of the package. The versatile Multivac
R 175 CD offers smaller, growing processors the opportunity to compete with larger rivals with this same highly effective
packaging for a very economical price. For more, visit
www.multivac.com.
SUSTAINABILITY: The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership Announces Printer Criteria
The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP Partnership) revealed the much-anticipated criteria on how to become a
sustainable, green printer at the National Environmental Health and Safety Conference (NEHS) in Indianapolis, IN. The criteria
will guide printers on their journey towards sustainability.
Printers who meet these requirements and are verified will be listed on the
SGP Partnership registry website, which can be used as a
resource for print buyers. The SGP Partnership announced there will be two categories of registration—Candidate
Pending Verification (CPV) and SGP Printer. The CPV category will give a facility a 12-month time frame in which to meet
all criteria for an SGP Printer. Facilities that already meet the criteria for an SGP Printer may bypass the CPV category and
apply for recognition under that category.
Among other requirements, SGP Printers will have to complete an
annual progress report and will be subjected to periodic verification by an accredited third party. It is important that printers
understand that sustainability encompasses more than just environmental issues. Corporate social responsibility is another
major component. As a result, the criteria are based on all three key elements of sustainability—people, planet, and
profits. The criteria will be beta tested during the upcoming months and modifications will be made as needed prior to the
registry launch this summer. If you are interested in viewing the criteria, please visit the SGP Partnership website and refer
to the Registration Program document on the “Become a SGP Printer” page. SGP has set up a comment section
on the website and is encouraging feedback on the criteria from the printing community and other interested parties during
the beta-testing phase of the project. Comments will be accepted until April 18, 2008.
TOOLBOX: Designer’s Toolbox Sponsor of the Week
Bedford Industries
Make your products stand out with the high-impact ElastiTag® from Bedford Industries, Inc. This innovative hang
tag is great for brand identity, point of purchase coupons, cross-merchandising, direct marketing promotions, and product
identification. Special features include digital printing, scented elastomers, variable data printing, spooled tags, bifold, or
single fold, and writeable coatings. Our in-house specialists assist customers from the beginning design stages, through tag
recommendations, to the finished product.
Bedford Industries
(877) 233-3673 or (507) 376-4136
Email: bedford@bedfordind.com
Web: www.bedfordind.com and
www.elastitag.com.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Printpack Wins Three 2008 Flexible Packaging Association Awards
Printpack Inc., located in Atlanta, GA, won FPA awards for the AgroLabs Naturally line of nutritional
supplements, the Daniele® Delizia Presidents sliced meats line, and the Plumrose Supreme Center Cut Bacon package.
AgroLabs’ Naturally line of nutritional supplements was given an award in the Environmental and Sustainability
Achievement category. The original package utilized a cardboard box and two pressure sensitive labels. It was redesigned
in response to requests from club store retailers for source reduction.
A full sleeve shrink label made from NatureWorks® biopolymer film replaced the labels and box in the new
configuration. The 10-color rotogravure-printed shrink label was manufactured, converted, and printed by Seal-It, a
Division of Printpack. The label covers the entire bottle, conforming to its shape, and provides a 360 degree image
area for attractive, eye-catching graphics as well as all of the product information that was previously printed on the box.
The Daniele® Delizia Presidents Sliced Meats Re-Seal It Package was given an award in the Packaging Excellence
category. This package combines proprietary label technology with high performance barrier films. The outstanding package
feature is an easy opening/reclose for the consumer. The Plumrose Supreme Center Cut Bacon Re-Seal It Package received
an award in the Technical Innovation category. Plumrose chose the Re-Seal It package because it was designed and
engineered with the consumer, retailer, and food processor in mind. For more, visit
www.printpack.com.
Greg Erickson Named PPC Vice President of Marketing and Communications
The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) today announced that Gregory C. Erickson has joined the PPC staff as v.p. of
marketing and communications. Greg Erickson comes to PPC with an extensive communications background in the
packaging industry.
He is former editor-in-chief of Packaging magazine, at the time one of the leading trade periodicals in the
field, and was founder, editor and publisher of ShelfPresence. Erickson’s experience includes
work as director of communications and education for the Institute of Packaging Professionals and coverage of supply-chain
and logistics issues as director of communications for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. He has also served
as contributing editor to Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News and
PackagingNet.com, and is the author of numerous packaging-related
articles for business magazines.
“We’re extremely pleased to have Greg on board,” said PPC president
Jerry Van de Water. “Greg won a national first place award for journalistic excellence from the American Society of
Business Press Editors for coverage of the ‘trash crisis’ in the 1990s and has remained up-to-date on all the relevant
challenges and opportunities. As issues of sustainability and environmental impact swirl around the packaging industry,
Greg’s experience will prove particularly valuable to our membership.”
Hirschhorn + Young Graphics Announces a New Member of Business Team
New York City’s Hirschhorn + Young Graphics studio announces Bonnie Miller as their new director of business
development. Miller brings 20 years of varied expertise in creative product development, custom print & packaging,
film/TV, and brand licensing to Hirschhorn + Young.
For nearly 40 years, the award winning art production firm
has specialized in global packaging graphics for the cosmetic and health and beauty industries for a vast list of Fortune 500
clients. As the studio’s new director of business development, Bonnie will be focusing on expanding H+Y’s
client base in multiple areas. She has worked on both the manufacturing/product and client sides of business and has the
creative insight to provide solutions to multiple packaging challenges. Her product development skills will benefit clients in
bringing innovative products to the marketplace.
“I’m looking forward to this exciting era of the company’s development with the addition of Bonnie to
the staff. Her experience in entertainment brand licensing, specialty gift packaging and gift product development will
broaden the studio’s services,” stated H+Y’s president, Holly Young. For more, visit
www.hirschhornandyoung.com.
Graphic Packaging Announces Completion of Combination with Altivity Packaging
The transaction brings together two of the most progressive paperboard packaging companies to create a new leader in
the global packaging market. Graphic Packaging Holding Company had 2007 pro-forma revenues of approximately $4.4 billion
and will be a leading provider of paperboard packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and consumer products industries.
The new company's headquarters are located in Marietta, GA, but a significant presence will be retained in Chicago, where
Altivity maintained its headquarters. The company has a significantly expanded product portfolio, market reach, and technology
capabilities to provide innovative packaging solutions in the folding carton, flexible packaging, label, multi-wall, and specialty
bag markets.
"I am very excited to have closed the transaction that we announced in July 2007, and to begin the implementation of the
integration plan which will enable us to achieve the $90 million in annual gross synergies we identified at the beginning of this
process," says David W. Scheible, president and CEO of Graphic Packaging Holding Company. "Although we will be
required to divest two coated-recycled board (CRB) mills, we expect that these divestitures will have an immaterial impact on
EBITDA and no impact on our ability to achieve the $90 million in synergies by 2012 with two-thirds of this being realized by
2010." For more, visit www.graphicpkg.com.
SOFTWARE: MetalFX® Inaugurates Free Web Training for Graphic Designers
MetalFX Technology (a Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation subsidiary) has inaugurated a web training program for
graphic designers. The training, conducted by MetalFX technicians in both North America and Europe, is available at no charge
to graphic designers who wish to learn how to use its popular metallic design software.
Discussing the new training
program, MetalFX v.p. Americas Mark Geeves says: “Graphic designers benefit greatly from this specialized web training
program, which includes development of actual files suitable for printing using the MetalFX process. These hands-on sessions
enable designers and printer prepress personnel to take full advantage of this powerful new metallic printing system.”
MetalFX, a recent Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation acquisition, is a universal process and spot metallic color system that
allows millions of metallic colors to be printed, all by adding only the one base silver ink to the usual CMYK mix. Web training
details are available at www.metal-fx.com.
EskoArtwork Introduces Studio and Studio Toolkits With Interactive 3D Design
EskoArtwork, the global market leader in innovative design, pre-production, collaboration, and finishing solutions for the
packaging, commercial printing, and sign and display industry, announces the introduction of Studio, a plug-in environment for
Adobe Illustrator that brings interactive 3D packaging design to the familiar Illustrator® software. EskoArtwork is also
introducing Studio Toolkits, a collection of supporting simplified structural design solutions.
"In packaging design, the world is certainly not a flat place and there is a clear demand for more 3D capabilities as
communicating with a 3D design greatly benefits the turnaround time of the design process," explains Kris Van Bael,
product manager 3D and visualization, EskoArtwork. "Studio and the supporting Studio Toolkits are closely integrated
with Adobe Illustrator and come equipped with built-in EskoArtwork packaging knowledge. Studio reduces the need for
multiple costly mockups, helps to spot design errors faster and takes away the guesswork from 2D flats." For more,
visit www.esko.com.
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COMPASS is an online software tool for packaging designers and engineers to compare the environmental impacts of their package designs.
