IN THE NEWS

AssiDomaen Froevi's CD Case Protects Discs and Enhances Impact

To make this CD case, AssiDomaen Froevi took advantage of the strength of its carton board--its long, unbroken fibers build the conditions for a line of circular holes in the outer, silver-colored case, where all the holes have sharp, clean edges.

AssiDomaen Froevi developed this case to concretely demonstrate new possibilities and the true meaning of "packaging impact." The strength of AssiDomaen Froevi's carton board is famous.

The CD also shows how well Froevi Bright is suited to embossing--one side of the inner sleeve features an embossed snake skin, with an embossed speaker membrane on the other.

Precision Pour Design Delivers the Same Amount of Liquid Each Pour

A development partnership creates unique HDPE bottle with main chamber, measuring cavity in base, vent, and pour channels--all from one parison. Precision Pour in Houston, TX, designed a bottle that eliminates the measuring cup by incorporating a measuring chamber into the base of the bottle. The blow-molded HDPE bottle delivers the same amount each pour.

Precision Pour conceived the patented design, while FGH Systems in Denville, NJ, engineered the blow-molding process and created the mold tooling. The process molds the bottle from one parison at competitive production speeds and was proven with a pre-production run on FGH's Uniloy Milacron UMS5000DE shuttle blow-molding machine. FGH is Uniloy's North American shuttle solutions center.

The sleek Precision Pour bottle design combines the main chamber with a measuring cavity in the base, a vent channel running inside the bottle handle, and a pour channel running inside a rib on the opposite side. The measuring cavity is separated from the main chamber except at the base of the handle. When the bottle is tilted for pouring, the base empties, while the liquid level in the main chamber falls below the connecting port to the measuring cavity. Only when the bottle is again set upright can the measuring cavity refill.

Wilson Golf Boosts Packaging Velocity with Axon Equipment

Wilson Golf, an innovative leader of premium golf equipment, came up with a new marketing campaign for the year: Velocity Matters. Taking that to their golf ball factory in Humboldt, TN, Wilson Golf is producing quick turnaround with logoed golf balls, where stock orders that are received by noon will be shipped the same day.

To do that, Fort Dearborn Lithographical Company helped Wilson convert to new innovative packaging that would also be more cost effective than the paperboard container the company had always used. Wilson golf balls are now shrink-wrapped with a printed shrink sleeve. Shrink sleeves allow quick changeover of printed films allowing the company to offer a variety of packages to their customers, including seasonal packaging, promotional packaging, and event packaging.

Before purchasing the Axon EZ-100 sleeving machine, Wilson had been buying pre-cut and pre-formed sleeves. Doug Sellers, senior manufacturing engineer at Wilson is impressed with the new machine. "The EZ-100 sleever uses rolls of 2-mil PETG print registered film which the machine cuts and perfs each time, in addition to an already inserted tear strip in the film roll," says Sellers. "Now all that is required of the operator is to change the roll of film, and stocking a roll of 3,500 sleeves is a lot easier than stocking paperboard."

Convertingblog.com Provides Online Converter Forum

Maxcess International sponsors the converting industry's first web log, facilitated by industry experts to focus on the business and process of converting. Tim Walker of TJ Walker and Associates and other industry experts will facilitate the web log, presenting a forum for converters to share ideas and gain knowledge about the converting industry, business, and applications.

Converters, industry journalists, and interested parties are invited to join in this online discussion forum, with topics ranging from application specific to general business operations. Through dialogue with their peers, participants are able to share experiences and collaborate on issues that they face everyday in an environment that provides incubation of good ideas to the point that they may become the new industry practice. To post on convertingblog.com, select the "Comments" link at the bottom of a topic to post your input.

Design North Wins American Corporate Identity Awards

The Racine, WI, design firm of Design North, Inc. took home three American Corporate Identity Awards for brand redesigns when the national awards were announced in March. In addition to the two identities shown here, Design North won for Grace Church letterhead as well.

Northland Cranberries is a leading marketer of cranberry juice and juice blends, but unlike their competition, Northland markets only 100% juice blends. Design North suggested that such a point of difference was well suited for positioning Northland as "The Cranberry Experts," and focused on promoting cranberry health benefits. Mouthwatering illustration and rich color palettes support this message.

The rectangular bottle has several advantages in addition to being easier to hold. The dark color at the top of the label against the dark juice in the bottle gives the appearance of a unique die cut shape. This helps give a more proprietary look on the shelf.

The Palermo's name is known throughout the US and Canada for premium quality frozen pizza, and recently introduced an upscale, boutique pizza called "Palermo's Primo Thin." The new upscale look features a hand-lettered "Primo Thin" brandmark, while the appetizing food photography and romance copy help to communicate the unique, crispy thin crust. In addition, the design works within an established architecture created for other Palermo's branded products that Design North helped establish.

Validate Metallized Film Quality with Vapor and Oxygen Rate Testers

Metallized film, with its highly regarded moisture and oxygen barrier properties and relative low cost economy, can be quickly and easily tested on LYSSY Moisture Vapor Transmission and Oxygen Permeation testers from PBI-Dansensor. These sensors can validate barrier performance properties prior to material use at both point of receipt of the material and when material is taken from storage to ensure that barrier properties have not become compromised by oxidation or moisture.

Since metallized film material kept in storage is subjected to a range of temperature and humidity conditions that can warp the film and result in a weakening of the barrier properties and physical aesthetics, it is important that metallized film rolls be tested prior to its use. When used as a component of a fast-to-market packaging development strategy, the LYSSY tester provides speed, ease-of-use, and accuracy for measuring permeability. The self-contained LYSSY tester provides continuous scanning within a controlled, enclosed temperature/humidity environment that is less sensitive to ambient temperature, humidity, or physical space limitations than other test methods.

Froevi Wraps Harry Potter Easter Eggs in Odor-Neutral Board

The magical Harry Potter seems to appear everywhere these days, here around an Easter egg from Iceland. The box has an open window, which puts high demands on the strength of the board material. "We chose Froevi because we consider it to be very cost efficient board, as we can use a low grammage because of its strength, but the most important criteria for us is the well-known taint- and odor-neutrality of the material," says Mr. Runar Ingibjartsson, R&D manager at the chocolate producer Noi-Sirius hf. "Chocolate can benefit from mixing with other tastes like chocolate/marzipan and chocolate/liqueur, but board- flavored chocolate is never a success."

Iceland is said to be the leading chocolate-eating nation in Europe. The country has only 290,000 inhabitants and Noi-Sirius, one of three chocolate makers, produces 300,000 Easter eggs for the home market every year. Production of the Harry Potter box started last year as a "trial year" and Noi-Sirius is quite optimistic for this year's offering. "Packaging impact is crucial for sales and we are constantly developing their products through packaging," says Arni Bjorn Skaptason at the converter Prentmet ehf.

FWJ's Interlocking Bottles Come Out of a Single Mold

The patented design of the SIDE-LOC concept from Fenton, Weber & Jones Packaging, Inc., in Getzville, NY, offers a new and unique opportunity in packaging. The clever design and function of the Side-Loc package permits two identical bottles produced from the same cavity to be interlocked together. Each bottle can hold a separate product but can be sold as one complete package.

Fenton, Weber & Jones Packaging Inc. can incorporate the Side-Loc concept using many different bottle designs, materials, sizes, and colors. Minimum quantities are lower per order since the bottles are being run from the same mold. Samples of the designs shown are now available in a number of sizes and materials, and other sizes are currently in development. FWJ was established in 1984 and has been producing top quality plastic packaging in excess of 20 years. Visit www.fwjpackaging.com.

New Artist Group Focuses On Icon Character Design

Martha Productions Inc., an artist rep firm headed by Martha Spelman, has just assembled a new group of artists under the IconArtReps banner. Featuring the work of 14 illustrators working in a variety of styles, the IconArtReps artists are targeting character design and development.

Having had previous success grouping artists within a niche, Spelman feels that clients appreciate the speed and ease of finding multiple artists in one spot. "Quickly finding a dozen or more artists that relate to their project makes my client's job a lot easier," Spelman says. In addition to repping individual artists, existing "niche" groups within Martha Productions include RetroReps which showcases the work of artists working in vintage styles from the 1920s through the 1960s and Artinforms whose artists create infographics--maps, charts, diagrams, cutaways, and medical illustrations.

"Putting together the IconArtReps roster of artists has been a lot of fun," says Spelman, "These are artists who create brands, game and storybook characters, licensed product and animation." These artists have worked for clients in the corporate field (Skippy Peanut Butter, Hormel, People PC) and entertainment (Warner Bros. and Disney), among other categories. Visit: www.iconartreps.com.

Silgan Plastics Introduces New Preformed Shapes

Silgan debuts two new shapes well-suited for packaging a variety of personal care items--the 250-ml PET Destiny Oblong bottle and the 250-ml PET Tapered Round bottle. The Destiny Oblong and Tapered Round bottles offer a large label area and are available with a 24-410 or 24-415 neck finish to suit the most popular flip-top, disc-top, pump-spray, and lotion pump dispensing closures.

The Destiny Oblong and Tapered Round shapes are adaptable to other sizes by utilizing Silgan's extensive PET preform library. As with all items manufactured in Silgan's Penn Yan, NY, facility these bottles are available for purchase in order quantities as low as one carton.

Lindal Group Presents New Developments and Products at Interpack

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( IMAGES: SPray can tops (Wave PD.May05_P74_Image04.jpg & Shark PD.May05_P74_Image03.jpg)

Lindal presented new spray cap designs and systems for the application of viscous products at interpack 2005. Recent R&D efforts have resulted in the "Wave" and "Shark" spray caps.

"Wave" is especially designed for foams and gels, like shaving foam and gel, shower foam and gel as well as for all other foam and gel products. The spray cap fits on 52-mm diameter aerosol cans. The Wave spray cap is available with round or angular overcap design. "Shark" is suited to many different aerosol products such as hairspray, air-freshener, insecticides, polish, and many other products. The Shark spray cap is available as a one piece cap or with insert for tinplate aerosol cans with 52-mm, 57-mm, or 65mm.

The LinRoc® "Power Can" is a patented advanced system for the simple application of viscous products such as adhesives and lubricants. It is easy and manageable to handle enables the exact application amount of the product. The twist lock system and overcap minimize curing and ensure a longer endurance of the product. The system allows the product to be applied in any direction or orientation.

The new innovative Truspray® aerosol system was presented to the interpack trade visitors. This aerosol system opens entirely new, until now not realizable scopes for aerosols and will set a new standard in the aerosol packaging. Truspray is a development of Boehringer Ingelheim microParts GmbH, Dortmund, Germany.

A Label by Spear Systems Helps Chill Earn Pioneer Design Award From Chinese Magazine

The New Weekly, a publication in Guanghzou, China, picked the Carlsberg Chill bottle as the Pioneer Awards "Design of 2004." The Chill bottle has a clear film, pressure sensitive label from Spear Systems. The beer has caught on in Chinese bars with its contemporary premium appeal both inside and out.

The gravure-printed labels provide high impact reflective gold that was key for the design agency and Carlsberg, while still maintaining opacity in the other elements of the label. In addition, Spear engineers guided the efficient transition into the using the new application equipment in-line, which enables high-speed labeling.

German Company Provides Top Level Packages for Premium Plastic Bandages

Beiersdorf, the German global player in health care and cosmetics, has recently created new packaging solutions for their plastic bandages. The Curad products for the American market clearly signal premium and high quality thanks to the glossy silver front, where the silver is not just a graphical design but is aiming to associate with the silver dressing in the pad. Silver has an accepted history of reducing bacterial growth and thereby offering quicker healing.

Convenience and a convincing performance are the major issues for Beiersdorf. Attractive and functional packs reflecting the premium character is a way for an international leading branded goods company to support its brands and win the fight for consumers.

The silver on the package is cost-efficient and minimizes the consumption of hotfoil while still achieving a reasonable silver effect. The premium concept is enhanced by selling only via pharmacies with skilled staff for consultations while their commodity products are sold in supermarkets. All of these packages, made with Froevi Bright board, have the same tamper proof opening with an ingenious closure system. After breaking the perforation, the package can still be securely reclosed to protect the contents.