Packaging Services

When packaging is necessary we can bring a lot of injection molded services together. Special Boxes with special labels or decals on the outside to represent your products in graphic pictures and colors. We can package your products through custom plastic injection molding for retail display or just to get them to your facility unharmed. You name it and we "get er done."

Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. Package labeling (BrE) or labeling (AmE) is any written, electronic, or graphic communications on the packaging or on a separate but associated label.

Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects. preserves, transports, informs, and sells. It is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industry, and personal use. Our ISO 9001 certified company has all the tools necessary for effective package design.

Packaging and package labeling have several objectives:

• Physical protection - The objects enclosed in the package may require protection from, among other things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.
• Barrier protection - A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., is often required. Permeation is a critical factor in design. Some injection molded packages contain desiccants or oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified atmospheres or controlled atmospheres are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents clean, fresh, and safe for the intended shelf life is a primary function.
• Containment or agglomeration - Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for reasons of efficiency. For example, a single box of 1000 pencils requires less physical handling than 1000 single pencils. Liquids, powders, and granules need containment. We create custom injection molding packages for any allotment.
• Information transmission - Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product. With pharmaceuticals, food, medical, and chemical products, some types of information are required by governments.
• Marketing - The packaging and labels can be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the product. Package design has been an important and constantly evolving phenomenon for several decades. Marketing communications and graphic design are applied to the surface of the package and (in many cases) the point of sale display.
• Security - Packaging can play an important role in reducing the security risks of shipment. Injection molded packages can be made with improved tamper resistance to deter tampering and also can have tamper-evident features to help indicate tampering. Packages can be engineered to help reduce the risks of package pilferage: Some package constructions are more resistant to pilferage and some have pilfer indicating seals. Packages may include authentication seals to help indicate that the package and contents are not counterfeit. Packages also can include anti-theft devices, such as dye-packs, RFID tags, or electronic article surveillance tags, that can be activated or detected by devices at exit points and require specialized tools to deactivate. Using packaging in this way is a means of loss prevention. As an ISO 9001 certified company we create packages that meet safety and security standards.
• Convenience - Packages can have features which add convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, and reuse.
• Portion control - Single serving or single dosage packaging has a precise amount of contents to control usage. Bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that are a more suitable size for individual households. It is also aids the control of inventory: selling sealed one-liter-bottles of milk, rather than having people bring their own bottles to fill themselves.

Packaging types:

Packaging may be looked at as several different types.  For example a transport package or distribution package is the package form used to ship, store, and handle the product or inner packages.  Some identify a consumer package as one which is directed toward a consumer or household. Packaging may discussed in relation to the type of product being packaged: medical device packaging, bulk chemical packaging, over-the-counter drug packaging, retail food packaging, military material packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, etc.

Pull open aluminum can:

It is sometimes convenient to categorize packages by layer or function: "primary", "secondary", etc.

• Primary packaging is the material that first envelops the product and holds it. This usually is the smallest unit of distribution or use and is the package which is in direct contact with the contents.
• Secondary packaging is outside the primary packaging - perhaps used to group primary packages together.
• Tertiary packaging is used for bulk handling, warehouse storage and transport shipping. The most common form is a palletized unit load that packs tightly into containers.

Plastic Molded Concepts can create custom plastic injection molded packaging for primary, secondary and tertiary uses.

These broad categories can be somewhat arbitrary. For example, depending on the use, a shrink wrap can be primary packaging when applied directly to the product, secondary packaging when combining smaller packages, and tertiary packaging on some distribution packs.

Package development considerations:

Package design and development are often thought of as an integral part of the new product development process. Alternatively, development of a package (or component) can be a separate process, but must be linked closely with the product to be packaged. Package design starts with the identification of all the requirements: structural design, marketing, shelf life, quality assurance, logistics, legal, regulatory, graphic design, end-use, environmental, etc. The design criteria, time targets, resources, and cost constraints need to be established and agreed upon.

Injection molded transport packaging needs to be matched to its logistics system. Packages custom designed for controlled shipments of uniform pallet loads may not be suited to mixed shipments with express carriers. An example of how package design is affected by other factors is the relationship to logistics. When the distribution system includes individual shipments by a small parcel carrier, the sorting, handling, and mixed stacking make severe demands on the strength and protective ability of the transport package.

If the logistics system consists of uniform palletized unit loads, the structural design of the injection molded package can be designed to those specific needs: vertical stacking, perhaps for a longer time frame. A package designed for one mode of shipment may not be suited for another. Sometimes the objectives of package development seem contradictory. For example, regulations for an over-the-counter drug might require medical plastic molding of the package to be tamper-evident and child resistant: These intentionally make the package difficult to open. The intended consumer, however, might be handicapped or elderly and be unable to readily open the package. Meeting all goals is a challenge.

Package design may take place within a company or with various degrees of external packaging engineering: contract engineers, consultants, vendor evaluations, independent laboratories, contract packagers, total outsourcing, etc. Some sort of formal project planning and project management methodology is required for all but the simplest package design and development programs. An effective quality management system and verification and validation protocols are mandatory for some types of packaging and recommended for all. An ISO 9001 certified company has a proven record of following internal guidelines.

Package development and custom plastic injection molding involves considerations for sustainability, environmental responsibility, and applicable environmental and recycling regulations. It may involve a life cycle assessment which considers the material and energy inputs and outputs to the package, the packaged product (contents), the packaging process, the logistics system, waste management, etc. It is necessary to know the relevant regulatory requirements for point of manufacture, sale, and use.

The traditional "three R's" of reduce, reuse, and recycle are part of a waste hierarchy which may be considered in product and package development. Development of sustainable packaging is an area of considerable interest by standards organizations, government, consumers, packagers, and retailers.

Post Packaging Injection molded container with 12 bagged filters

Our company is dedicated to providing expert custom plastic injection molding. For your packaging needs we can find a great on-shelf look or durable in-transit solution. Contact us today for a quote on injection molded packaging.