Some might think packaging is one of the least glamorous corners of design. It’s functional and regulated, and if it’s not something you specialise in, it’s probably an afterthought when you’re designing for brands. But if you’ve spent any time looking at the past two decades of award-winning packaging, a different picture emerges. Packaging has arguably become one of the most emotionally charged, culturally revealing and ethically scrutinised spaces in design today…….Continue reading….

By: Abbey Bamford

Source:  Creative Boom

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Critics:

Packaging advancements in the early 20th century included Bakelite closures on bottles, transparent cellophane overwraps and panels on cartons. These innovations increased processing efficiency and improved food safety. As additional materials such as aluminum and several types of plastic were developed, they were incorporated into packages to improve performance and functionality.

In 1952, Michigan State University became the first university in the world to offer a degree in Packaging Engineering. In-plant recycling has long been typical for producing packaging materials. Post-consumer recycling of aluminum and paper-based products has been economical for many years: since the 1980s, post-consumer recycling has increased due to curbside recycling, consumer awareness, and regulatory pressure.

Many prominent innovations in the packaging industry were developed first for military use. Some military supplies are packaged in the same commercial packaging used for general industry. Other military packaging must transport materiel, supplies, foods, etc. under severe distribution and storage conditions. Packaging problems encountered in World War II led to Military Standard or “mil spec” regulations being applied to packaging, which was then designated “military specification packaging”.

As a prominent concept in the military, mil spec packaging officially came into being around 1941, due to operations in Iceland experiencing critical losses, ultimately attributed to bad packaging. In most cases, mil spec packaging solutions (such as barrier materials, field rations, antistatic bags, and various shipping crates) are similar to commercial grade packaging materials, but subject to more stringent performance and quality requirements.

As of 2003, the packaging sector accounted for about two percent of the gross national product in developed countries. About half of this market was related to food packaging. In 2019 the global food packaging market size was estimated at USD 303.26 billion, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.2% over the forecast period. Growing demand for packaged food by consumers owing to a quickening pace of life and changing eating habits is expected to have a major impact on the market.

There are many types of packaging. For example, a transport package or distribution package can be the shipping container used to ship, store, and handle the product or inner packages. Some identify a consumer package as one which is directed towards a person or household. Packaging may be described in relation to the type of product being packaged: medical device packaging, bulk chemical packaging, over-the-counter drug packaging, retail food packaging, military materiel packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, etc.

It is sometimes useful to categorize packages by layer or function:

• 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, and may be used to prevent pilferage or to group primary packages together.
• Tertiary or transit 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.

These broad categories can be somewhat arbitrary and the same packaging material can be used for each layer. For example, shrink wrap can be primary packaging when applied directly to the product, secondary packaging when used to combine smaller packages, or tertiary packaging when used to facilitate some types of distribution, such as to affix a number of cartons on a pallet.

Packaging can also have categories based on the package form. For example, thermoform packaging and flexible packaging describe broad usage areas. Many types of symbols for package labeling are nationally and internationally standardized. For consumer packaging, symbols exist for product certifications (such as the FCC and TÜV marks), trademarks, proof of purchase, etc.

Some requirements and symbols exist to communicate aspects of consumer rights and safety, for example the CE marking or the estimated sign that notes conformance to EU weights and measures accuracy regulations. Examples of environmental and recycling symbols include the recycling symbol, the recycling code (which could be a resin identification code), and the “Green Dot”. Food packaging may show food contact material symbols.

In the European Union, products of animal origin which are intended to be consumed by humans have to carry standard, oval-shaped EC identification and health marks for food safety and quality insurance reasons. Bar codes, Universal Product Codes, and RFID labels are common to allow automated information management in logistics and retailing. Country-of-origin labeling is often used.

Some products might use QR codes or similar matrix barcodes. Packaging may display registration marks and other cues for printing calibration and troubleshooting. Technologies related to shipping containers are identification codes, bar codes, and electronic data interchange (EDI). These three core technologies serve to enable the business functions in the process of shipping containers throughout the distribution channel.

Each has an essential function: identification codes either relate product information or serve as keys to other data, bar codes allow for the automated input of identification codes and other data, and EDI moves data between trading partners within the distribution channel.

Elements of these core technologies include UPC and EAN item identification codes, the SCC-14 (UPC shipping container code), the SSCC-18 (Serial Shipping Container Codes), Interleaved 2-of-5 and UCC/EAN-128 (newly designated GS1-128) bar code symbologies, and ANSI ASC X12 and UN/EDIFACT EDI standards.

Amcor Faces Soft Consumer Packaging Demand  06:04