If you need packaging, custom plastic packaging can be one of the most versatile and affordable options. Lightweight, see-through and protective, thermoform plastics are ideal for thousands of products. At Indepak, we can design many different types of plastic packaging, including the following.
Blister Packaging
The term blister packaging often conjures up images of foil-back, single-dose medications and this is one type of blister pack, but there are many other varieties of blister packaging.
For instance, many small and lightweight retail products can be placed in a face seal blister, which includes a plastic cavity designed to surround your product exactly. This plastic piece is heat-sealed to paperboard, and you’ll find this type of packaging used for many types of inexpensive products from pens to mascara to batteries and much more.
For larger products or products that require a bit more protection, we can opt for full-face seal blisters or trap blisters, which can be sealed tightly to prevent tampering as well as keeping your product safe from moisture and mold.
From a sustainability perspective, blister packaging can be a good option as the amount of plastic needed is reduced because we also incorporate paperboard. Keep in mind, we often can create the custom plastic cavity using recycled content, which can further increase the sustainability of your custom plastic packaging project.
Clamshell Packaging
When a blister package features a hinge at one end and folds onto itself, this is known as a clamshell, and this is an excellent option for a wide range of products. We often see the clamshell used for specialty food products, but they also are used for personal care items, electronics, office supplies, hardware & tool-related items, toys and just about any retail product one could imagine.
Plastic clamshell packaging can be sealed in many ways. For instance, if your clamshell holds a food product, you’ll want the package to be easy to open and close so that consumers can access a portion of the food product and then securely close the lid to enjoy the remainder of the food at another time.
An easy-open, easy-close clamshell also is an excellent option for items such as thumbtacks, nails and other small items that you won’t necessarily use all at once. We can provide an initial seal that you tear away, keeping your product safe while it sits on a store shelf, but also design a tab that keeps the clamshell closed for future use by the consumer. If you have a more expensive or non-food product, our sealing options are a bit more advanced, ensuring that packages are as tamper-proof as possible.
Additionally, we can create easy-open clamshells suitable for eCommerce packaging. Many online retailers, such as Amazon, prefer it when vendors can offer packaging that is easy for customers to open. You could opt to have a portion of your packaging tightly sealed for placement in brick-and-mortar stores and a portion easy to open for online sales. We also can create mock clamshells and tri-fold designs, the latter of which can hang from a peg or be free-standing packaging.
Flexible Packaging
Flexible packaging is a type of custom plastic packaging that’s all the rage these days, and there are several reasons why. Flex packs, as they sometimes are called, are created using fewer materials and can be designed to re-seal securely. Because a minimal amount of packaging materials is needed to create flex packs, more units can fit on store shelves, and you can ship more units in a single shipment.
Flexible packaging can be used for many specialty food products as well as products such as detergent pods, medical supplies, personal care items and more. However, one of the downsides is that flex packs cannot be recycled so this packaging will always end up in a landfill.
Additionally, flexible packaging is not particularly protective. It can lock out moisture, but it cannot protect products if they are jostled about during transport or are knocked off of a store shelf. However, flex packs can be a good option for some products. While we do not design flex packs, our design team will let you know if flexible packaging is a better fit for your product or if rigid plastic or another material is the best option.
Barrier Packaging & Modified Atmosphere Packaging
Barrier packaging is a type of custom plastic packaging that can be created as a pouch, but it doesn’t have to be a pouch. It also can be a plastic tub with film seal that you peel back, such as with products such as butter or fruit cups. It can be a thermoform tray with a film seat, such as you might see with fresh meat, fresh pasta or other food items.
Within the medical industry, your barrier packaging might feature a custom tray with multiple cavities. This could hold medications or sterile medical kits and feature a film seal, protecting these important medical items from contamination. The function of barrier packaging is to protect a product from oxygen, moisture and UV radiation. These UV rays can discolor products, especially food, and while the discoloration may not affect the food quality, it does tend to turn off consumers.
Modified atmosphere packaging, sometimes called MAP packaging, takes tall of this a step further, and this is barrier packaging to which oxygen has been removed and other gases are added, such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide. This is done to extend the shelf life of food products, including fresh and processed meats, fish, poultry, pasta, cheeses, produce, cookies & crackers, premade meals and more.
Additional Custom Plastic Packaging Options
Beyond clamshells, blisters and pouches, we can create other types of custom plastic packaging. For instance, you might need to create a bottle to hold your liquid products, or you might need custom bins with or without lids.
You might simply need custom thermoform trays that will be placed into foil packaging or another type of container. We can even dream up designs that no one has seen before as well as creating entire parts or products with rigid plastic materials.
Benefits of Custom Plastic Packaging
While there are many packaging materials, rigid plastic materials can be the best option to consider for several reasons, including:
Affordability
Custom plastic packaging is one of the most affordable packaging options for several reasons. Rigid plastic materials are highly affordable, but they also are very lightweight, which reduces your shipping costs. Paper-based packaging as well as aluminum and glass packaging weighs significantly more and costs more to transport, not to mention that this extra weight requires more energy to transport.
Protectability
Few materials protect products as well as plastics. Plastics lock out moisture and mold, and plastics also are tamper-resistant and impact-resistant. When it comes to food products, with modified atmosphere packaging, you can preserve and protect food and extend its shelf life, reducing food waste and allowing you to expand your market.
Customization
Thermoforming is the process we use to create plastic packaging, and we can design custom plastic packaging in just about any shape or size. No other packaging materials allow for complete customization down to the smallest details. With clear plastic packaging, you also provide consumers with the opportunity to see your product, and consumers are much more likely to buy a product if they can see what it looks like.
Why Indepak?
At Indepak, we’ve been creating custom plastic packaging for more than 50 years. We know there are many plastic packaging manufacturers out there, but there are several reasons to choose Indepak.
Experience
Not only do we have more than 50 years of experience creating and designing packaging solutions, but we also have extensive experience working with many different industries, including the specialty foods industry, medical & pharmaceutical industries, electronics industry and the agricultural industry. We also have extensive experience designing retail packaging for a wide range of products from office supplies to toys to tools and beyond.
Additionally, we have experience with a myriad of rigid plastic materials. Our facility includes multiple lines of high-speed thermoforming equipment allowing us to meet the needs of a diverse clientele. We can process materials such as ABS, HDPE, HIPS, OPS, PP, PVC, PET, PETG, starch-based biomaterials and more. We also can use materials made from recycled content.
Cost-Containment
At Indepak, we kept everything in-house including design, prototyping and production. We even have an in-house tooling shop where we create top-quality production parts. We can handle your entire packaging project from start to finish, and this reduces costs. We also look for other ways to reduce your costs, such as reducing packaging sizes or searching for the most affordable materials.
Total Packaging Solutions
In addition to providing our customers with product packaging design, prototyping and production services, we also offer package fulfillment services and inventory management. With packaging fulfillment, we can seal your packaging together with processes such as RF welding and heat sealing.
We have 50,000 square feet of warehouse space, and we can design whatever type of inventory management system you might need. This includes a simple minimum-maximum system up to sophisticated customer-based web portals. We also offer on-time shipping so your packaging will arrive when you need it, every time.
Quality
We focus on consistently providing our customers with the highest quality custom plastic packaging and services. We have earned ISO 9001:2015 certifications, as well as FSSC 22200 certification. The latter is an ISO-based standard that is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative, an international organization focused on improving food safety around the world.
Additionally, we are always concerned with sustainability and minimizing our impact on the environment. We go beyond ISO 14001:2015 requirements, resulting in a very low-waste operation in every part of the company. We also use materials compliant with regulations such as REACH, RoHS and EICC, and we are a registered user of the BOMcheck system.
Need Custom Plastic Packaging? Contact Us Today!
At Indepak, we can create virtually any type of rigid custom plastic packaging that you might need. Since 1967, we’ve been designing all types of custom plastic packaging for a wide range of industries. To get in touch with our sales team, give us a call at (800) 526-6273, email us at sales2@indepak.com or fill out our quick contact form.
