Custom plastic packaging is one of the most affordable and versatile packaging options available. At Indepak, we can provide you with just about any type of pressure and vacuum-formed packaging that you might need. Here’s a quick look at our services and a bit about our process in general.
Thermoforming & Vacuum-Formed Packaging
Thermoforming is the blanket term for how we create custom plastic packaging. We take long, thin sheets of thermoform plastic, heat them up to a malleable temperature and then mold them into the shape of your packaging. Custom molds are created for each customer’s project, and the plastic is “fitted” or forced into and around these molds either using vacuum force or perhaps by using both vacuum force and pressure.
Vacuum-formed packaging would be packaging that was created using the strong force of a vacuum, but at Indepak, we typically use that combination of vacuum force and pressure. Using both ensures a higher level of quality and more even material distribution throughout the thermoformed part. This is especially important with more complicated packaging designs, as vacuum force along might not be enough force to truly distribute the plastic materials across the entire mold.
Pressure & Vacuum-Formed Packaging For Any Industry
Again, we can create all types of thermoformed custom plastic packaging, and through the years, we designed and produced packaging for just about every industry, including:
• Specialty Foods
• Personal Care
• Electronics
• Medical & Pharmaceutical
• Retailers (Office supplies, tools, toys, household items, etc.)
Types Of Custom Plastic Packaging We Design
At Indepak, we provide each client with a total packaging solution, and this means that we keep every step of the process in-house, which reduces your costs. From design to prototyping to production, we complete each step at our Portland facility, which includes multiple lines of high-speed thermoforming equipment, allowing us to meet the needs of many clients.
Blister Packs – Whether you need blister packs for single-dose medications or you need trap blisters or face seal blisters, we have extensive experience designing and producing all types of blister packaging.
Clamshells – A clamshell is a type of blister packaging, and it can be a fantastic option for specialty foods items, such as deli or bakery items. Clamshells also offer a high level of protection for your retail products, as they can be sealed to prevent damage from tampering and moisture.
Thermoform Trays – Custom thermoform trays can be designed for just about any products. We can design custom cavities to fit around each component of your product, whether it’s a medical kit, electronics components, a custom cookie or cracker tray, a frozen dinner or a tray used to hold something else entirely. We also can design business-to-business tote trays that fit into your production process seamlessly, and this includes creating trays or packaging for static-sensitive items.
Tubs & Lids – Not everything we design is a clamshell, blister pack or tray. If you need tubs (with or without lids) for your specialty food items, we have extensive experience with materials approved for food contact. We also can help with modified atmosphere packaging, as we understand the complexities involved with this type of packaging. We can work with your lidding film supplier to ensure material compatibility.
Custom Foam – We are experts at fabricating thermoformed foam. In fact, we have developed a proprietary, high-speed process for forming and die cutting foam in-line. We can process foam materials from approximately 1/16 to ¼-inch in thickness.
Our Commitment To Sustainability
Indepak is located in Portland, Oregon, a city well-known for its environmental innovation. We’ve been reducing, reusing and recycling for decades, long before it was popular or required. Virtually every material we use at Indepak is recyclable, and we are experts at creating packaging with combination designs, such as trap blisters which incorporate paper or pulp and plastic, reducing the overall use of plastic in your packaging design.
Additionally, we can create complete many custom plastic packaging projects using materials with recycled content, and we also can use starch-based biomaterials for many projects. All of the materials we use are compliant with regulations such as REACH, RoHS and EICC, and we are a registered user of the BOMcheck system.
While plastic packaging often gets a bad rap environmentally-speaking, there are many advantages to using plastic materials. Plastics preserve and protect your products from tampering, moisture and impact, all of which save you money and extend this life of your products. This is especially important with food and beverage products, as food waste is a huge issue throughout the world, and plastics, such as modified atmosphere packaging and packaging with lids, can reduce food waste. Because plastics are so lightweight, it costs far less to transport plastic packaging, and you burn far less fuel transporting your products, and that’s a huge win for the environment.
Additional Services
We offer many additional services that you won’t find from other custom plastic packaging suppliers. Our facility includes 50,000 square feet of warehouse space, and we can design an inventory management system for your packaging. This can range from a simple minimum-maximum system to more sophisticated customer-based web portals. When you need your packaging, our on-time shipment exceeds 99.5%, and we can arrange logistics according to your specific needs.
If you need package fulfillment services, we can help with that. Package fulfillment adds value to our services and saves you time, and it’s a natural extension of our quality thermoforming services. We can seal your packaging together with processes such as RF welding, heat sealing and more.
Contact Indepak Today
If you need vacuum-formed packaging or any type of custom plastic packaging, Indepak is here to help. Of course, not everything we design is a custom clamshell, blister or tray, and we can provide you with innovative designs for just about any product as well as providing you with thermoformed parts. Whether you need packaging or parts, contact the team at Indepak at any time, and we can discuss your custom thermoforming project.
