Blister packs...they hold medications, fountain pens, batteries, toothbrushes, lip balm, calculators and so much more. It’s little wonder that the blister pack is one of the most commonly used types of packaging for a huge range of retail products. At Indepak, we’ve been creating custom blister packaging for decades, and we’d like to share a little bit of interesting information about this popular packaging possibility.
1. The Blister Pack Was A Child Of The 1960s
Blister packaging was created specifically for the pharmaceutical industry back in the 1960s. Blister packs made it easy for consumers to retrieve a single dose of medication, but these packages also helped keep each dose of medication safe and secure until use. Two of the first medications that used the blister pack included Melabon, which is a brand name for aspirin, and the first oral contraceptives.
2. Blister Packs Come In Many Forms
While many people simply think about the blister pack in regard to medications and the pharmaceutical industry, there are many different types of blister packs and not just the type that includes cavities for medicines backed by a foil seal. When it comes to retail products, a blister pack typically includes a paperboard backing or perhaps the product is surrounded completely by plastic with no paper backing. Just about any retail product can be protected and displayed in a blister pack.
At Indepak, we can create many different types of blisters packs. We can create blister packaging for medications as well as face seal blisters, trap blisters and more. Let’s take a quick look at some of the common types of blister packaging that we can create.
Face Seal Blister Packs – These are a great option for inexpensive, lightweight products. We design a custom plastic cavity to fit around the product, with a small edge that is sealed onto a piece of paperboard. This is a good option for retail products such as lip balm, glue sticks, dental floss, pens and other inexpensive products that typically hang from a peg on store shelves.
Full-Face Seal Blister – With a full-face seal blister pack, we still design a cavity to fit snugly around your product, but we extend the plastic to the edge of the paperboard. In some cases, it might even wrap slightly around the card for extra security. This can be an inexpensive option that offers a bit more security than a basic face-seal blister pack.
Trap Blisters – Trap blisters are an excellent, affordable and eco-friendly option for many products. With this type of packaging, we design a plastic cavity and “trap” that cavity between two pieces of sturdy paperboard. This can help prevent tampering, but also reduce your overall use of plastic, which can a great option if you are searching for sustainable packaging solutions. In general, all of these types of blister packs – face seal, full-face seal and trap blisters – use fewer plastic materials than other packaging options.
3. Clamshells Are Blisters
If you aren’t familiar with packaging, that statement probably makes no sense to you at all. However, when a blister pack folds on to itself with a hinge at one end, we call it a clamshell. While a typical blister pack is used to hold retail products, clamshell packaging can be used for retail products as well as specialty food products.
We’ve been designing custom plastic packaging since 1967 and custom clamshell packaging since the early 1980s. The first patent for clamshell packaging was granted in 1978 and quickly became a popular packaging option.
Clamshells are ideal for food packaging, such as fruits and veggies, deli items, take-away containers and more. However, they also are a great option for many retail products. A sealed clamshell, as you probably have discovered for yourself, can be difficult to open. Therefore, if you need to protect a valuable product from tampering, a clamshell can be a great option. We also can create mock clamshells and tri-fold designs that can either hang from a peg or stand on their own on a store shelf.
At Indepak, we offer many different types of sealing options for clamshells as part of our packaging fulfillment services. This includes heat sealing, RF welding and more. However, we also can design easy-open clamshells for products such as specialty foods and eCommerce packaging. Many online stores such as Amazon and Wal-Mart request that their retailers provide easy-open packaging when possible.
4. Billions & Billions Of Blister Packs
Not only are billions of blister packs created each year, a recent study showed that the global market also has a value of more than $18 billion. This number is expected to increase and reach upwards of $28 billion by 2022. Because blister pack design is so versatile and the materials are lightweight and inexpensive, many companies look to blister packs as an economical packaging option.
5. Medical Blisters Save Time
More and more, pharmaceutical companies are looking for innovative blister pack options rather than having a pharmacist count out individual pills and place them into a bottle. Think about the last time you had a prescription filled. It probably took between 15 to 30 minutes, depending on whether or not the pharmacy was busy. With blister packs, the medication has been presorted and is instantly ready to go. The pharmacist can simply print a label, affix it to the package and you are ready to go. It’s often the easiest option for medical packaging.
Indepak: A Leader In Plastic Packaging Since 1967
At Indepak, we can design packaging for just about any industry. Throughout the last 50+ years, we designed custom packaging for the specialty foods industry, the medical & pharmaceutical industry, the agriculture industry, the electronics industry and many retail and personal care products. In addition to a blister pack or clamshell, we can design plastic trays or create a unique design that doesn’t really fit in any specific category.
Our facility includes multiple lines of high-speed thermoforming equipment. This variety of equipment allows us to meet the needs of a wide range of clientele. Our equipment is compatible with a variety of materials including PET, PETG, HDPE, PP, OPS and more.
While virtually all the materials we use at Indepak are recyclable, we also offer other eco-friendly packaging options and can work with recycled content such as rPET and even starch-based biomaterials.
If you need any type of blister pack or custom clamshell, the team at Indepak is here to help. Our goal is to provide each client with a total packaging solution that fits their needs as well as their budget. In addition to custom packaging solutions, we also offer package fulfillment services, inventory management services and on-time shipping services. Give us a call or send us an email today, and one of our sales representatives will be in touch as soon as possible.
