How to Choose Packaging Materials: A Guide to Common Materials and Their Best Uses

Packaging is an indispensable part of a product; it can bring customers a completely new shopping experience. When customizing packaging boxes, do you know what kind of packaging materials you should use? There are many packaging materials on the market, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

What are the five major categories of packaging materials?

The five major categories of packaging materials are paper packaging, plastic packaging, composite flexible packaging, metal packaging and other packaging.

1. Paper packaging: mainly honeycomb paper, bag paper, desiccant packaging paper, etc.
2. Plastic packaging: including sealing film, shrink film, hollow board, etc.
3. Composite flexible packaging: mainly metallized film, aluminum foil composite film, composite film and composite paper, etc.
4. Metal packaging: such as tinplate boxes, tin cans, barrel hoops, aluminum sheets and other metal packaging materials.
5. Other packaging: including ceramics, glass, wood, hot stamping and other materials.

The following are five common packaging materials and their best uses, for reference:

Glass is a non-porous, non-toxic material made from sand that can be recycled indefinitely. One of its drawbacks is fragility - glass products may break during transport, costing manufacturers in the form of lost product and cleanup time. It is also heavier than plastic and requires a great deal of heat (energy) to produce.

But glass is an excellent barrier material that can preserve the flavor of food and beverages without leaching particles into them.

Manufacturers may design colored or textured glass containers with aesthetic appeal, encouraging people to buy the product inside. This is often the case with alcohol, soda or candles.

Glass packaging is also reusable.

Polymers are the main component of this synthetic material. In packaging, plastic may be flexible, like bags, wraps and stickers, or rigid, like bottles, jars and tubs, used to hold food, beverages, detergents, medicines and more.

Plastic is also used in other types of packaging in the form of packing peanuts or bubble wrap.

Plastic is lightweight, inexpensive and strong enough to protect items during shipping. As tape, it can bind packages together. Manufacturers can make it in a variety of colors and opacities.

However, recycling plastic can be difficult, so much of it ends up in landfills or the environment. It can break down into tiny fragments called microplastics, which often contaminate waterways and food. But researchers have found a way to convert some plastics into fuel, which promises to make it a more sustainable material in the future.

Pulp from wood or other sources such as hemp or bamboo makes up this type of packaging. Manufacturers often use it in the form of wrapping paper, cartons, shredded packaging material or cardboard. Corrugated cartons are made from two or more layers of paper bonded together with adhesive.

Paper is 100% recyclable, which can make it a sustainable choice for packaging material. Making it from wood is less environmentally friendly, but there are many emerging alternatives with a smaller carbon footprint. For example, bamboo grows quickly and comes back repeatedly after being cut.

Paper may not be as strong as other packaging materials, but in the form of cardboard it is durable, and it is lightweight.

Aluminum, steel and other types of metal packaging are made by mining raw materials and then refining them. Metal may be more durable than glass or plastic, although thin metal is usually flexible and easily bent out of shape.

Manufacturers use metal cans to package a variety of products, such as soda, green beans, paint and shoe polish. Metal cans prevent food from spoiling, allowing it to be stored longer. Steel drums also transport large quantities of liquids, such as oil, for commercial use.

Metal can be dropped or withstand high temperatures without breaking. Obtaining metal through mining is usually an ecologically destructive process, but it is easier to recycle than plastic. Metal packaging ranges from light to heavy depending on its thickness.

Also called multi-layer packaging, multi-material packaging is just what it sounds like - a combination of different material types. For example, juice boxes are made of layers of polyethylene, aluminum and paper. Fertilizer and cement can be packaged in structures made of paper and plastic, because paper alone cannot withstand moisture.

Multi-material packaging can be designed to protect products from moisture, such as the metallized plastic bags that keep potato chips crisp.

The downside is that, because of the mix of materials, this type of packaging is difficult to recycle unless it is specifically designed to be easily separated.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379407.html