Innovative uses earn honors from film supplier
- Published: January 01, 1995
Two US and two Canadian packagers were recognized by a film supplier for innovative uses of oriented polypropylene in flexible-packaging and labeling applications during Pack Expo '94 in Chicago, IL.
The Films Div. of Mobil Chemical Co., Pittsford, NY, presented two Golden Mummy awards and two Pyramid awards.
Golden Mummy awards have been presented since 1986 to honor outstanding originality, appearance and performance in design of packaging that makes use of Mobil oriented-polypropylene film.
New this year are the Pyramid awards that recognize innovative design and use of Mobil Label-Lyte OPP face stocks for labels.
Golden Mummy winners are:
* Quebec Div. of Daltons (1834) Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for a high-oxygen-barrier, reclosable package for its line of nuts and dried fruits. The converter is Maine Poly, Greene, ME.
* Richardson Brands Co., South Miami, FL, for its Hip Hop Hares, a brightly printed Easter bubble gum package offering excellent barrier, graphics and machinability. C. P. Converters, York, PA, is the package's converter.
Golden Pyramid winners are:
* Alberta Distillers Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for its Banff Ice Vodka label that features a metallized image of Rocky Mountain peaks visible through the product. Avery-Dennison, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada did the label conversion from a design created by Tudhope Associates, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fasson Canada, Ajax, Ontario, Canada, produced the label stock.
* Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, MO, for the Ice Draft Light beer label that provides a dynamic, tactile, no-label look. FLEXcon, Spencer, MA, supplied the pressure-sensitive film label stock, and Spear Inc., Mason, OH, is the converter.
Daltons Nuts & Dried Fruits
The packaging for Daltons nuts and fruits begins with a lamination of Mobil Bicor AOH film and follows very tight specifications. To achieve the level of opacity, the printing process includes a number of screen letdowns. After printing, the film is laminated and converted to add a leakproof zipper closure.
"Daltons required a film with a barrier high enough to permit gas flushing while offering excellent machinability and printing surface for the subtle graphics of the design," Peter Taylor, Canadian sales manager for Maine Poly, said.
Daltons worked closely with Elise Bourgeois, buyer at Price Club Montreal, on the graphic design for a line of nuts and dried fruits for the Price Club Stores.
Hip Hop Hares
Richardson Brands Co.'s Hip Hop Hares makes use of a lamination of Mobil Bicor AB film over Mobil Bicor PXS film, using vignette printing to depict Easter with the bright, yet soft colors. According to Greg Collins of C. P. Converters, the package was reverse printed on a six-color press at a rate of 850 fpm.
"When you look at the printing in terms of gradations of color with minimal or no trapping, the speed for this complex printing process becomes more impressive," Collins said.
The lamination structure offers an excellent level of oxygen and moisture barrier for flavor retention along with the eye appeal of great graphics and outstanding machinability, according to Bruce Warner, director of purchasing at Richardson Brands Co.
Banff Ice Vodka
The label defines the brand for Banff Ice Vodka, according to Michelle Dickens of Alberta Distillers. "Although the product has only been on the shelves a matter of months in western Canada and just a short time in Ontario, it's selling very quickly," Dickens said. "Its image is its strongest selling point, and the image is conveyed by the label,"
The front and back labels together create a three-dimensional effect of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. The clear Mobil Label-Lyte 434 face stock on the front provides a look through to the back label. The back label utilizes a specially prepared Label-Lyte face stock that's metallized and then printed with proprietary technology on both sides before it's applied to the bottle.
Anheuser-Busch Ice Draft Light
The Ice Draft Light label is screen printed with ultraviolet inks on Mobil Label-Lyte 434 face stock. The labels are applied in-line to the glass bottles prior to filling and achieve a see-through effect, according to Wayne LaVoncher of Spear.
The process produces a label with a tactile feel that stays on without delamination.
A panel of faculty members from the Department of Packaging Science, Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology and a Canadian packaging consultant judged Golden Mummy entries. Judges for the Pyramid award competition included a panel of several RIT Packaging Science Department faculty, staff from Packaging Digest and representatives from a packaging consulting firm.
