Paperboard innovations deliver strength and beauty: from coatings and laminations to recycled content, paperboard cartons incorporate whatever it takes to meet the market's needs

Food & Drug Packaging, July, 2002 by Kate Bertrand

Thanks to recent advances in paperboard technology, cartons look better than ever. At the same time, they are stepping up to sophisticated requirements such as improved microwavability and product insulation.

The technologies that are improving cartons' aesthetic appeal include high-sheen coatings and specialty laminations. Paperboard cartons incorporating these and other eye-catching treatments are enabling food and cosmetic manufacturers to differentiate their products at retail.

That is particularly true for manufacturers of premium products, such as Tyson Foods' deli chicken line. These products--which include Grilled Cured Chicken Breast Fillets, Cured Diced Chicken Breast and several other variations--are sold in the supermarket refrigerated case in 5- and 10-ounce sizes.

Tyson worked with Rock-Tenn Co. to create distinctive cartons for the products. Structurally, the cartons feature a modestly gabled top and slightly gusseted bottom. Each carton holds a bag of chicken, visible through a die-cut window on the front of the carton. The cartons are made from 18-point solid bleached sulfate (SBS) board and feature offset printing in up to seven colors, plus ultraviolet (UV) coating and gold stamping.

The UV coating gives the carton a mirror-like finish, enhancing photos of the product on the carton. Tyson is positioning this new deli product as ultra-premium in a conventionally non-glamorous category.

Uptown looks

In the fragrance category, some marketers are turning to lamination to enliven the look of paperboard packaging. Elizabeth Arden Inc., recently began packaging three of its fragrances--Red Door, Sunflowers and Fifth Avenue--in dramatic holographic set-up boxes.

To create the packaging substrate for these Elizabeth Arden gift sets, Hazen Paper Co. laminated 60-pound holographic paper to paperboard. PROMA Technologies' HoloPRISM holographic paper was used for the application.

Each of the gift sets sports a different holographic tint, but in each case, the holographic pattern shifts from matte to sparkling as the viewer's vantage point shifts. The package surface, which looks embossed, catches the attention of passing shoppers in visually noisy cosmetics departments.

Also targeting high-end consumer goods packaging applications is a new paperboard material from MeadWestvaco's Packaging Resources Group (PRG) called Crescendo. The material is a premium, coated-one-side SBS paperboard that can be used to make folding cartons. Applications include cartons for chocolates, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, liquor and other products that must stand out on crowded retail shelves.

According to the supplier, the material's smooth, consistent surface enables it to run fast, clean and with little waste on printing, converting and filling equipment. And the material is compatible with pearl, iridescent, matte or gloss aqueous and UV coatings, and with finishing processes such as embossing, debossing, microembossing, foil stamping and film and foil lamination.

Heating things up

In addition to improving carton aesthetics, paperboard technologists are coming up with solutions to new functional requirements. Consumer products manufacturers, distributors and retailers are asking for paperboard packaging that provides advanced features such as temperature control.

For microwavable foods, improving the product's taste and appearance are increasingly important functions of the paperboard package. Pepperidge Farms is using a newly developed paperboard-based tray to meet these requirements for its Flaky Crust Pot Pie products.

The new package, Graphic Packaging's Qwik Wave tray, prevents microwaves from over-baking a pot pie at the edge crimp. The package design incorporates a pattern demetallized susceptor in the floor of the tray.

This unique demetallized susceptor pattern enables microwaves to bake the pot pie uniformly to the desired serving temperature of 140[degrees] to 160[degrees]F. The new packaging required only minimal equipment changes for Pepperidge Farms, and line speeds are virtually unchanged.

In a similar application, Loblaws selected a microwavable tray for its Presidents Choice fruit pies. The packaging incorporates Graphic Packaging's Micro-Rite pressed paperboard tray and an interior carton layer. The new packaging required no equipment changes for Loblaws' contract packager.

The Micro-Rite packaging elements work to modify the microwave oven field so the top and bottom crust of a raw-dough pie bake in about 15 minutes. The package design also prevents the pie edges from over-baking and becoming bitter, which can happen in a conventional oven.

That's cool!

At the other temperature extreme, a new paperboard carton for beverage containers has been designed to keep drinks cold without a cooler. This carton, also from Graphic Packaging, is called the Ice Pack. Consumers add ice to the package to chill their beverages for summer outings.

Introduced last Summer for bottles of Coors Light, this carton is suitable for beverage bottles, cans, aseptic boxes and pouches. Potential products include soft drinks, water, sports drinks, juices and juice drinks.