The Flexible Packaging Blog

Reviews, trends, and tips covering all things flexible packaging to protect your products and your bottom line.

Nathan Dube

As the Digital Marketing Specialist at Industrial Packaging, I am honored to create content for such a phenomenal company and work with one of the greatest teams in the Packaging Industry. Whether creating a video, writing blog posts or generating other pieces of content and multimedia, I am always excited to help educate and inspire our prospects and clients to reach their highest potential in regards to their packaging processes and needs.

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Packaging Materials | Packaging Design

By: Nathan Dube
November 19th, 2020

Have you ever bought a product, only to get home and find that opening the packaging is not only complicated, it is darn near impossible? Well, you are not alone! Wrap rage is a common reaction experienced by millions of people after buying a new product to enjoy only to find that the packaging is overly complicated to remove. At the end of the day, the customer ultimately ends up with a flustered sense of agitation. It is a surprisingly common phenomena despite the fact that many people have called upon companies to stop packaging their products in hard to remove materials. And yet, many companies continue to package their products in complicated packaging supplies that require scissors or more robust tools to open the package. In a world where the unboxing experience is considered a "make or break" element of the customer experience, this should not be the status quo. However, it is an on-going problem for many consumers to this day. With over 60 years in the packaging industry, we have plenty of experience helping companies optimize their packaging design process to protect and preserve their product, to entice the eyes of buyers, and yes, even to help negate wrap rage.

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Equipment

By: Nathan Dube
November 12th, 2020

If you like it, you should of put a ring stretch wrapper on it. Is that how the song goes? No? Well, all things considered, perhaps a ring stretch wrapper would make a better gift. At least, to your packaging line employees anyway. When it comes to wrapping items such as sheet goods (like plywood), roll goods (like carpet), windows, doors, furniture, and motors (among other things), a ring stretch wrapper is the envy of any packaging line. Ring stretch wrappers, also known as ring wrappers or LAN wrappers, are unique animals for the packaging applications for specialized or even oddly shaped items. In fact, if I had to guess, I am willing to bet that you probably found this article by google searching for a tool that would be good for packaging one or more of the items listed above. Or maybe something similar to those items. Maybe you are researching ring stretch wrappers because you are already considering buying one. Maybe you are just learning about ring stretch wrappers after looking online for the best packaging machinery for your products. Either way, you will most likely have a lot of questions about these machines before you go buying one (or at least, you should). Having helped thousands of people buy the right stretch wrapper for their needs, the team here at Industrial Packaging is uniquely positioned to help guide you through understanding these machines. In the article below, you’ll discover information about ring stretch wrappers as well as their common uses and applications.

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Equipment | Investment

By: Nathan Dube
November 5th, 2020

So you have decided to buy some packaging machinery. You have done your homework and sent out an RFP to at least three vendors. You have reviewed each of the proposals, met with a representative from each vendor, and negotiated with them. You’re finally at the point where you have chosen a vendor to buy from. You have the exact make and models that you want and have the additional options for each piece of machinery chosen. You are ready to cut a check or finance the equipment. So, you are now prepared to take the plunge and buy the machinery, plan your installation days, and move forward with the closing of the sale, right? Wrong. While you’ve done a monumental amount of work to get to this point and applied your due diligence, there is one thing that you are lacking. What exactly is this one item you have failed to consider as you stand on the precipice of this significant purchase for your company? Questions. Questions, that when answered correctly, could very well save you thousands of dollars and, in some cases, perhaps more. Industrial Packaging has been helping countless clients for decades in the process of not only buying the right packaging machinery and materials for their needs today, but also those needs of the future. A future that all too often comes with unexpected events, complex product changes, black swan events, and a host of other often unforeseen changes and challenges. This article will help you identify a list of questions that are often not even considered until it is too late. With this information added to your research, you will be fully and thoroughly prepared to make the correct buying decision. One of which will ensure your ability to evolve with the changes that the future will almost certainly bring.

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Packaging Materials | The Business of Packaging | Food Packaging

By: Nathan Dube
November 3rd, 2020

There have been many industries hit hard by the pandemic. "Non-essential" businesses of many kinds have had to shut down for weeks, sometimes months on end. And while various different types of businesses have taken a hit during 2020, the restaurant industry was hit particularly hard. Initially, many restaurants were completely shut down. Then various states began staged re-openings across the country. But restrictions and limitations were imposed on the already struggling restaurant industry as it attempted to regain some of the losses that they had accrued. Once back open, most eateries were limited to lower capacities based upon state laws. Even with re-opening opportunities, many dining institutions saw a dramatic decrease in attendance. And while this situation proved quite challenging for this section of the food industry, it was quite another story for others. For example, with many former patrons of restaurants choosing to stay home and cook rather than go out for a night on the town, many supermarkets experienced a massive boost to normal business. Necessities such as food and toiletries in particular flew off store shelves at a rapid pace. And while pre-made or serve-yourself items such as hot-food or salad bars were shut down, pre-packaged foods, particularly frozen foods, ultimately saw a huge boost in sales. This resulted in many supermarkets having to stock up more than usual in an effort to meet the demands of the supply chain. And the story was no different when the pandemic met HEB supermarkets. And while the HEB team was more than happy to work hard to meet the rising demand, they took notice of their fellow food industry professionals in the restaurant scene. And that is when HEB supermarkets stepped up to help out their fellow foodie friends and help them to make ends meet. In this article, we will explore this wonderful story about people helping people and how a kind gesture was able to help some restaurants to stay afloat while they battle COVID.

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Packaging Materials

By: Nathan Dube
October 27th, 2020

If your business has a packaging line or a shipping department, you probably go through a lot of stretch wrap (also known as stretch film). If you are starting a new business and are preparing to build out your packaging line and a shipping department, you will be using stretch film when you are up and running. One of the most common questions we get from start-up businesses, and even some seasoned veterans is, what is the difference between hand stretch film and machine stretch wrap? If you are using exclusively human labor for stretch wrapping, you will need to use hand stretch wrap. If, on the other hand, you want to automate or semi-automate the process, you will need to run some form of stretch wrapper, which requires machine stretch film. Industrial Packaging has helped thousands of clients identify the appropriate type of stretch film for their packaging and palletizing needs. This article will explore the differences between hand stretch film and machine stretch wrap (also called machine stretch film) and help you choose the right option for your packaging line and palletizing operations.

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Packaging Materials | Environment | The Business of Packaging | Packaging Design

By: Nathan Dube
October 20th, 2020

As the tumultuous and dare I say downright disruptive year of 2020 winds to a close, the packaging industry is looking at some very interesting trends as we head towards the new year. While there are some hot-button trends that remain from 2020 as we head into the first quarter of 2021 (such as sustainability and environmentally minded packaging materials), there are some huge new packaging opportunities that have come out of the pandemic. For example, the video game industry is experiencing a meteoric expansion of growth as gamers have spent more time at home playing video games and many new gamers are just beginning to experiment with the joy of gaming to pass the time while in quarantine or semi-mandated stay at home orders. More gaming = more opportunities for video game packaging applications. Then, we have the ever-growing expansion of eCommerce purchasing. Purchasing online was already steadily rising prior to the arrival of this pandemic. But it has only grown exponentially more than expected as a byproduct of the virus. Food packaging (particularly frozen food packaging) has also seen a massive growth spurt. More consumers are buying larger quantities of groceries either in person or via online driven delivery services. It’s a lot to keep up with. In this article, we will take a deep dive into the top packaging trends for 2021 so that you are set up to succeed in the new year.