The Flexible Packaging Blog

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

Blog Feature

Packaging Materials | Packaging Design

By: Nathan Dube
April 22nd, 2021

Let me guess, your products are oblong, elongated, or simply "long," right? And you’ve probably struggled to find the right type of packaging film for your products. How did I know that? Are you reading this blog post? Then it would seem you have been looking for a packaging material that is good for these types of items. Perhaps you had been considering using shrink film for your products. But, after doing some research, you started seeing terms like "shrink film tubing," "poly tubing," or "heat seal tubing." Don't be afraid! We are not tracking your every move on the internet. We happen to know that the types of products you are looking to package are most often packaged with shrink film tubing. And, chances are, that is why you are here. While there are some similarities between shrink film and shrink film tubing, they are not the same. Based on you landing on this article, you’re probably thinking you need shrink film tubing. Shrink film tubing may be clear or colored plastic. Some shrink film tubing is available with perforations. Perforated shrink film tubing makes it easier to remove. Over the years, Industrial Packaging has sold countless rolls of shrink film tubing. During that time, we have identified the proper applications for this packaging material. In this article, we will explore shrink film tubing. We will also discuss the common applications and uses for this material. With this info, you will be able to identify if shrink film tubing is right for your products.

Blog Feature

Packaging Materials | Environment

By: Nathan Dube
April 8th, 2021

Earth-Friendly! Compostable! Biodegradable! Sustainable! All of these are surely buzz words you have seen a million times before. For instance, there has been a lot of pressure from consumers to replace plastic straws with paper ones. Then you have the public call to corporations to drop single-use plastics. These modern words of power have invaded the collective unconscious. This is true for most consumers the world over. This is all for a good reason. This sentiment stems from the perspective of a love affair with planet earth. Due to various reasons, many types of "earth-friendly" packaging are, in fact, not. For example, contamination in the single-stream recycling process. Then, there is the required protocols for biodegradable options. Do you buy biodegradable shrink films? If you don't compost them, you reduce all the earth-friendly elements of the material. Industrial Packaging has over 60 years in the packaging business. We know what works and what does not for sustainable packaging supplies. In this article, we will explore the requirements for composting biodegradable shrink films. Will your consumers implement these protocols? If so, they may very well make sense for your business. If not, you may make less of an impact on the environment with traditional packaging films.

Blog Feature

Packaging Materials | Packaging Design

By: Nathan Dube
April 6th, 2021

When it comes to packaging in 2021 and beyond, one item of continual interest for many consumers is easy-open applications. What is commonly known as "wrap-rage" is a phenomenon that we have seen growing over the past several years. Wrap-rage is the experience of having negative emotions and a sense of frustration towards the packaging of a product. This experience has become more common for consumers of various types of products. I myself have experienced wrap-rage on numerous occasions, particularly with some types of blister packs. I can still remember the slew of angry cuss-words drifting through my mind as I used various types of cutting tools to wrangle the product from inside the package. When it comes to shrink film, wrap-rage is an issue as well. Some of Industrial Packaging's customers have been asking us a question. That question is, "are there easy-open options for shrink film"? The short answer to this question is "yes, there are easy-open options for shrink film." In the article below, we will explore the shrink film options for easy open applications.

Blog Feature

Equipment | Packaging Materials

By: Nathan Dube
March 23rd, 2021

So, you have been tasked with purchasing shrink film for your company's packaging needs. You went to Google, searched for shrink film, and you found two common types of this material. Single-wound shrink film and centerfold shrink film. Now what? Which type of shrink film is right for your products? Is one or the other more appropriate for your packaging line? How do you identify which type of shrink film is right for you? You do this by understanding your desired package appearance, your machine's capabilities, and your production requirements, guiding you to the appropriate choice. Industrial Packaging has been selling shrink films for decades while providing our customers with quality information to make proper buying decisions. When it comes to your shrink film requirements, you will find the resources you need to choose the right film here. This article will help you figure out if single-wound or centerfold shrink film is right for you.

Blog Feature

Packaging Materials | Packaging Design

By: Nathan Dube
March 18th, 2021

Have you recently purchased a roll of shrink film to package your products? Maybe you’re finding that using shrink film is not resulting in a good final product? Chances are you, you did some research online, found an article about using shrink film, and gave it a whirl. Now you’re back to searching online to find a remedy to this situation. Maybe you thought that shrink film was the right material for your products, but it's not. What you actually needed was heat seal tubing. But don't feel bad! Heat seal tubing and shrink film are often confused for one another. Then again, perhaps you purchased heat seal tubing, and you have found yourself in the opposite conundrum. Again, it is an honest mistake, and it happens more often than you may think. Many people mistakenly assume heat seal tubing and shrink film are the same things. They are often made from the same or similar plastic formulations. But, they are designed for different packaging applications. Industrial Packaging is no stranger to shrink film or heat seal tubing. We have been working with both materials for many years. In this article, we will help you to understand the differences between heat seal tubing and shrink film.

Blog Feature

Packaging Materials | Packaging Design

By: Nathan Dube
March 16th, 2021

Deep-fried, boiled, or on the half shell. No matter how you eat them, one thing remains the same. Plastic clamshell containers taste absolutely awful! But, they make really great food packaging supplies. All references to our salty seafaring friends aside, the packaging containers known as clamshells do, in fact, resemble their ocean-dwelling namesakes. In the wide world of packaging, clamshells are a type of plastic container commonly used in food packaging applications. They can be found in supermarkets, gas station food-marts, grab-and-go food bars, and various other food retailing institutions. Clamshells are a type of carded packaging. Carded packaging is a collection of packaging materials that generally feature two components. These components included backers made from plastic, skin-board, or paperboard and front-facing materials made of various plastic formulations. Clamshells come from the same family of packaging materials like blister packs and skin packs. These easy-to-seal containers are ubiquitous. Chances are, you have seen them out in the wild. Industrial Packaging has helped various types of food packaging companies implement these containers. In this article, we will take a deep-dive into the ocean of carded packaging. And we will explore the natural habitat of these flexible plastic containers. With the information in this article, you will be able to decide if clamshell packaging makes sense for your product packaging needs or not.