At the end of last year, it became possible to have the benefits of both flexible and rigid packaging together.
And so Clear Lam formally introduced PrimaPak at the Ilapak booth at interpak 2014...just as its first commercial uses began to hit the shelves in the US.
PrimaPak is an innovation by Clear Lam Packaging. The technology has created the first flexible, stackable, reclosable package designed to replace cans, bottles, and jars. PrimaPak technology uses up to 70% less plastic compared to PET jars and maximises manufacturing efficiencies.
The package is produced on Vertical Form Fill Seal equipment from exoskeleton rollstock, and is engineered to maximise manufacturing, warehousing, cubing, shipping, and merchandising efficiencies. It also
features next gen peel and re-seal technology, which eliminates the need for rigid lids/banding and gives consumers an intuitive, easy-to-open and close lid.
Together, the printed barrier film and peel and re-seal technology allow for messaging on all six sides of the container, generating more opportunities to communicate with consumers.
It is stackable, lowers product weight and has excellent vertical strength and dead-fold properties. It reduces truck shipments, is optimised for palletising and cubing and ultimately creates fewer cubic metres of landfill space.
Clear Lam calculates that one roll of film holding 2,000 PrimaPak impressions has an outside diameter of 40.6 cms and, since web width is 49.8 cms, stands 49.8 cms tall. By comparison, one and a half pallets are required to hold 2,000 plastic jars holding the same amount of product as the PrimaPak containers, and the space occupied measures 101.6 x 124.5 x 238.8 cms.
The PrimaPak is also much lighter than rigid containers of both plastic and composite paperboard. Its design provides easier stackability and enhanced product protection vs flexible packaging, and intuitive open/reclose features.
A reduced carbon footprint that is part of the PrimaPak value proposition. It uses significantly less plastic than a plastic jar.
What makes Primapak unique is that it looks and performs like a rigid container even though it’s formed and filled from flexible film rollstock on a conventional-style vertical form/fill/seal system.
First is reverse printing of a 70-ga BOPP on a 10-color flexo press. The printed BOPP is then adhesive laminated to a metallised PP. Finally, in a separate pass, a sealant layer is adhesive laminated to complete the base substrate.
The Prima Exo-Shell is added next. This component gives the package the look and feel of a rigid container. It’s a clear cast sheet extrusion of polyester, made by Clear Lam, that is then die cut into blanks that have a pressure-sensitive adhesive and a release liner added to them. The blanks, whose thickness varies based on application need, are then fed into a proprietary system that applies them to the base film in a process that resembles the application of a pressure-sensitive label. The finished material is then wound into a roll that is ready to be fed into a packaging machine. The film structures vary by application.
Only the peel and reseal versions are currently in production. To produce a package with a thermoformed snap-close lid, Clear Lam removes the forming collar and tube and replaces it with another set of tooling. It has two preheat stations and a thermoforming station. This snap-close option is designed for use with granules, powders, or products that have particulates.
Clear Lam has just won Silver at the DuPont Awards for Packaging Inovvation for PrimaPak with John B. Sanfilippo and Son and Spear Systems.
