Newly open packaging design

The ease of opening of the package is a characteristic of the package that facilitates consumer use of the product, primarily for small packages. In the past, we often focused on packaging in order to pack tighter and tighter items to avoid damage to the packaging and leakage of the product. However, there was little information on how to open the product packaging, and the opening effect of the packaging was not good. In the past, when the packaging was opened, many auxiliary tools such as scissors were used to cut the hand and cut the hand. This phenomenon frequently occurred, which not only increased the difficulty of product consumption, but also affected the overall image of the product. Easy-to-open packaging has a relatively short time to market, but it is very popular among consumers and it has become a trend in packaging design.

How can we improve the ease of opening of the package? Is it possible to quantify the perceptual awareness of openability, and then specifically examine several items? This article mainly introduces the following two types of packaging forms for containers and flexible packaging bags.

1 container

Containers can be divided into two types: bottle containers and cup containers. Bottle containers, ie, plastic bottles, glass bottles, etc., in order to allow consumers to easily open (usually open the bottle cap), need to control the torque required to open the cap; for some caps with special anti-counterfeiting effect, also It is necessary to control the opening force of the pull ring. The cup-shaped container is mainly opened at the heat-sealing place or pierced with a straw or other tools. Therefore, according to different packages, the heat-sealing strength or puncture resistance of the material needs to be adjusted. The choice of the optimal parameter range will vary depending on the consumer. For example, a beverage developed for children needs to be set in accordance with the child's grip and wrist strength. In general, to improve the ease of opening of the container, the following parameters need to be tested.

1.1 Friction coefficient detection

Need to detect the coefficient of friction of the outer wall of the container, the surface of the cap or the surface of the cover material.

The friction coefficient of the outer wall of the container is detected so that the consumer can grip the bottle body when the container is opened to avoid skidding. If the consumer slips between the hand and the bottle while gripping the bottle, it will greatly increase the difficulty of opening.

It is also very important to control the friction coefficient of the contact part of the bottle cap (rotary opening) with the hand when it is opened. Generally, the bigger the friction coefficient of this part is, the better, and the bottle cap side of the plastic bottle on the market is mostly convex and concave. Stripe pattern is an effective means to increase the friction coefficient.

Some of the cup-shaped containers are sealed with the cover material by heat sealing, and the heat sealing portion is mainly at the edge of the cup. A common opening method is peeling at the heat seal of the cup, so it is necessary to increase the coefficient of friction on the surface of the film to prevent slippage when peeling off the cover material and increase the difficulty of opening.

1.2 Torque force detection

For containers that need to be rotated to open the bottle cap, torque testing of the cap should be performed. Now, the capping process of the container after filling is mostly completed by the automatic capping device on the production line, so the torque force can be controlled more accurately. The torsional force of the caps of a batch of containers can be detected through a sample inspection method and adjusted according to the torque value determined optimally for the target consumer when the container is designed. Generally, a relatively good opening effect is obtained.

1.3 Heat Seal Strength Test

Some lidless cup containers are sealed with a cover material, such as frozen cups, yogurt cups, etc. With this type of packaging, on the one hand, the cost is lower than that of bottle-shaped containers, and on the other hand, small-capacity packages that are easy to carry and use are available. Therefore, application and promotion are very fast. Now, equipment that integrates all processes, such as punching cups, filling contents, heat sealing of cover materials, and finished product output, has been launched, which can effectively avoid the contamination that may occur after the production of the cup body and before filling, and exempt The cost of keeping the cup.

It is very important to detect the heat seal strength at the heat seal of the cup. On the one hand, during the preservation and transportation of the product, the heat-sealing portion of the cup is subjected to the impact of external force, and the heat-sealing strength is too low to cause cracking of the heat-sealing portion and leakage of the content. Conversely, if the heat seal strength is too large, it will greatly increase the difficulty of opening (for example, freezing, cup surface) at the heat seal, so it is necessary to control the heat seal strength of the cover material and the cup body material within a reasonable range. It should be noted that the heat seal between the cover material and the cup body is not exactly the same as the film heat seal, especially the shape of the heat seal head and the heat seal width. Therefore, when testing this indicator, it is best to use a professional heat seal tester, such as a special cup container heat sealer introduced by Labthink Languang, which can be tailored to the size of the test sample.

1.4 Puncture resistance test

For some products that need to pierce the lidstock to open the package, such as a yogurt cup, it is necessary to detect the puncture resistance of the lidstock. Unlike the detection of puncture resistance of other materials, there is a need to control the puncture resistance of the cover material in an appropriate range. On the one hand, it must be ensured that the material can resist the impact of external forces during storage and transportation and avoid the occurrence of cracks in the cover material. On the other hand, it should be able to open smoothly when using a straw or other tools to open the package.

2 flexible bags

There are various forms of common bag-like packaging, but generally there are certain requirements for easy-opening products in the form of small packaging, such as the minimum amount of food and granule packaging, puffed food packaging, pharmaceutical granule packaging and various kinds of Chemical packaging and so on. When the bag-like package is opened, it is usually selected to open according to the easy opening provided by the edge of the package, or to open from the heat-sealing portion at one end of the package. Of course, it can also be opened by using an auxiliary tool such as scissors. It is the most ideal situation to open the bag conveniently without the aid of auxiliary tools. This can also be used to maximize the convenience of the small package that can be carried and used at any time. To integrate the opening methods of various flexible bags, it is possible to improve the ease of opening by testing the following parameters.

2.1 Friction coefficient detection

Whether the coefficient of friction of the outer surface of the flexible packaging bag is reasonable or not is a main factor related to whether the packaging material can be firmly held by consumers during the opening process, so as to avoid the phenomenon of opening due to skidding.

2.2 Tear performance testing

Opening in accordance with the easy opening provided by the edge of the bag is the most convenient way to open, no need to prepare auxiliary tools, and the opening force is small, so the easy opening is widely used in the design of flexible bags. The amount of force required to evaluate the tearing of the bag through the easy opening can be achieved by testing the tear strength of the film. Due to the inconsistent vertical and horizontal tensile amplitudes of the films in the production process, the produced films will exhibit anisotropy to varying degrees, and the tearing performance is also the same. Therefore, when designing the packaging structure, the tearing force should be based on the size of the material. Choosing a suitable opening direction helps increase the success of the opening.

2.3 heat sealing performance test

Opening the bag from the heat-seal at one end of the bag is also a common method of opening. The heat sealing of the flexible packaging bag is the main position where the product is subjected to external force during storage and transportation. Therefore, in order to ensure the integrity of the content, the heat sealing strength of the material needs to be improved. For a package that needs to be opened at the heat-seal, it is also necessary to reduce the heat-sealing strength of the seal as much as possible in order to increase the ease of opening of the package while ensuring that the contents are intact. Of course, the most suitable range of heat-sealing strength differs depending on the packaging materials and contents, and it needs to be determined based on the actual situation.

3 The necessity of comprehensive inspection

For containers and flexible packaging bags, the above factors that mainly affect the ease of opening of the packaging are described in this article. However, in practical applications, it should be noted that relevant factors should be comprehensively tested. If the surface frictional force of the material and the tearing force of the material do not match well, slippage may occur, which may cause difficulty in opening. However, if the frictional force exceeds the limit, the efficiency of the production and filling will be affected. Therefore, the packaging structure and the packaging are comprehensively inspected. It is necessary to start the simulation test under various conditions for various indicators related to easy opening.