Medical Device Link.

Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News Magazine
PMPN Article Index

Originally Published October 2000

SPOTLIGHT

Capable Cartons

Folding cartons aren't just for show anymore. They protect, they secure, and they even help meet FDA requirements.

While cartons may be considered secondary packaging, that term does not do justice to the increased importance they are assuming for some products.

Healthcare companies are expecting more from their cartons, not only to protect and display their products, but also for features like security and readability, and in a few cases, for primary packaging. In addition, marketing departments are increasingly relying on cartons to enhance the shelf appeal of their products.

Such expectations have led to a more complex design process, more aggressive use of visual features, and increased functionality, among other things. They have also prompted carton suppliers to expand their resources to better meet these demands.

THE DESIGN PROCESS

More than ever before, the carton design process is a close collaboration between supplier and healthcare product manufacturer. Many things must be considered if the carton is going to stand out, if not in its function, then certainly in its appearance. Above all, creativity is a must.

For example, Caraustar's Custom Packaging Group (Austell, GA) has developed a formal process in which the business development team meets with the customer to work out ideas, says Tony Petrelli, vice president of marketing and business development.

"First we identify what criteria to consider: Reducing costs? Enhancing graphics? Taking on a contract manufacturer?" he says. "We come up with ideas and thoughts and post them under headings. Of those, we will choose the top three to five out of each criterion, and then send those to a project review board, which decides what to focus on and sets a timeline. We can quickly produce actual graphic samples with digital printing, so they can almost immediately do field tests or focus groups. With this process we can introduce a new package in four weeks or less. It's all based on speed to market."

Quick, real-life samples made by digital proofing are also an integral part of the design process at Diamond Packaging (Rochester, NY), says Lisa Palvino, director of marketing. "More pharmaceutical customers are interested in doing a trial run at first, which is more cost-effective than a full production run."

Jane Bullis, vice president of healthcare packaging sales for Cadmus Healthcare Packaging (Charlotte, NC), notes that functional and distribution issues are key to any design process. "This means thinking about what types of filling machines will be used, what speeds they will run at, whether there will be inserts or labels and how they will be applied, what sort of product protection is needed, and what the point-of-sale visual impact should be."

Finally, a design team must consider preexisting specifications and machinability issues, says Tim Freeze, manager, products, solutions, and systems for Mebane Packaging (Mebane, NC), a Westvaco Packaging Resource. But, he notes, "the really fun projects are those that are not bound by narrow specifications, but instead rely on our creativity and knowledge as packaging experts to redefine how products are presented to their markets."

In the best cases, these collaborations can lead to the carton supplier being a resource for other packaging issues. "Customers are letting us see their equipment and asking for recommendations on what to do for a particular filling line," says Chris Madison, sales manager for the healthcare packaging group of Graphic Packaging (Golden, CO). "They never did that before."

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

Keeping costs down has become paramount for carton suppliers, especially since makers of other forms of packaging routinely suggest that healthcare product manufacturers eliminate cartons to save money. Carton suppliers have responded in some cases by finding efficiencies and in others by focusing on criteria for which cartons will always be needed.

For instance, cartons expand labeling space easily, a concern renewed by FDA's over-the-counter (OTC) product labeling regulation, which will take effect in 2002. "For the smaller products, when you run out of room for your information, all you have to do is add a carton and you have additional space," says Tim Wayman, executive vice president of Beck Carton (Milwaukee, WI), a member of the RxPerts Printing Alliance.

The need for more space prompted Mebane to create the Expanded Content Carton. "Each one provides a unique design feature that expands the package's total surface area without increasing its size," Freeze says. "For example, one design incorporates a unique fold-out panel as part of the carton interior. Sealed to the carton body, the panel can be easily opened by consumers to reveal the compliance information underneath, and then quickly resealed to maintain brand identity and product promotion."

While some well-established products are losing their cartons as a way to cut costs, there are plenty of others that "have been using cartons to revive the product line because they need more clout on the shelf," Bullis says.

Enhanced visual appeal has always been the carton's major advantage over other forms of packaging. In fact, healthcare companies are requesting all kinds of graphic features that weren't even considered years ago.

"Customers want higher-gloss coatings, embossing, foil stamping, and other enhanced graphic requirements, especially in OTC packaging, which is so competitive," Petrelli says. "The consumer reacts to a package in a sixth of a second, so you have to grab the eye that quickly."

Even prescription packages are starting to catch on to the trend. "Now that pharmaceutical companies can advertise directly to the consumer, consumers are beginning to associate colors and logos with particular products. Even ethical drugs are coming into a retail-like environment. If consumers see the package in the advertisement, does that cause them to make a buying decision in favor of the brand name over the generic? The pharmaceutical companies are hoping it does," says Allen Vaughn, vice president of specialty packaging sales for Cadmus.

At Rex Corp. (Jacksonville, FL), pharmaceutical packaging involves strict compliance to GMP and capabilities that are beyond most packaging suppliers. "To us, quality, service, and price are givens," says John Gambardella, vice president of sales and marketing. "Although cost is important, what we do is create value by helping our customers meet demanding launch objectives with a reliable product that reinforces their brand image through graphic consistency on each line. We do this by going beyond traditional methods of packaging production. For example, we recently helped launch a line of prescription drugs. There were 59 cartons to cover the different dosage and language versions, which went to more than 10 countries. Average turnaround time for each item was less than 10 days. By receiving electronic files from countries around the world and providing fully assembled proofs via the Internet, we cut days out of the approval process. Using computer-to-plate technology ensured accuracy and speed to press in hours on time-sensitive materials. Providing seven-color-plus coated cartons with interior copy printing in a single press run saves both time and money."

Cartons are also being sought to provide or enhance product security. "Products are being diverted or counterfeited in record numbers, forcing OTC product manufacturers to take steps to ensure the security and authenticity of their products," Freeze says. "Already, government guidelines in Brazil are mandating that certain safeguards be incorporated into carton construction."

While use of electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags is becoming common, security doesn't stop there. "We are seeing interest in embedding things other than source tags," says Ernest Chaplin, vice president of sales, marketing and product licensing for Pharmagraphics LLC (Greensboro, NC), which includes the Scott & Daniels carton business. "One company has a device that you place inside as part of the carton, and it assesses what's in the carton without anyone having to open it."

INDUSTRY EVOLUTION

In part because the pharmaceutical, nutritional supplement, or medical device carton is no longer a simple secondary package, the cast of carton suppliers has changed in recent years. A supplier is now likely to have increased its size and capabilities rapidly through mergers and acquisitions or to have formed an alliance with other packagers, notably label and insert suppliers, for one-stop service.

"The ability to do labels, inserts, and cartons has become a salable, marketable edge," says Chaplin. "There is continued interest in bundling those three supplies."

"In the past, the industry was served by small, independent carton suppliers, and a need beyond the standard three-color carton became an expensive proposition. They would have to send out for UV coating or metallicized films," Madison says. "But now, larger companies like Graphic can bring all these capabilities in-line under one roof, because we have invested in the right equipment."

These capabilities, says Ron Tinklenberg, market manager of Graphic's healthcare packaging group, include narrow-web flexographic printing, web lithographic printing, laminating, and handling large-format sheets for medical device applications.

Having web flexo presses is an important capability, because the technology is cost-effective, says Bill Mitchell, president of PCI Printed Components (Philadelphia). "It eliminates the sheeting process," he says. "There's just a roll of paper on one end, and die-cut cartons come out the other end. It's faster, involves fewer steps and fewer people, and leads to higher productivity and lower costs."

Other benefits of the technology include "being appropriate for smaller runs, product launches, quick setup, and quick turnover," says Palvino.

The carton suppliers that will truly serve healthcare product manufacturers are the ones that can find ways to contain costs through improved processes, says Vincent F. Kover, vice president of sales–pharmaceutical for Innovative Folding Carton Co. (South Plainfield, NJ), part of the Impaxx Labeling and Packaging Network. "Such service is accomplished through implementing the latest technologies, training people properly in an ongoing manner, and maintaining the equipment to produce the highest efficiencies possible," he says. "For example, we utilize the latest in inspection equipment, one of the most advanced computerized eight-color printing presses, and new gluing lines that are faster and more computerized."

The increasing willingness of healthcare companies to let suppliers assume more packaging responsibilities has also created the need for more capabilities on the part of the carton supplier. "From a converting side, companies are looking to suppliers who can do more of the actual packaging of the product, especially in the initial market release. They don't want to risk spending money on equipment and engineering until they determine that the product will stick," Petrelli says.

THE PAYOFF

Two recent awards competitions recognized a number of cartons that met or exceeded the expectations of healthcare product manufacturers. The 2000 National Paperboard Packaging Competition, sponsored by the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC), and the 50th Packaging Competition, sponsored by the National Paperbox Association (NPA), both identified cartons that achieved excellence in design, graphics, structure, and other elements.

In PPC's competition, Thoro Packaging (Corona, CA) won a Gold Award in the Medicinal Products category for using paperboard to make a medical device called LiteAire, an aerosol holding chamber used in respiratory care. The device was the first of its kind made of paperboard instead of plastic. The customer chose paperboard for its affordability, ease of printing, ease of change, lack of static charge, and portability, the latter being an important consideration for patients. According to Thoro's James Brown, similar disposable devices are made of molded plastic, ranging in price from $18 to $40. The LiteAire product costs far less, helping hospitals and HMOs reduce costs and giving patients a more-affordable device.

Caraustar won three Excellence awards in healthcare-related categories in PPC's program. The first was for a carton made for the makers of Celestial Seasonings organic supplements, which needed a carton made of recycled materials that could hold two bottles without the use of shrink wrap or rigid blisters. The carton had to be both stackable and displayable on a peg. The solution was a carton with a fifth-panel internal flap that formed cavities for the bottles and provided a strong header panel for display or hanging. Caraustar's second award was for an Oral-B twin-pack toothbrush carton with a preapplied game piece and hot-melt spots for easy construction and resealing in the customer's plant. Caraustar's third award was for Warner-Lambert's Trident Advantage carton, which featured silver-foil hot-stamping.

In NPA's competition, Mebane earned one Gold Award in the Pharmaceuticals category and two Excellence awards in the Healthcare Products/Nonpharmaceutical category. The Gold award was for a carton for Bausch & Lomb's Opcon-A Eye Allergy Relief; the Excellence awards were for cartons for Schering-Plough's Dr. Scholl's Magna Energy Shoes Insoles and for SmithKline Beecham's AquaFresh Tarzan promotional toohpaste.

CONCLUSION

The ability to understand a product's specific needs and translate them into a package design, and the ability to handle all sorts of production demands may be what end up setting the most successful carton suppliers apart.

"Companies in the folding-carton venue that can innovate, offer extended capabilities, and know their customers and their customers' customers will be the most successful in the future," Cadmus's Vaughn says.