Packaging

There is a saying in the packaging industry to the effect that "everybody thinks he is an expert on the subject." The implication of this judgment is that, of course, "they don't know the half of it." The public is intensely exposed to packaging, and its members will of course have an opinion, indeed an informed opinion. At the same time packaging is a vast subject extending deep in one direction to very hidden and sophisticated areas of materials science, in another into the protection of public health and welfare; it is the pillar supporting at least three major industries (paper and board, plastics, and glass); it is fought over by people who want to use its labels for disclosure and those who want "truth in advertising"; it is a very important branch of marketing and also of design activities; it is in itself a large and expensive industrial activity sometimes separate from production, placed at its end, sometimes integrated into the manufacturing process; it has its major subdivision of portion packaging, packaging, and outer packaging or packing; everything rides on its pallets; it is an important aspect of transportation, warehousing, and distribution generally; the word is used symbolically to mean "the artful presentation" of something, such as the "packaging" of a celebrity; finally, spent packaging is the bulk of solid waste and carelessly discarded packaging that is the litter of the U.S.A.

EVOLUTION

Packaging is nothing new and predates modern times, but the form it takes is a direct reflection of settlement patterns, the reach of the economy, food preservation technology, and the nature of the transportation system. Before the modern era took serious hold after World War I, only a few products were packaged. Canning dates back to the days of Napoleon, some of whose formations, marching into Russia, received canned goods in newly invented tin-lined metal cans. Other long-lasting products (what today we call long shelf-life products), like hard biscuits and cookies, were packaged; chocolates and candies came in fancy boxes as well. Perfumes were an early and highly visible packaged product. All of these, and others, from the very beginning, bore brand identifications. Many small products like buttons and needles were prepackaged. Packaging initially served the needs and convenience of the seller; the package itself became a container in the consumer's home. Urban settlement was dense. Refrigeration was not yet wide-spread. Food shopping took place daily. People took milk or oil cans to the store to have them filled; preserves came in glass that could be recycled; paper packaging was used, often made on the spot from sheets by the merchant; the "shopping basket" itself was the generic carrier of groceries. Long distance packing used to be in crates fashioned of wood. Of that technology today only the wood pallet survives.

Packaging technology saw intense development immediately before and during World War II in efforts to supply the fighting forces—and not just those of the U.S. Mass distribution of packaged products began and then continued thereafter. Sturdy Kraft paper, two outer layers reinforced by a corrugated inner layer (the corrugated box) took over bulk packaging. Milk began to transit from recyclable glass bottles to paper containers initially coated with wax and then, after the war, by hot melt plastics, a combination of wax and plastics. Plastics saw an immense expansion in the 1950s and 60s; polyethylene became a staple of flexible packaging, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) became a standard form of transparent packaging, and polyurethane foam plastics came to dominate a field that had once belong to pressed paper pulp. Composite materials (laminates) became possible as a consequence of the emergence of high-performance adhesives. Packaging grew stronger, lighter, and easier to process by machine. Aluminum entered the beverage market as aluminum cans and also as easy-open closures for steel cans. As mass production developed in the underlying materials, and forming and packaging machinery became ever more affordable, many products not heretofore packaged were now "shrink-wrapped" onto sheets of cardboard, bagged, and boxed. In parallel with the physical development of packaging, companies exploited the surfaces of packaging to print their brand names and messages, a process aided by rapidly advancing printing technology and improved inks. The potential of using the package itself as a means of differentiation or a means of delivering convenience (the single-cup tea bag, the single-serving ketchup package) rapidly created a brand-new dimension in packaging. Packaging and marketing began to merge. Packaging grew in total volume to such an extent that by the 1970s it began to attract government attention as a new cost imposed on waste disposal systems. Discarded packaging—particularly after cans took over beer and soft drink distribution from recyclable bottles—produced deposit legislation aimed at curbing litter.

By the 1970s packaging had reached maturity and has since evolved less dramatically and visibly. However, the underlying materials sciences are still producing ever better and ever more specialized and differentiated packaging. As the early 2000s advance, the protective capacities of packaging are improving so that some heretofore refrigerated products are available on ordinary shelves and others will likely follow. New composites are announced every year. Competition between materials continues; costlier materials like metals, paper, and glass are everywhere pressed by plastics; this trend, however, may reverse if the price of oil (the source of plastics) keeps climbing. Strange and wonderful extensions of the packaging-marketing synthesis are being talked about, like imprinting fresh fruit with messages adhering to microscopically thin coatings'¦.

The continuing evolution of packaging at a technical level serves as an indicator that, despite much hype about the package as a promotional vehicle, the predominant function of packaging in the economy is product protection first, convenience next. The consumer also values objective information. Functionally, the hype comes last.

PACKAGING BASICS

Packaging divides into bulk, product, and portion packaging. Bulk packaging takes the form of cardboard boxes (much more rarely crates) and the pallets that carry these; it is intended to protect and is rarely ever used to advertise (except the maker of the box itself); even automobiles have bulk packaging in the form of protective sheets attached to windshields and other external features. Product packaging typically has two roles: protection and communication. The communication may be promotional, a service to the user (menus, preparation instructions), or a labeling requirement. The chief purpose of portion packaging is to deliver convenience—although such packaging also carries a message.

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