Tech upgrades for EcoDesign and decoration
3D Neopac, a global provider of tube packaging for cosmetics and health care, and part of the Hoffmann Neopac Group in Switzerland, has further strengthened the capabilities set for its signature SpringTube packaging solutions. Fresh off becoming an officially registered brand in India, 3D Neopac has upgraded its on-site manufacturing technology with two additional flexo decoration stations, and will also introduce a new tube line for capacity extension.
The infrastructure investment extends the company’s metallic, flexo and digital decoration capabilities.Notably, due to Covid-19 protocols, the influx of ultra-modern equipment was deftly installed and validated by 3D Neopac’s internal personal, with virtual assistance from its machinery partners. The result is an even wider range of custom decoration, including pearl effects, ornate finishes and spot colors, plus a capacity extension with a new tube line of 50 MM tubes.
In terms of sustainability, this year, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) notification for plastic waste management that covers reuse, recycling and use of recycled plastic content, as well as end-of-life disposal by producers, importers and brand owners. For tubes, actionable items include reducing packaging weight (light-weighting), increasing recyclability (mono-material/PE), using recyclates, and replacing certain plastics with paper.
3D Neopac will market various eco-design adaptions of its tube portfolio. Examples include mono-material PE tubes and tubes with locally sourced post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. In fact, 3D Neopac’s laminating machine is capable of processing the PCR quality available in India.Notably, 3D Neopac has reduced the wall thickness of its COEX and SpringTube series by up to 23% in the sleeve (up to 35% in coextruded versions), while maintaining its important barrier properties and esthetic aspects.
Its varied decorative options offer almost unlimited design and customization possibilities, eliminating the need for labels through low-migration, eco-friendly direct printing on a mono-material structure.Variable printing options allow products using SpringTube to be customized down to the unit level, and its flat extruded design yields extremely precise layer thickness. In the near-term 3D Neopac will introduce additional SpringTube components including a new lightweight, HDPE slim flip-top cap. In addition, late last year 3D Neopac debuted SpringTube Kraft, a paper tube concept comprised of a paper/plastic compound.
Despite being a concept whose collection mechanism has not yet been cleared in many countries, the fiber-based packaging it espouses is considered an attractive option to replace plastics where appropriate.Finally, at 3D Neopac plastic and barrier tubes and components are produced in-house – an advantage that significantly mitigates supply chain issues. Its plant’s expansive tubes solution capacity also provides reassurance to customers in a still-unpredictable post-pandemic market.
The Covid-19 pandemic led to the country-wide lockdown on 25 March 2020. It will be two years tomorrow as I write this. What have we learned in this time? Maybe the meaning of resilience since small companies like us have had to rely on our resources and the forbearance of our employees as we have struggled to produce our trade platforms.
The print and packaging industries have been fortunate, although the commercial printing industry is still to recover. We have learned more about the digital transformation that affects commercial printing and packaging. Ultimately digital will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future.
Web analytics show that we now have readership in North America and Europe amongst the 90 countries where our five platforms reach. Our traffic which more than doubled in 2020, has at times gone up by another 50% in 2021. And advertising which had fallen to pieces in 2020 and 2021, has started its return since January 2022.
As the economy approaches real growth with unevenness and shortages a given, we are looking forward to the PrintPack India exhibition in Greater Noida. We are again appointed to produce the Show Daily on all five days of the show from 26 to 30 May 2022.
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