Packaging on Twitter

If you have a specialty in occupation or avocation, you want to find others who care about it and have conversations with them - share what you know. Through them, you meet new people to talk with or listen to. It doesn't matter whether your forte is establishing a food empire one cookie at a time @jbchang, teaching young women how to enhance their self-esteem @KathleenHassan, taking beautiful photographs to tell the story of how women age @BeautyofWisdom, writing and performing richly layered and memorable music @TheVanBurens, or whatever you love.  Your goal is to do your work, your art, and find your audience - the people who will provide that give and take.

When I began my first Twitter account in October of 2009, I never expected to find so many smart people who are interested in packaging, but they're teaching me, sharing information, and supporting me daily. Here are some of the many insightful packaging experts and organizations who share my philosophy of give and take on Twitter:

@PackagingDiva  JoAnn Hines:  Answers, Advice, Results from GO TO person in packaging. I speak, blog, educate, on all things packaging and support those who support me.

@packagingdigest  For nearly 50 years, Packaging Digest has been the packaging industry’s best known, most trusted and most widely distributed information resource.

@cnvcurmudgeon  Mark Spaulding:  Bloggist for The Converting Curmudgeon; associate publisher; chief editor of Converting Quarterly; web-processing industry bon vivant.

@packageSPEAK  Package SPEAK is THE place for consumers like you to share your likes, dislikes, frustrations; ideas about packaging. Take notice, share; impact an industry.

@PackagingKid  Lex Cisler:  Packaging and Corrugated expert here to keep you updated on market trends, solve as many warehouse problems as I can and bring an edge to the packaging industry

@PMMIorg   Trade association serving packaging and processing machinery manufacturers. Your official location for#PACKEXPO info. 

@packfutur   Thoughts on the future of packaging by Leading Futurists LLC principals Jennifer Jarratt @jenjarratt and John Mahaffie @jbmahaffie

@Pack_TV   Simon Twilley:  Love Packaging, love TV, so launched a WebTV Channel about packaging!

@thedieline  The World's #1 Package Design Website 

If you'd like to connect with more packaging experts on Twitter, follow my Twitter Packaging list, which continues to grow as I find more smart people in the packaging business. Follow and DM me @laineyd7 if you'd like to be added.

How Did I Get Here? Packaging in Review

In the process of revamping our web site (almost ready) and producing some informal "how-to" videos (still working on them) about Intercept Technology packaging, I began to reflect upon my reason for being involved in the packaging business.  Here are my thoughts:

When Joe and I began Liberty Packaging Co., Inc., as a part-time venture 15 years ago, we were enamored of the Intercept products and how miraculous they seemed.  Intercept prevents corrosion and drains a static charge at the perfect rate to prevent damage to the products inside, for short or long-term storage, when shipping and storing anywhere in the world.  Amazing!  A single material that has these capabilities, that does NOT include oils or volatiles, does not outgas or particle shed and is safe for handlers.  Fantastic! It works for metals, large machinery, small parts, electronics, rubber and more.  We had never heard of any single packaging material that had so many positive attributes.  Materials test results substantiated these performance claims and we knew that Bell Labs/Lucent had been using Intercept to package some of its own products for a number of years with great success.

At that time, the possible applications for Intercept Packaging seemed limitless and we got to work finding the manufacturers and other organizations who would see the value of such a versatile material. Because Intercept is a disruptive technology in the packaging field, we found that manufacturers felt the need to do their own testing of the product to be sure it could work for them.  Along the way we've gained some loyal customers and enlightened many manufacturers who have been able to reduce the time spent to package their products or parts, reduce the space required to package (no vacuuming required) and even reduce the materials required to package.  Safe, clean, easy to use, reusable, recyclable material, Intercept is like a dream come true for these customers.

The jewel of test results is a recently-published paper from Alcatel/Lucent, which quantifies its own testing of Static Intercept.  The news is all good:  in comparing the use of Static Intercept bags with traditional metalized shield bags for the protection of sensitive electronics, Static Intercept showed superior performance in tests of environmental impact, ESD dissipation, atmospheric pollution and corrosion testing.  I won't address all of the points here as the paper is highly detailed, but the conclusion states: "This paper has demonstrated the environmental benefits packaging can have on the storage, shipment, and protection of sensitive electronic components - a 40-fold reduction in GWP (global warming potential).  The benefits are shown to be present throughout the entire product lifecycle, but most noticeably in the use phase where the superior protection qualities of the Static Intercept bag are multiplied into environmental benefits."

This paper published by Bell Labs Technical Journal shows that the Static Intercept material has significant environmental and cost advantages over the metalized shield bag.

Liberty Packaging is on the right track - given this validation from Bell Labs, I feel good about my path.  And remain astonished by the seemingly magical capabilities of Intercept packaging materials.  If your company is interested in corrosion and static protective packaging, and in reducing its environmental impact, or you'd like a copy of "Reducing Environmental Impact and Increasing Reliability Through Packaging:  A Lifecycle Assessment Approach", please contact us here.

Good Packaging Evolves

I recently purchased new bed sheets and pillowcases to ensure that our holiday guests would be comfortable during their stay in our home.
It was a nice surprise to find this thoughtful new packaging from
Springmaid (affiliate link) and Home, a house brand of Target store; both clearly making the effort to reduce the use of plastics and packaging in general. Both have eliminated the usual plastic or cellophane on the outside of the package, which is fine with me, as I normally wash new sheets before using. Each has a small amount of corrugated paper inside the sheets or pillowcases to maintain the shape of the package. Both have used a minimum number of ink colors for imprinting - also a consideration. All of the packaging materials can go into our town's recycle stream.

There is still plenty of work to be done in order to achieve the ultimate in retail packaging (reduce first, then reuse and recycle), but improvements are constantly in the works in the retail realm. The big picture requires packaging materials and methods that will keep the product fresh on the shelf for as long as possible, with fewer and better (recycled, reusable, recyclable) materials. Our responsibility as consumers is to pay attention, try the products, evaluate what works, and continue to be a thoughtful part of the discussion.

Packaging Expert JoAnn Hines on Targeting Consumers Through Packaging

In a recent issue of ThomasNet Industry Marketing Trends (IMT) Expert's Corner, JoAnn Hines, aka The Packaging Diva, lays out how the still-weak economy and fickle consumers are forcing businesses to rethink their packaging decisions.

It goes without saying that packaging plays a critical role in marketing a product or brand. However, it takes more than just a pretty package to sell a product that resonates with consumers.

IMT recently picked the brain of JoAnn Hines, a packaging consultant, speaker, educator and overall one of the busiest people in the packaging industry. Known in the industry as The Packaging Diva, Hines weighs in on some of the key forces within product packaging today.

For Hines' insight into the consumer packaging market, now and for 2011, read the full article here: Targeting Consumers Through Packaging

Packaging - More than Meets the Eye

Packaging is what catches your eye in the cereal aisle at the grocery store. It's the reason you gravitate to those great headphones in the big box electronics store or that geegaw on the checkout counter at the 24-hour shop near your office. Packaging, or more accurately, packaging design, when well thought out and executed, speaks to you, the target audience, and draws you in. Colors, brand names, materials, fonts, inks, logos, taglines, and mission statements, often more than what the product actually is or does, will dictate your purchase.

Wikipedia's page for Packaging and Labeling provides an all-inclusive definition of the science, art and technology of packaging.

The materials used in packaging design are undergoing close scrutiny - unless you're growing all of your own food, you see evidence of this in the market every day. Sensible use of materials is being demanded by consumers and their advocates and in some countries mandated. Packaging designers and engineers must now consider the whole life of both the product and its packaging when proposing how that product will go to market - food, electronics, appliances, automobile parts, medicines - everything that is in-process, shipped, stored, consumed, exchanged, imported, or exported.

Items packaged safely, but with a minimum of packaging, are gaining popularity because of environmental considerations. Smart packaging is key and changes are being made daily. For amazing and innovative retail packaging ideas, head straight to The Dieline. Manufacturers of electronics and metals where corrosion or field defects may be a concern should consider the benefits of Intercept Technology Packaging as a solution. For cogent discussion on where packaging is headed, read The Packaging Diva's "Packaging News You Can Use" blog and join the discussion.

Great Packaging: the Gift that Keeps on Giving

I'm in the packaging business. I love packaging. If it's useful, protective, plastic, logoed, beautifully colored, plain, fancy, paper, reusable, buttoned, zipped, tied with a bow or not, I love it all. Innovation in packaging has revolutionized the food industry and I especially appreciate the freedom that this great packaging allows us.

We recently visited our friend, Tom, who owns a specialty shop selling wines and olive oils and all kinds of foodie goodies that are out of the ordinary; not regular grocery store fare. Tom talked about his visit to a restaurant supply show where he viewed myriad new items that make food preparation simpler for restaurant owners. All of the items he mentioned are foods that would require very little preparation - just cook, arrange artfully on a plate and listen for the yummy sounds from your dining room.

Because of GREAT packaging, we now have juicy eight-ounce hamburger patties ready for grilling and fresh pastas any time we want, even soft-shell crabs out of season. Salad greens, deli meats, fresh bread, pulled pork, exotic fish, tender cuts of beef - whatever your palate craves, with delectable gourmet flavorings, ready to use with little or no preparation. I think back to the days when my Mom was feeding a family of seven at the end of an eight-hour work day, with exactly zero convenience food items - everything was fresh - washed, cut, seasoned, cooked and served by Mom the Chef. I'm especially grateful for Mom's skill in the kitchen, but ever more grateful for the freedom that is available to me, in the kitchen and elsewhere, because of innovative packaging.

The One and Only Packaging Diva

When you see the word "diva", you normally think of an opera singer like Jessye Norman or even an R&B singer like Aretha Franklin. Barbra Streisand and Mariah Carey come to mind. I've never made acquaintance with these divas, but agree that they fit the profile, given the Merriam-Webster definition of diva, which is "a usually glamorous and successful female performer".

The Packaging Diva, JoAnn Hines, deserves the diva moniker because of the breadth of her interest in and knowledge of all things packaging. She has been around the business for so long that even the likes of Bill Clinton (she's been to the White House twice) and Faith Popcorn have called for JoAnn's input before they made a public statement.

To put it simply, JoAnn Hines knows how products should be packaged so that people will buy them. Whether you are launching a new product, retooling a tried and true favorite, looking for a packaging vendor, need input on a packaging design already in the works, seek a packaging expert to speak at an event, require help to stay competitive in the marketplace, or are looking to expand your market or target a specific demographic, Joann has the qualifications to steer you in the right direction. She has affiliations with universities, publications, manufacturers and pretty much anyone who has anything to do with packaging. JoAnn has even developed her own Packaging University with myriad opportunities to learn to integrate your packaging with the needs of the consumer.

A successful business is all about connections, isn't it? If you're in the packaging business, make that connection with The Packaging Diva - you'll be glad you found her.
The Packaging Diva

Ladies, Let's Talk about Razors

I know, it may seem a bit too personal, but when I make a good purchase, sometimes I just feel like sharing. Anyone shaving their legs (and it is beach season) will appreciate the wonderful features of the
Venus Embrace ladies' razor from Gillette. It has FIVE blades! One would think two or three enough, but what a close shave it provides. And, the wide surface area of the cartridge with the lotiony edges protects the ankles and knees - where I would normally knick myself.

This one has a little "pod" that you can stick on the shower wall, for storing the razor; this "Shower Pod" opens up for storage of a couple of new cartridges for a quick change when the blades become dull. The whole thing is very handy and the packaging is beautiful, which is why I purchased it in the first place.
Enjoy!

Plastic Wine Bottles May Be "green"

Whether or not you are a recycler (if you're not, you need to admit it to yourself and get started), you may find this interesting. It seems there is a PET material being used for wine bottles and you may see these new bottles on the shelves at your favorite wine merchant soon. For more details go to

TheAge.com.au

and find the article "One Green Bottle" by Ben Canaider. Wine in plastic bottles certainly makes sense for frat houses and the boating community, as mentioned in the article, but does it make sense environmentally? Maybe. And will wine connoisseurs everywhere be willing to drink wine from a plastic bottle with a screw-on cap? Hmmmm.

I don't believe there is an ultimate correct answer for all of our trash and carbon footprint issues, but we certainly should think about doing things better. If there is a better way, we should consider it. All of these recycling concerns require trial and error; any improvements will be made using baby steps.

As an avowed wine ignoramus (opposite of connoisseur), I would be happy to drink wine from a plastic bottle. Please don't hold it against me.