Steven Hallford, New Product Development Technologist at Parkside, reveals how laser scoring is expanding the possibilities of packaging
Packaging has taken a generational leap forward over the past decade.
What was once a pipe dream is now a reality. Think of the high-performance home compostable flexible packaging, fully recyclable freezerproof paper laminates, and the huge expansion of functional flexible formats that are now on store shelves across the world. But we’re still only scratching the surface when it comes to exploring all the possibilities of packaging.
This advancement continues to be driven by a combination of groundbreaking technology and the expertise of the talented professionals working in the industry. This combination makes what feels impossible possible very quickly.
ParkScribe™, our multi-directional laser scoring system, demonstrates how technological innovation can drive the industry towards a brighter future, delivering packaging that adds value for customers and consumers today while also future-proofing against change in an industry that is evolving as quickly as any other.
Staying ahead of the market
As quickly as the packaging industry is evolving, the market is shifting just as quickly. Regulator, retailer, and consumer demands for sustainability are forcing us all to think differently about the way we protect and preserve goods. At the same time, an increasing number of consumers are turning to convenient solutions that they can fit more easily into their hectic lifestyles. If that wasn’t enough, rising costs, supply chain pressures, and the growth of high-speed automation through the supply chain mean packaging has to be more robust and functional.
Balancing all of these priorities is a major technical challenge, one that requires innovation to solve. ParkScribe is an example of an innovation that is designed to help brands overcome the challenges they face today and the potential challenges that will be faced tomorrow.
It’s a next-generation laser scoring and cutting system for flexible materials. It’s set up similarly to many web handling machines, with webs of material being spooled from one reel to another. As it moves between reels, it is scored by lasers from multiple directions.
The speed and accuracy of lasers enable multiple types of cutting and scoring in a single machine. These lasers can cut through individual layers of a polymer, adjusted with micron-level precision to meet the most exacting specifications.
This supports the creation of accessible packaging with quick-and-easy micro-perforations that can add tearable openings to flexible materials. Alternatively, the laser can cut partway through the material to create a peel-and-reclose film that works without the need for additional stickers or other materials that can impact recyclability and overall pack weight. This is particularly useful when developing circular packaging as it enables the creation of lidding films that can be weld-sealed to trays. Provided the tray and film are made from the same type of plastic, this means consumers can drop the whole solution in their recycle bin at end-of-life, sidestepping many of the challenges that normally come with flexible plastic recycling.
ParkScribe can also score single-spot perforations to create breathable films for fresh produce applications, or perforation lines that can divide snackable and sharing packs into portions.
It’s important to take a holistic view of sustainability that takes into account every step in the packaging journey, combining circular materials with functional design and value-adding consumer-friendly features. By delivering all of the above, ParkScribe supports sustainability goals in a number of ways, by facilitating recycling and helping to reduce food waste, while still keeping material use to a minimum. At the same time, it can be used to apply many value-adding consumer convenience features such as recloseability, accessible opening, and portion control with infinite design possibilities.
The possibilities are endless – the only limit is your imagination.
Expanding the scope of packaging
While consumer satisfaction is the be-all-end-all of packaging, ParkScribe offers many benefits to brands, too. Notably, its flexibility and agility to further expand the creative options that can be incorporated into a packaging design.
It is compatible with a huge range of flexible materials, including metallised films, meaning it has applications across recyclable, compostable, monopolymer, and traditional polymer materials. When combined with its remarkable speed and efficiency thanks to its rapid job changeover and turnaround times, ParkScribe offers the agility and flexibility that today’s supply chain demands.
The most exciting thing that laser scoring offers, however, is opportunities. Laser technology widens the scope of packaging design in ways that can genuinely revolutionise a project and the wider packaging industry. It ensures that convenience, performance, and sustainability do not have to compromise one another. Instead, they can all work hand-in-hand to deliver a packaging experience that is better for consumers, more cost-effective for brands, and less impactful on the planet.
When that balancing act becomes more about cooperation than compromise, businesses are free to maximise the potential of their packaging, turning it from a compliance-focused cost centre to a value-adding profit engine.
Packaging is an industry of limitless possibilities. Innovations like ParkScribe mean that brands can take more of those possibilities and turn them into reality.
To learn more about Parkside and its leading flexible packaging capabilities, visit www.parksideflex.com.
