Flexible Refreshments

In addition to providing a new way to present a product graphically, flexible packaging for beverages also provides benefits in terms of convenience, especially portability.

Frank Colombo, the new product development manager at Rochester, NY-based Pactech Packaging, a manufacturer of premade pouches, says the flexibility of a pouch allows one pouch to replace many bottles in a cooler and be carried around more easily.

Pactech makes pouches for wines and spirits that have a handle diecut directly out of the plastic, making for a convenient way to transport multiple servings.

“With a standup pouch you can put a handle directly into the pouch so it can be easily carried around,” Colombo explains. “[Consumers] like the convenience factor—the mobility of the product.”

Beyond the convenience, Marla Donahue, president of the Flexible Packaging Association, explains that flexible provides a more environmentally-friendly option as well.

“They are convenient, lightweight, non-breakable, easy to ship and store, and have a smaller environmental footprint, especially when you consider the reduced weight in transportation,” notes Donahue.

Pouch production

Before that soft container makes it to your grocery or liquor store, there are several steps in turning those raw materials into a finished product. When it comes to printing, the two most common methods are flexography and rotogravure printing.

American Packaging Corp., employs both processes, running flexo jobs at its Story City, IA location and rotogravure work at its Columbus, WI facility. Most pouches use polyester as their primary printing surface, which Triggs explains is reverse printed either on a flexo or rotogravure press.

Gravure printing is typically used for large-volume jobs and those where very high quality graphics are required. Flexo printing is better suited for smaller volume runs and for mid-range quality graphics.

Triggs says the printing process is also determined by what type of filling line is being used for placing the beverage into the package. Some determining factors include whether it is a horizontal machine, and how tight the registration has to be between the eye marks, which are printed spots that machines recognize as a reference point for package registration. For filling lines with narrow repeat tolerances, Triggs says rotogravure makes the most sense. However, some machines are designed with an expanded repeat tolerance to accommodate flexo printing.

“With some liquid horizontal filling lines, the repeat tolerances are so tight that you only want to make the lamination and print it rotogravure,” Triggs says. “Some of them have more forgiving requirements or a wider tolerance. The filling machine is designed that way so you can run flexographic printing.”

Following the printing process, pouch construction or formation is a multi-step process in its own right. Colombo says most pouches are constructed in three layers. Polyester is used on the outside for printability. Then, a middle gas barrier layer is applied, followed by a contact layer of low density polyethylene.

“Polyethylene is typically referred to as a food-grade contact layer,” notes Colombo. “It’s recognized by the FDA as a direct food contact layer. It will not impart flavors or leach additives that could contaminate the liquid inside the pouch.”