packaging, the technology and art of preparing a commodity for convenient transport, storage, and sale.
Though the origins of packaging can be traced to the leather, glass, and clay containers of the earliest Western commercial ventures, its economic significance has increased dramatically since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Packages on the contemporary market are designed to protect goods from the hazards of handling and environmental conditions; to provide a manageable unit of the packaged product for the producer, distributor, and consumer; and to identify the product in a way that appeals to the potential purchaser. Packages must also be easy to manufacture and to fill, and they must be inexpensive relative to the price of the final, packaged product.
Materials used in the transport of substantial loads of goods include corrugated or solid cardboard for lighter materials, metal for liquid goods, and wood for heavy or bulky loads. Timber cases and crates are widely used for weights of more than 220 pounds (100 kg), while below this weight fibreboard, either solid or corrugated, is the favoured material. Wooden pallets have replaced crates in some instances. Plastic has also been used extensively as an impact buffer and, because of its high durability and insulation qualities, as a shipping material for liquids and perishable foodstuffs. The most widely used material in the packaging of goods for consumers is the cardboard carton, since it is light in weight and inexpensive and can be easily manufactured, printed, and stored. Cartons are made in a great variety of shapes and sizes. Nearly half of these containers serve as containers of food. Cans of tin-plated steel, both those that are permanently sealed and those with tops that can be lifted and replaced, are also used predominantly for food storage. Tin-plate containers are also used to hold paints and varnishes and tobacco, medical, and cosmetic products. While such tin plate is durable and highly resistant to chemical and mechanical damage, aluminum is lighter and more malleable but interacts more readily with chemical agents. Aluminum provides bottle caps and easy-open tops for cans. Most aerosol (pressurized) containers, which deliver liquid products in the form of a spray, are based on metal cans.
Glass containers are easily mass-produced using high-temperature furnaces and molding machines, and they can also be reused. Containers made of glass are durable and chemical-resistant and can be kept highly sanitary and are therefore ideal for the storage of solid and liquid foods, drugs, and cosmetic products. Recent developments in the plastics industry have also provided polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene as packaging materials. Plastics are often produced in the form of trays, bags, bottles, boxes, and transparent film, through thermoforming and injection- or blow-molding processes. Their light weight, flexibility, and insulating qualities make them especially useful for pressurized packages and containers of foods to be boiled or frozen. Collapsible plastic tubes are widely used to hold cosmetics, toiletry, and pharmaceutical substances.
The particular nature of the packaged products requires care in the selection and design of container materials. The movement of fragile materials requires a thorough assessment of the degree of fragility, the potential hazards of transport, and the cost and efficiency of practical containers, in order to maximize protection and minimize shipping expenses. A variety of containers have also been designed for products sensitive to light, temperature, air, moisture, and contact with chemicals.
Other packaging considerations include the nature of the intended market, the role of packaging in product use, and the expense of package production. When the product handled is food, packaging must be designed to retard spoilage and prevent physical damage and exposure to contaminants. Package closures must provide adequate sealing, and they must be sanitary and mechanically safe. Labeling for packages must be easy to print and to affix to the container material.
The most efficient and economical method of filling liquid containers is often through the application of vacuum suction around the container opening, which draws the liquid from a feeding tube into the container until it is full and the vacuum seal breaks. Liquids can also be packaged in amounts premeasured by volume or determined by gravity-powered flow into the container for a measured length of time. Powders, granular products, and capsules or tablets are also commonly filled in units of volume or weight, though tablets are sometimes counted before packaging. Sophisticated mechanized processes have been developed that can open, fill, and seal cardboard containers with maximum efficiency. The same technique is applicable to the filling of bags, whether they are made of plastic, paper, or textiles, although many products are still packaged in bags by hand.