A wide variety of materials are used for packaging, which have different suitabilities and strengths/weaknesses. Here is an excerpt of the advantages/disadvantages and properties of various packaging materials:
Plastics
LD-PE: Low density polyethylene
- Very flexible for foils and bottles
- Well formable with low hardness
- Good chemical resistance
- Poor resistance to organic solvents
- Recyclable
HD-PE: Polyethylene with higher density
- Better resistance to chemicals than LD-PE
- Well malleable
- Use up to approx. 100 degrees -large areas of application for food, cosmetics, chemicals and technical blow-moulded parts
- Recyclable
PET and rPETPolyethylene terephthalate (without/with recycled content)
- Transparent
- Dimensionally stable, good strength
- Used mainly for food, but also cosmetics etc.
- Good resistance to aqueous and acidic fillers
- At high temperatures "HOTFILL" options
- Recyclable
PP: Polypropylene
- High chemical resistance
- High strength and rigidity with low weight
- Well formable, ideal for injection moulding processes
- Heat resistant and therefore well suited for packaging to be used in microwaves
- Resistant to UV radiation and therefore often used in outdoor applications
- Often used for food packaging, medical devices, textile fibres and automotive components
- Recyclable, but recycling rate often lower than other plastics due to the variety of additives used in different PP products.
Natural substance based materials
Aluminium:
- 100% recyclable
- Solid and unbreakable
- Stainless
- Diffusion-proof
- Good conductivity for cold and heat
- Good availability
- 3x lighter than steel
- 4x lighter than glass
- Well malleable
Glass:
- Transparency
- Natural raw materials
- Tasteless and gas-tight
- Tolerates high temperatures
- Can be combined with many other materials without interactions
- Dimensionally stable
- High recycling rate
Stoneware:
- Starting material high purity alumina with high aluminium oxide content
- Waterproof even without glaze
- High temperature resistance
- Resistance to acids, aqueous alkalis and salt
- Use also as a building material
Which packaging is best suited to your product and your needs? Ask our packaging specialists.