Dog bone packaging fetches Gold

Technical Innovation, Printing Achievement, and Packaging Excellence Gold Awards have been earned by Plastic Packaging Technologies, LLC for development of flat-bottom, stand-up, window bags with oxygen and moisture barriers for Blue Bones Natural Dental Chew Bones, a product of Blue Buffalo Co., Wilton, CT.

The award summary says, “This packaging demonstrates the outstanding graphic designs that can be obtained with flexography, the ability to reprint a design in tight register on top of a previously printed design on the same web, the ability to combine different substrates to obtain high-barrier structures that are light-weight and protect the product for added shelf life, and the ability to marry two different webs and make a truly square package that has the display qualities of a fiberboard carton and the cubic dimensions for easy loading into cartons and cases.”

In addition, the package offers benefits from a sustainability perspective, with 30% less material required and reduced shipping weights. And once the product is consumed, there is 30% less disposable waste potentially going to landfills.

The preformed, flat-bottom pouch structure is PET/ink/adhesive/4-mil clear EVOH sealant layer, plus a built-in, press-to-close zipper. The material is flexo- graphically printed in 7 colors plus two decks of varnish. Front, back, and bottom panels are printed on a separate roll from the side gussets. This requires two set-ups for each component due to the second pass through the press for the patterned varnish. The second pass is for the registered spot varnish, used to provide a two-tone look of shiny areas to contrast to the matte areas.

The box pouch format serves to billboard the product and give it excellent shelf presence. The eye-catching bag windows are die-cut in the shape of a galloping buffalo. And the side gussets are terminated below the pouch opening, allowing clean zipper placement across the top of the pouch. Tear notches provide easy-opening convenience for consumers, and a hang hole gives retailers a hanging-rack merchandise display option. Blue Buffalo fills and seals the box pouches using SG-6 fill/seal equipment from Totani Corp.

Chicago-based Progressive Packaging Corp. (773/549-6749) serves as distributor of the packaging for Blue Buffalo. Chris Klee, President of Progressive Packaging, notes, “We chose Plastic Packaging Technologies to produce the Blue Bones pouches because of their outstanding printing capabilities, including their ability to print patterned matte varnish—which was a requirement for this box-style pouch application. Specifically, Blue Buffalo required a complete matte appearance on the pouch with the exception of the windows and certain design elements. During the first press run, which we attended with Blue Buffalo, PPT was able to quickly bring the color on press to a perfect match with the targets. The finished packaging has been very well received by Blue Buffalo, retailers, and consumers.”