Peter Rigney Package Of The Year Award

Unifoil Corporation
Product: Forever Elizabeth Fragrance - Hub Folding Box

The Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators honored Unifoil Corp., Fairfield, New Jersey, with its Peter Rigney Product of the Year Award at a banquet on Thursday, March 13th during its March Management Meeting held March 12-16 at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, Arizona.

Unifoil converts the holographic material used for a heart-shaped setup box designed by Elizabeth Arden, Miami Lakes, FL, for its new Forever Elizabeth fragrance . Hub Folding Box, Mansfield, Massachusetts, assisted with the design and also serves as box maker and contract packager. To produce the five-component box, CFC International, Chicago, Illinois, metallizes the polyester, and Unifoil adds a custom-designed, shimless, 45-degree diagonal double-rainbow holographic pattern. Unifoil then laminates the film to 24-point solid bleached sulfate from International Paper, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to form the top and base and to 12-point board for the top and bottom rims. The rims are folded over to achieve a 24-point thickness and provide a seamless rim with a duplex effect. Careful attention was paid to paper grain direction to maintain maximum strength and ensure folds remain smooth and crack-free.

The holographic pattern wraps around the entire box, eliminating any white core edges when the box is open. A third substrate, a half-mil polyester film, also is metallized by CFC and converted by Unifoil. Gold in color, it covers the inside of the box top and bottom to hide glue rim seams and serve as a background for the transparent polyvinyl chloride tray that holds the product. The judges agreed the mirror-like appearance of the gold interior adds another level of elegance and enhances the package's quality image. The judges pronounced this package "really well done" and found it impressive from both technical and marketing perspectives. "It's wrinkle free at the folds," says one judge, adding, "This is very difficult to achieve."

Food Category: Marketing Award

PROMA Technologies
Product: Holographic Corrugated Box for Honolulu Fish Co.

In the Food Category in the 2003 AIMCAL Vacuum Metallized or Coated Product Competition, PROMA Technologies, Franklin, Massachusetts, took home the Marketing Award for a holographic corrugated box for Honolulu Fish Co., Honolulu, Hawaii. The shipping container for fresh fish relies on a liner of 70-pound, coated-one-side HoloPRISM metallized paper supplied by PROMA to Weyerhaeuser Corp., Honolulu, Hawaii, which does the converting on an Asitrade laminator and also performs the contract packaging function. The design by ITW Holographics, Chalfont, Pennsylvania, incorporates the company name, logo and contact information into the HoloPRISM master so the package does not require additional print graphics or processing. In addition to its strong visual impact, the shiny metallized box reflects sunlight and keeps contents cooler than a standard printed box providing a bit of extra protection for the fresh fish delivered daily to restaurants and other customers worldwide. Judges note, this is the first time they've seen metallizing on corrugated for a fresh product.

Food Category: Technical Award

Super Film Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.
Product: Metallized Laminate Wrap for NEBA Margarine

The Technical Award in the Food Category went to Super Film Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S., Baspinar, Turkey, for a metallized laminate wrap designed by Paksoy Ticaret Ve Sanayi A.S. Yuregir, Turkey, for its NEBA margarine. Super Film supplies and metallizes the substrate, which is then converted by Asas Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret S.A., Yenikent, Turkey. Critical deadfold properties are provided by Supmet 1132 MD cavitated, opaque biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film and a proprietary vacuum metallizing process. The metallized BOPP offers a 4% yield improvement compared to its closest competitor, parchment paper. A much higher oxygen barrier, 344 millilitres per square meter per day at atmospheric pressure versus 30,000 millilitres per square meter per day at atmospheric pressure for parchment, more than doubles product shelf life from four to nine months. The metallized material's oil barrier also is considerably better. The eye-catching, shiny wrapper attracts consumer attention and encourages purchase. This greater shelf impact along with improved product protection have boosted sales 10%. In addition, the BOPP offers good machinability and actually runs about 10 packs per minute faster than parchment. "This is a huge technical improvement over parchment paper," says one judge. "It's no doubt a revolutionary package in its market," comments another.

Nonfood Category: Marketing Award

PROMA Technologies
Product: 80-pound HoloPRISM Paper Used Inside Inova Microlight Blister Packs

PROMA Technologies also took home the Marketing Award in the Nonfood Category for its role as metallizer and substrate supplier for an 80-pound HoloPRISM paper used inside Inova Microlight blister packs. Blister packs, designed by Emissive Energy Corp., Warwick, Rhode Island, encourage impulse purchases. Light beam graphics show how the product looks in use, while a rainbow holographic pattern catches attention, differentiates the tiny flashlight from its competition and reflects its high-tech nature. "A lot of thought went into the design of the graphics," comments one judge. Judges also note the package is innovative for the category. Converter, Challenge Printing, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, prints the HoloPRISM in four-color process plus opaque white inks on a 40-inch, sheet-fed Heidelberg CD press with interstation ultraviolet curing. Challenge Printing also serves as contract packager for the product.

Nonfood Category:Technical Award

Hazen Paper Co. & Unifoil Corporation
Product:E.T. Collector's Edition DVD case

A Collector's Edition DVD case issued by Universal Pictures, Universal City, California, for the re-release of the movie, E.T., earned the Technical Award in the Nonfood Category for Hazen Paper Co., Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Unifoil Corporation, Fairfield, NJ. Both AIMCAL members served as converters of the acrylic-coated, 1-mil, metallized polyester that is laminated to 80-pound, coated-one-side litho paper from MeadWestvaco, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AGI Media, Melrose Park, Illinois, designed the package and also served as the contract packager. Metallizing was done by both Adherent Technologies, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Ultra Vac, East Hartford, Connecticut. The transparent blue-printed metallized film/paper laminate delivers strong shelf appeal and provides an extraterrestrial look. The judges particularly liked the strength and durability the metallized polyester imparts to the package so the scores on the box will not crack and look worn despite the repeated openings and closings this Ultimate Gift Set is likely to experience.

Industrial Category: Technical Award

Bekaert Specialty Films
Product: The SpeedStack7 Laminated, Multi-use, Tear-off Visor System from Racing Optics

The SpeedStack7 laminated, multi-use, tear-off visor system from Racing Optics, San Clemente, California, won a Technical Award in the Industrial Category for Bekaert Specialty Films, San Diego, California. The visor "cover" consists of a laminated stack of optical-grade Mylar polyester film from DuPont Co., Wilmington, Delaware. Stacking seven layers of 2-mil polyester/0.1-mil adhesive film enables visor wearers to peel off a layer as it becomes dirty or scratched during dirt track racing, surgery, dental procedures, shot basting, industrial cleaning and painting. Without the tear-off system, loss of visibility would halt the activity. The optical adhesive creates a laminate that displaces air and attendant reflections so visibility does not diminish as layers are stacked. It also helps eliminate wrinkling and adhesive transfer as layers are removed. A printed logo identifies the product and helps orient the tear-off system on the visor. Variations include tinted SmokeStack7 and AmberStack7 versions. "Maintaining film and adhesive characteristics to preserve optical characteristics is pretty incredible," observe the judges.

Other Category: Technical Award

FLEXcon Co. Inc.
Product: Model 992.01 WatchPAD from Care Trac

In the Other Category, FLEXcon Co., Inc., Spencer, Massachusetts, won a Technical Award for its role in the Model 992.01 WatchPAD (Photo 7) from Care Trac, Columbus, Ohio, an early warning system that protects wheelchair-bound people from falls. Essentially a large capacitor, the WatchPAD senses the weight of a seated patient and alerts a caregiver if it fluctuates because the person tries to stand or moves off balance. Inside the vinyl pillow-like enclosure, the seat consists of 2-mil metallized silver polyester/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) coating/1-inch foam/LDPE coating/2-mil metallized silver polyester. This conductive, heavily metallized polyester film, developed by FLEXcon especially for this application, is more durable than the aluminum sheet/polyester it replaces. "This seems to be a huge advancement over what was available previously, which was prone to false alerts or complete failure" conclude the judges. Polyester is supplied by DuPont Teijin Films, Hopewell, Virginia, and metallized by Rol-Vac, Dayville, Connecticut. ER Extended Resources LLC, Columbus, Ohio, assembles the pads.