There are many things to consider when looking at a void fill/ packaging solution. The contents of the package must arrive in perfect condition or else the end user will be angry and a relationship may be permanently damaged.
Depending on what a company regularly ships, packaging decisions can be relatively simple or complex. Shipping fairly durable items, such as books or clothing, minimizes the risk of damage. Boxes or even bags with minimal void fill should do the trick. In these instances, it's important to contain and protect, but there is little chance of breakage.
Other items are more sensitive to shock and motion during transport. Expensive electronic items, anything made of glass or ceramics and other delicate items require more strategic thinking when considering packaging decisions. If they have a unique shape, this could cause even more difficulty in deciding which protective packaging solution is best.
One popular type of packaging for these instances is foam-in-place. This is for good reason: Foam is incredibly shock-absorbent, and foam-in-place systems are highly versatile. Foam-in-place polyurethane is molded in real-time by combining two liquid foams in a pre-fabricated mold, high density polyethylene (HDPE) bag or film. The mixture expands rapidly around the product being protected, creating a custom protective shell.
When the two chemicals come in contact, they rapidly expand as much as 200 times in size. This makes for thick and sturdy custom packaging around the item, but it also demonstrates how little room the pre-combined liquids take up.
They can be stored away easily without getting in the way of other tasks that need to be accomplished or other materials and goods that need to be stored in the same location.
Below is the Pregis Intellipack Foam-in-Place system and it is Greeno Supply's go to solution for our foam in place customers.
Using foam-in-place systems can also be very easy to learn for packers. According to Packaging World, Pregis' foam-in-place system, Maxwell, accomplishes this effectively. The system comes complete with an interface that allows the owner to provide instructional videos or photos to help packers understand how to operate the device. This is important considering the versatility of foam-in-place systems typically leads to many different items being packaged with it.
Since the product forms the protective casing around the item quickly, production can be sped up. Packers won't need to strategize wrapping techniques or carefully-placed void fill materials because the foam creates a shell as unique as the shape and size of the item.
For those businesses shipping delicate or irregularly-shaped items, a foam-in-place system could be the best way to ensure packages are delivered with care.
If you want to learn more about foam in place solutions, please contact Greeno Supply at 413-732-2308 or [email protected].
You can view the Pregis Intellipack® SmartBagger™ and Smartshot™ Foam-In-Place system videos below: