This year has changed the way the world
works. Our world economy has changed and
the way we all deal with the pandemic has had some crazy changes in
our lives. This is a big deal for many
people and provides some areas that make a difference in our normal daily
lives. For me the one thing that I will
not give up and still enjoy going out and getting is my wonderful snacks.
I will not let masks, fear, or a silly virus stop
me from getting my glorious candy boxes from the store. The regulations be darned, because sometimes
chocolate is simply king and is a staple for a happy day in my life. No I am not being selfish or not following
protocols I am indeed following them to the letter. I just want to let you know
it is ok to go out and get a snack. It
is still important mentally to live and be happy. And for me going and finding
the candy boxes that are going to bring joy into my life is important. So what
are some good steps to stay safe and enjoy shopping?
Well the first thing is to know the local laws
and regulations that are being put into place.
Now that they are taken care of get the gear you
need to follow the law.
When it comes to staying healthy in the this year that is a very complicated ordeal.
I have to admit that health can come in a multitude of ways and it
certainly is troubling to think about how to stay healthy. The pandemic has changed so many
things and has added a lot of regulations into people's lives. I am not saying any of it is good or bad, but
I think that it has caused many people to make their lives a little unhealthy
and I want to help bring a little joy back into your life.
So the first thing to be careful of is not
enjoying the normal things in life. For
me that is candy and having a nice treat at the end of the day. I personally love getting a nice surprise at
the end of a hard workday and now that I am more lonely and trapped then ever
before I find it to be even more important.
I love going to the store normally and finding the perfect snack. Browsing all the candy boxes and seeing what
peaks my interest that day is such a joy to me.
Now everyone has their own preferences on what candy boxes look the best
or taste the best but I want to just make sure you feel that you don't need to
not get your treat!
Now in order to do this in 2020 you need to be
careful for sure. It is literally
different in almost every county so I suggest following a checklist of things
before just going out like normal and searching for that perfect treat. First I think you should look up your state
regulations pertaining to covid-19. Each
state has different restrictions and they are changing all the time. The last thing you want is to be unsafe and
or breaking the law. I find that the
state's websites in most locations is up to date and has all the general laws
to follow right on the front page. Once
you read through the current regulations its important to then find out where
your store location is that you plan on doing your shopping at.
Now go to the country website in which your
grocery store is located. From there you can follow the same path as above for
the state regulations. Once you know the
times of day you can shop, or if you are able to go out for non emergecy
reasons. Then you can find out what
masks or none are needed. There may also
be specialty regulations and from there you can finally get in your vehicle at
the right time and go shopping! As a general rule most places suggest or
regulate standing 6 feet from others and it is also good to plan on extra time
just in case the store has people restrictions.
Some stores are only allowed to have a percentage of normal capacity in
them so you may be waiting a while. Take
that into account. Now the best part is here.
You have your regulations taken care of and now you can go in and look
through all the lovely candy. Choose the
ones you want and maybe think about stocking up just in case the trip was
harder than normal.
If you’re someone who is trying to tape stuff, only to find that it’s not sticking, you’re not alone. This can be frustrating, and if it doesn’t, there is a risk to the package, whether it’s through theft, and product packaging. Depending on the box type that you have, you might not be able to fully utilize packing tape, and that’s a hassle for you. It can even be a disaster.
What can you do? Well, here are a few reasons why you’re unable to get the packaging tape to stick c correctly.
The Wrong Tape
Not every single piece of tape is made with the same purpose. The carton sealing and water activated ones are made specifically to seal corrugated packaging.
Carton sealing tape also won’t work if you don't apply this correctly. Hand tape is the best type of packing tape, and is applied to different dispensers that are hand held. Machine tape is larger in terms of the roll sizes and is made to be put in automatic and semi-automatic types of dispensers. If you’re not using this correctly, it might not stick the way that you plan to.
A lot of people use different types of tape for the different problems that are at hand. Electrical work, repairs, painting, all of these can use different types of tape, and if you set different reminders, you’ll be able to use the correct tape real fast.
It’s Old
If you have old tape, it’s not going to work correctly. It’s going to end up becoming brittle, and that gumminess that keeps it together just isn’t going to work.
The best way to avoid this is to only get as much of the tape as you possibly can. When you’re ready, reorder this, and just add it to the shopping list.
Don’t buy tape in bulk, as it’s usually not the best way to use this. make sure that you also store this correctly. Make sure that it’s protected from the heat, any sunlight, and also make sure that it’s not in a place that’s overly dry. Also, if you do buy a lot, create a system from oldest to newest of the tape and when it’s been used.
Be Mindful of Water Activated Tape
If you’re using water activated tape, you’ll find out as well that it’s very effective for adhering the bonds directly to the box itself, offering a tamper resistant method of sealing. But it needs to be wet, or else it’s not going to stick, period. A water activated tape dispenser is the best way to do this, so it gets enough water there.
It’s Going to somewhere Cold.
Finally, if you’re sending your items to a cold location, your tape probably isn’t going to work for this. colder types of temperatures are not good for adhesives, and also prevent the boxes from closing correctly. Cold temperature tapes are going to be your best friend, and there are a lot of times people don’t realize this.
You can get a tape that works even during the coldest of temperatures, and it’ll stick.
When you’re looking to improve your packaging, you do need to look at the right types of tape to use. If you use the wrong tape, it’ll bite you hard in the long haul, especially if you’re someone who isn’t really mindful of this. take care of your tape, make sure to use it effectively, and from here, make sure that you use the correct tape for the packaging boxes that you need, and everything that comes with this too.
Considered one of the top methods for food preservation and
extremely effective at conserving product nutritional value. Individually Quick
Frozen or IQF is a great example of a common method used in food packaging.
This form of food packaging helps prevent large ice crystal build up within the
product itself. Allowing for the product to have longer shelf life and minimal
nutritional lose.
When utilizing this method every piece of product is frozen
individually by very small ice crystals. This is done extremely fast and avoids
damaging the products nutrients. Other methods of freezing are much slower,
producing larger ice crystals in the process which can be a bad thing for the
product.
Slow freezing and large ice crystals will typically result
in dry or damaged food. IQF's tiny crystals however will not because the
process used to freeze every individual product piece is ultra fast. Capable of
blast freezing large amounts in very little time making for a higher quality of
product selection for the consumer.
Other methods like canning or pickling are available for
food packaging as well along with a few others. Freezing however is one of the
more common practices and it can be used for any type of food productpackaging. Older methods of freeze preservation or packaging in general for
that matter risk the products quality. Possibly altering flavor and/or texture
more so than not.
With IQF you can also assure such things as berries and corn
don't clump up or smush together during preservation. The products interior
cellular structure will not be altered much, if at all penetrated by the ice
crystals. Leaving the food frozen but not in the solid ice kind of a way, only
the outer layer will be affected.
Ideally you can use IQF on any type of foods you desire.
Different meats and seafood can benefit from IQF as much as French fries, peas,
etc. Technology has helped improve so much in life and continues to awe us
daily with its amazing capabilities. Food packaging will not be left out of the
mix and offering methods such as IQF proves it.
Nobody likes unpackaging bad food or the smell it can bring
along with it. Even if it isn't spoiled, we still expect quality for our hard
earned money. Older methods while effective leave to much room for the
possibility of spoilage or loss of nutrition. In other words, you'll be risking
the taste of grandma's famous pie recipe using anything but fresh product.
Back in her time food was handled with much more love and
attention which in turn resulted in fresher options to pick from. Times are
much faster now, and the population has grown tremendously since that time.
Demand has outweighed supply allowing way for newer much more efficient means
of packaging. And IQF looks to be leading the way when it comes to high quality
and efficient food packaging methods.
The equipment used for the IQF process is specialized and
not widely available as of yet. There are only a handful of manufacturers who
currently deal in IQF machinery and supplies available to assist you. If IQF
packaging is an interest of yours reaching out to a certified professional in
the food packaging industry should definitely be your first step.
You’ve probably wondered what the benefits of poly mailers are. There are a lot, and some people don’t realize that they are super beneficial, especially for returning items that don’t fit, or that you want to refund or exchange. Here, we’ll go over some of the benefits of poly mailers, and how they solve a lot of customer issues.
Expectations
There are products that are returned because of expectations. Ecommerce returns see a lot more because well, buyers aren’t able to sample the materials until they’re received by shipment. Some may have expected that they’re getting something when it’s another thing, and well, that’s something that a lot of people don’t take into account when choosing the right sorts of poly mailers to use.
Product Defections
This can happen to anything. It may be an error in manufacturing or even shipping, and this does happen. This can be frustrating for many people since oftentimes it requires the product to be shipped back. Having returnable poly mailers solves that issue because it just lets them ship it back, with postage paid for.
Wrong Shipping Happens
There are warehouse workers who are in charge of making sure that the products are sent out correctly. But sometimes they don’t get properly screened, and then the wrong products are shipped out. Having returnable ply mailers lets you rectify that confusion quite quickly and effectively, which helps to also reduce the confusion that does happen as a result of this and makes it easier for everyone.
Frequently Returned Items
For some types of products, they get returned a lot more than they expected. Clothing and apparel see this a lot, with customers trying on items before they decide to keep them. This can be annoying but companies that plan ahead for this will save a lot of money.
How they do this, is they add a return mailer to the product itself and include it with every sort of order they get from their customers. When customers try this on, they can then choose whether or not it’s right for them, and then ship back anything that they don’t want with minimal hassle. You can do this as well with what’s called expandable poly mailers, which are envelopes that contain bottoms that are gusseted so that they can ship back items that are bulkier, including pants and big sweaters.
This is a great way to help make the return process either so that customers are fully satisfied with everything that they purchase and return. This is a good way to help the process become better and easier for everyone. This also lets them put it back and lets them seal it without having to get anything wrong. These mailers have their own little return seals that they can put on there, and it lets customers actually put them on there whenever they need it.
This saves everyone money and time. Instead of having your customers wait to return the packaging, you just let them print the label, put it on the mailer, and then send it back so that you cha have the exchange done fully. It’s quite easy to start with, and the results of this are something that’ll be better than ever and something that’ll help you get the most that you can out of your mailing situation. It’ll help as well build customer morale as well since it shows that you not only care about the customers that you’re willing to give them this, but you also care about them and make the return process easy.
When did you last look at the packaging that you offer, ensuring that it meets industrial standards? The one thing that a lot of people tend to forget is the tape.
The right tape will allow you to seal and store your boxes well, protecting them from product damage, packages, stone, and otherwise wasted materials.
So yes, the packaging tape plays a role in this. Here, we’ll go over how one can choose the right packaging tape for their business.
Types of Packaging Tape
You’ve got three major ones that are used for transportation of various products.
Here, we’ll go over the difference.
First, we’ve got the hot melt tape, which is super easy for a person to apply, and is best used for anything not in an extreme condition.
There’s benefits, such as:
It’s got a strong, immediate hold for this
A high tack to it, but does lessen with longer periods of colder temperatures
It’s good for recycled boxes
Easy for packers to apply
Great for box traps that are automated
Easy for end users to open
It’s secured between 45 and 120 degrees, so a pretty high threshold
Then we’ve got acrylic tape, which we see a lot. This is a tape that’s sensitive to pressure and uses a glue that’s got chemicals in it, ensuring that the tape sticks in conditions that are extreme.
The highlights of features include:
It has a high tack to it, and it offers long-term results.
Durable in even the most extreme conditions, such as sunlight and high heat
Good for boxes that are in warehouses that are not temperature controlled
Good for boxes that get transported through regions of very high temperature.
Will stay secure throughout various temperatures such as 232 degrees and up to 140 degrees as well.
Finally, we’ve got the water activated tape, which is another tamper-proof tape, since there’s a special bit of moisture used in order to activate this adhesive. The features of this one also vary.
They include:
A very high tack to this
Since it will show evidence of it being tampered, it cannot be retaped again
It’s perfect for medicines and electronics, which are of course vulnerable to theft.
It’s durable and very strong, so it will fit heavier items
It’s easy for one to print on, and customize and brand
I’s paper-based, so it will be eco friendly regardless
The downside to water activated tape is that it tends to be more expensive and some manufacturers may find that they will have to shell out more at first. But it does save money in the long term.
Making the switch
You may wonder if it’s time for you to make the switch.
Well, you probably should. Most of the time people don’t do this until it’s too late, and they’re fighting with customers who have complaints on damages.
Every company should make sure that they have a routine type of evaluation and that ensures the tape is also strong enough.
You should change if you know that there’s a possibility you need to switch the tape:
You have product security concerns
You’ve got more packages being stolen
There's a lot of products damaged and returned due to issues with tape
You’re going to store the items for a long time in non-temperature types of warehouses
Expand your horizons! And your packaging. More companies are looking towards packaging that adapts to various and unique product sizes that are there. for instance, if you’re shipping out different orders, you might want to save on buying boxes, but with expandable packaging, you can get the same size and from there, adjust them as needed. This is a good way to improve and adjust your packaging, so that it can be the correct size, and to reduce the presence of void fill that’s also there too.
How this Works
More and more expandable packaging options are becoming prevalent.
Compressed air is one of them. air is put inside the packaging, and it will help to compress the air within, adjusting it as needed.
Air-activated polymers are one sort of way too. These are polymers where, if there’s air targeted, they will grow in size and adjust as needed.
Finally, there’s paper structures that expand like an accordion, right in between the packaging to hold it all in one place. It’s kind of unique, and it will help with improving the overall growth of such items, and makes it even easier than other means.
The applications
For those packaging solutions that need a custom fit, this is the way to go. It works great, and offers you so many different, unique, and informative ways to help with giving the exact size packaging that’s needed. More and more companies find that it works for all sorts of packaging solutions.
It also works for space-saving storage, especially if you only have so much space to work with. Instead of buying a larger warehouse or increasing logistics, you use this packaging instead.
Finally, there is ecommerce fulfillment. It will help with making sure that for orders you get, they’re fulfilled and then are given to the customers without any problems. It’s faster too, since you don't have to search for one box, but instead just grab a singular one, and let it expand to your needs.
The Benefits
With expandable packaging, you take out the need for multiple sizes for boxes. You have it there, all in one place.
It also minimize the shipping waste that’s otherwise used there too. more and more companies are looking for eco-friendly means to keep their businesses in the green, and reduce the carbon footprint. This is one of those solutions.
Finally, it lowers costs too. you’re not buying a bunch of different boxes, but one, and it works well. it expands as needed, and is much easier for you to tolerate and adjust as needed.
The future of This Packaging
AI driven packaging mechanisms are being used. It optimizes the space for the time automatically, and can even adjust the expandable packaging in real time. This is a great way to optimize such space efficiency, and also improves the overall nature of the packaging, allowing it to grow and become even more amazing than before.
Again, with so many different means to change packaging, there’s a lot of different ways for you to make your packaging change and adjust in real time. With the rise of expendable packaging becoming even more common than before, you owe it to yourself to have packaging that will naturally adjust and fit the overall needs of the customers you have. Consider this method today, and see if this type of packaging solution is what you’re looking for, and applicable to your various nests, based on what you might possibly want to adjust and change to give your customers the ultimate ecommerce experiences.
