Where to Find Eco-Friendly Promotional Products

Look around your own home or office, and chances are you'll find more than a few promotional products from other companies. But as you consider ways to build up your own brand recognition, what can you do to stand out from the crowd?

Sustainability is in. Demonstrating that your company is devoted to the planet is the perfect way to grab attention, regardless of the industry you are part of. When thinking about promotional products, the right direction moving forward is to make the best possible effort toward sustainability. By utilizing environmentally-friendly products, you can show that your business cares about more than just the bottom line.

On top of that, it gives you a story behind your promotional product. Having a story and a product that connects on multiple levels, is how you can stand out from competitors. Handing out a coaster with your business name on it will likely get it relegated to a desk drawer – handing out a seed-implanted coaster, or wooden coaster, will make it an attractive desk adornment or something the customer will plant and enjoy for years. Building this sort of connection will help keep your company in the front of the customer’s mind, and these can be useful triggers long after a trade show or meeting is over.

Here at Stamar Packaging, we aren’t just a leading distributor of packaging, shipping, and industrial supplies, we also offer a wide range of promotional products. While we do provide the standards – including those stress toys and pens – we also aim to innovate in the field, which is why we produce a range of eco-friendly promotional products to help you stick out from the crowd. These include:

·         Coasters/lids manufactured from 100% U.S. corn plastic

·         Seed Paper Coasters that are made of recycled material, and embedded with wildflower seeds, to grow your own desktop flower garden!

·         Bamboo plaques, awards, and stands

·         Branded rain gauges, for your gardening friends

·         Cloth tote bags

·         And many more

Check out our full range of eco-friendly promotional products, and see what Stamar can do for you as far as eco-friendly promotional products. While some companies may see this as a trend, we at Stamar see this as a big part of the future, and we are committed to growing our environmentally-friendly product line far into the future. Keep an eye as our line grows, or get in contact with us to see about potential future innovations.

Examining the Growth of Digital Printing for Corrugated Packaging

Digital printing has been steadily growing and holds a lot of promise for the future. While color digital printing has been a boon for color digital labels, folding cartons, and flexible packaging, corrugated packaging hasn't been as receptive, with only specialist converters available and low usage.

All of that is changing though. Suppliers such as Hewlett Packard are emerging with solutions for short-run digital printing of corrugated products, including secondary packs and displays. These digital printers address the concerns of designers and marketers by providing a new generation of solutions that can retain the quality of traditional analog printing – image quality and color being the primary concerns. While analog printing will likely continue to be the standard in the near future, digital printing is edging closer to wider acceptance, due to some distinct advantages.

The advantages of digital printing for corrugated packaging are much the same as digital’s advantages for any type of printing, although this opens up a new segment. These advantages include:

·         Ability to print low-count print runs with improved cost efficiency – a digital run can print off anywhere from 1 to thousands, with little waste or warm-up cost.

·         Prototyping ability for targeting specific markets.

·         Improved turn-around times for low-count runs.

·         Freeing up analog presses for printing long runs, allowing faster turn time on those as well.

·         The ability to print variable imagery

·         Easy transition between sheet sizes

Digital is truly a great innovation for the future of printing, though it is unlikely to replace analog printing outright – we see them as complimentary technologies, and expect them to work together as such as digital gains more traction.

Here at Stamar Packaging, we love to see the innovation and evolution of technology that allows us to provide better response times, with better pricing, to keep our customers pleased. We look forward to the continued emergence of digital printing for corrugated packaging, with the idea that this will one day become an even bigger part of our current business

Top Packaging Trend to Watch in 2017 – Flexible Pouches

Flexible pouches aren’t new – they have been used for products such as beef jerky and dog food for decades. However, design and material advancements have led to an evolution of the product in recent years, creating a packaging option with a variety of uses, that can be molded and printed to meet marketing needs. Flexible plastic pouches have a number of inherent advantages over other packaging methods, such as:

·         Durability: Plastic flexible pouches don’t crack when frozen, don’t break when dropped, and can be twisted, bent, and contorted – and will still be a viable container. These also help them to be more resistant to contamination, and the inclusion of UV-resistant factors can prevent deterioration by light exposure.

·         Reusability: With easy-to-seal tops that help maintain freshness, the pouches can be refilled and reused as needed. It is an added value to the customer, and reduces landfill waste at the same time.

·         Efficiency: Flexible plastic packaging requires limited resources to make the packaging. As highlighted in this article, a pound of peanuts requires ten times more material when contained in glass versus a flexible plastic pouch.

·         Environmental Responsibility: Flexible plastic pouches require less energy to create – and because of their flexibility and light weight structure, Fres-co estimates that flexible pouches create 50% less volume in landfills, while requiring 88% less fossil fuel to produce.

·         Easy and Cheap to Ship: One truckload of flexible packaging can hold enough packages to contain what you would need 26 truckloads of glass packaging – which is 25 less truckloads, and 25 less tanks of fuel, needed to ship. When full, more flexible pouches can be fit into a truck’s weight limit, again reducing the numbers of truckloads needed and again saving fuel.

Easier to ship, safer to use, environmentally- and budget-friendly, the flexible plastic pouch looks to be the responsible packaging choice into the future. Here at Stamar, we like to stay on the cutting edge of the latest packaging technology, and we are interested to see how flexible plastic pouches evolve over the next few years. Contact us to see what we can do for your packaging needs to see what trends we can work into your packaging solution!

The Showcase of Packaging Innovations at PACK EXPO to Feature Award-Winning Packaging Designs

ACK EXPO International (Nov. 6–9, 2016; McCormick Place, Chicago), according to PACK EXPO producer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. The showcase will display the latest innovations and award-winning designs in packaging.

“Packaging has evolved over the years into vessels that not only protect the products inside but enhance them,” says Chuck Yuska, president and CEO, PMMI, “The Showcase of Packaging Innovations at PACK EXPO International spotlights the innovations and inspires future breakthroughs in design and technology.”

The packages featured in the showcase are winning entries from competitions all around the world.

“We are proud to have been involved with the Showcase of Packaging Innovations since its inception at PACK EXPO 13 years ago,” says Karen S. Carter, commercial vice president for Dow’s North America Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. “The cutting-edge packaging designs presented in the Showcase over the years have made a major contribution to moving the industry forward, and we are eager to continue that legacy at the show.”

National Safety Council Says Forklift-Related Safety Hazards Are Among The Most Common Workplace Safety Hazards

The importance of safety at work is always on our minds here at Stamar Packaging. But, with June being National Safety Month, it’s a good time to reinforce safety practices and to ensure that all of our employees understand the hazards of operating and working around forklifts, since forklifts are in operation in our warehouses every day. For us, and for everyone, every month of the year is always a good time to review safety practices in order to avoid workplace injuries.

The National Safety Council’s Safety+Health magazine says forklift-related safety hazards are among the most common workplace safety hazards, and that the leading cause of forklift-related hazards in the workplace is “when workers feel compelled to work quickly.” The recent Safety+Health article quotes a workplace safety consultant as saying, “What dictates their [employees] activity is production. They’re all under pressure, and when you’re under pressure, they start taking shortcuts.” These shortcuts often result in injury. The report adds, “Shortcuts include driving with too large of a load or driving distracted. The end result may be hitting a rack, damaging a wall or product or even injuring a co-worker.”

Adding to the safety issues related to forklifts is a “lack of maintenance and daily checks of trucks, and failing to segregate vehicles from pedestrians.” The safety consultants recommend that wherever and whenever forklifts are in operation, operators should be properly training and the trucks should be regularly inspected to ensure they’re in proper working order. Employers also should create designated walkways for pedestrians.

A warehouse environment also creates other safety hazards. Employees need to stay alert and avoid distractions, especially when they’re around or operating machinery. Machines with moving parts represent another common workplace hazard. Warning labels on machinery need to be read, and directions should be followed. And, of course, employees operating machinery must be properly trained. Material handling issues also pop up in warehouses when safety practices are overlooked. A common material handling practice is stacking objects on high platforms and shelves. They can’t be stacked too high, and heavy loads must be stacked neatly to avoid a shifting load or cylindrical objects from rolling off the shelves.

At Stamar Packaging, we are committed to following safety practices every day of the year, protecting our employees the best way we can. A safe warehouse is an efficient warehouse, and as we provide packaging, shipping and industrial supplies to our customers, our employees’ safety is always top-of-mind – as it should be!

Sustainability in the Packaging Industry Continues to Play a Vital Role in Business and Manufacturing in 2016

Sustainable practices are essential in business today, and especially in the packaging industry, where packaging manufacturers are required to be innovative in all areas of packaging manufacturing: design, the selection of packaging materials, and in all phases of the packaging production process. By focusing on sustainability, manufacturers are under pressure to reduce their “environmental footprint”.  The dictionary defines as the effect a company “has on the environment, for example, the amount of natural resources that they use and the amount of harmful gases that they produce.” But that definition is taking a big-picture look at sustainability. Let’s take a closer, more specific, look at how sustainability in the packaging industry continues to play a vital role in business and manufacturing in 2016.

Specifically, in the packaging industry, the history of sustainable practices is traced back to the 1970s, according to Packaging Digest. The publication reports, “The basis for sustainable packaging started the environmental movement in the 1970s…” Fast-forward four decades, and Packaging Digest shares the definition of “sustainable packaging” offered by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC):

Sustainable Packaging ...

• Is beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle
• Meets market criteria for performance and cost
• Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy
• Optimizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials
• Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices
• Is made from materials healthy throughout the life cycle
• Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy
• Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial closed loop cycles.

According to the SPC’s website, the Coalition is a “working group dedicated to a more robust environmental vision for packaging,” and the organization promotes and supports sustainable packaging practices as an essential part of doing business.

At Stamar Packaging, we’ve been following sustainability trends in business, and how these trends affect the packaging industry, for many years – since we first started our business in 1981. Throughout the past 35 years, we’ve helped many of our customers – all types of businesses and manufacturers – be more sustainable and to reduce their environmental footprint by using some of the many different types of sustainable packaging materials and supplies we distribute. We’d welcome the opportunity to discuss the many sustainable packaging supply options available today. For more information about the packaging solutions and shipping supplies Stamar provides, including those designed with sustainability in mind, visit our website. Or give us a call at 630-282-5400. 

Follow these Product Labeling Tips and Tactics to Appeal to More Customers

Product labeling is an important part of any business: Having the right information and displaying appealing graphics on your product labeling can help capture the attention of more customers – and ultimately boost product sales. However, lack of information, misleading claims, and inadequate product labeling design can get your business into some trouble. Obviously, you’ll want to avoid this! In most types of businesses and industries, and in larger companies, the responsibilities related to product labeling are usually in the hands of packaging designers and marketing or product/brand managers. In small businesses, product labeling responsibilities are often managed by the business owner or manager, who has a long list of other responsibilities in addition to product labeling.

At first, the product labeling process can seem to be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. Product labeling can easily be managed if you follow some simple strategies and guidelines. Here are some product labeling tips and tactics to consider to simplify the process, and to help you appeal to more customers to boost your business’ bottom line:

• Be sure to include the necessary information customers expect to find on product labeling: What information do your targeted consumers expect to find on your type of product’s label? Of course, this information will depend on your industry and the types of products you’re marketing. For instance, product labeling for office supplies will have less and different information than product labeling for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines that will be ingested by consumers. It may seem obvious that food and beverage product labeling will contain more information than the label on a roll of bubble wrap, but be sure to know the type of basic information that’s required for products in your specific industry. This brings us to the next guideline…

• Know and abide by the regulations and product labeling requirements for your specific industry. Lately, in the U.S., it seems that product labeling regulations and requirements are in the news just about every day, and regulations frequently change. Different types of products manufactured and distributed in the U.S. are regulated by various organizations. Consult government and industry-specific organizational resources to make sure you’re on top of the latest product labeling requirements and information for your industry. Here are some links you might find helpful: 

v  FDA product labeling requirements: The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) regulates food products, drugs, cosmetics and medical equipment, and there are many product labeling requirements that are specific to each of these industries. The FDA website offers specific information about food labeling requirements and cosmetics labeling requirements.

v  FTC product labeling requirements: Generally, you can assume that products that are not regulated by the FDA are covered/regulated by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). The FTC’s mission is to “prevent business practices that are anticompetitive or deceptive or unfair to consumers…” and product labeling is one of the business practices the FTC monitors. You can search the FTC website for information about all different types of products, whether they’re regulated by the FTC or not, and find helpful information related to product labeling.

v  CPSC product labeling requirements: As its name implies, the main mission of the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) is to protect consumers. The CPSC regulates a wide range of products and manages compliance to several safety acts that cover different groups of products, including the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA). Find more information about requirements related to consumer safety that may affect your product’s labeling on the CPSC website.

v  State requirements can also affect product labeling: Be sure to consult your state’s business bureau to find out if there are state regulations that might affect your product’s labeling.

• Hire a designer with experience in packaging design and labeling, if you can. Packaging designers are trained to use their artistic ability and their business sense to grab the attention of customers. Working with a packaging designer is worth the investment, as professional, vibrant designs easily grab consumers’ attention.

Overall, when it comes to product packaging and labeling, remember that your ultimate goal is to attract the attention of more customers, while also meeting the specific product labeling requirements for your industry. At Stamar Packaging, we’d be happy to discuss your packaging and product labeling needs in more detail. Give us a call at 630-282-5400, or contact us through our website.