From the glitziest high-tech package designed to dazzle, to an ordinary-looking ticket to the Democratic Convention that is actually a multilayered security marvel, to adhesive-coated window film for commercial construction, this year's standouts in the 2005 AIMCAL Vacuum Metallized or Coated Product Competition took full advantage of the powers of metallization, coating and laminating. These and other winners were honored at a banquet March 17, given by the Assn. of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators during its Winter Management Meeting in Bonita Springs, FL.

AIMCAL bestowed its Peter Rigney Metallized Product of the Year Award on (A) Unifoil Corp. (Fairfield, NJ). Unifoil laminates and coats the registered rainbow display carton for the high-end MX 1000 Laser Cordless Mouse from Logitech Inc. (Fremont, CA). Designed and contract packaged by Everett Graphics (Oakland, CA), the carton consists of two sheets of 12-pt solid bleached sulfate paperboard laminated to shimless rainbow polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, which has been top-coated with an acrylic print primer. Spectratek Technologies (Los Angeles) supplies and metallizes the PET film.

One laminated sheet is mounted to microflute corrugated for added strength. Another piece of the unprinted rainbow 12-pt board is inserted into the box to form a curved background behind the mouse, which is positioned in the center of the spherical rainbow. The 12-pt laminated material provides a smooth surface for the reflective insert and allows for the highlight embossing on the outer box to create a dimensional look. Printing is done with ultraviolet inks. The judges were impressed with the package design, which shows off the product while being pilfer-resistant, as well as with its execution. "With diecutting, embossing and holographic imagery throughout, this is a very sophisticated package," commented one judge.

In the Food category, the Marketing Award went to (B) Flex Industries Ltd., Film Div., (Noida, India) for a metallized pouch for whiskey bottles. The McDowell's Whiskey Pack for UB Spirits Group (Bangalore, India) consists of the following layers: 12-micrometer PET/12-micrometer metallized PET/75-micrometer low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

The PET film is reverse-printed in eight colors on a gravure press and dry-laminated to the metallized-PET and LDPE films. The bag costs about 20 percent less, and provides a superior appearance, compared to the surface-printed carton it replaces. A die-cut opening in the seal area provides a carry handle, and the design also discourages counterfeiting because, once opened, it cannot be reused. Pouches are automatically loaded and sealed, then packed in partitioned cases to protect bottles from breakage. Flex Industries designed, metallized and converted the package and also provided the substrate. The judges noted that this is a new category in which flexible packaging replaces rigid. "It's a unique solution," they said.

(C) Vacumet Corp. (Wayne, NJ) captured the Technical Award in the Food category for a peelable lidstock for single-serving "bowls" of cereal from Kellogg Co. (Battle Creek, MI). Vacumet metallizes the PET in the multilayer lidstock, which consists of print/35-lb. C1S paper/polyethylene/48-gauge metallized PET/hot-melt adhesive, and is converted by American Packaging Corp., ELC Div. (Rochester, NY).

The metallized PET provides barrier properties equivalent to foil and allows the new lidstock to replace a more complex and expensive paper/PE/foil/adhesive/PET/heat-seal coating structure without compromising barrier properties, machine performance or peelability. The metallized PET improves resistance to flex-cracks, tearing and chemicals compared to foil-based constructions. The judges were impressed by the material's combination of superior barrier properties and lower cost, as well as the fact that it can serve as a drop-in replacement for its foil-based predecessor.

In the Nonfood category, (D) Graphic Packaging Intl., Performance Packaging Div., (Marietta, GA) took home the Technical Award for a multilayer container for Preen Garden Weed Preventer from Lebanon Seaboard Corp. (Lebanon, PA). The goal is to protect the product and maintain a good appearance despite adverse storage conditions in outdoor retail displays as well as consumers' garages and sheds. The oval, rigid container consists of a reverse-printed, vacuum-metallized PET extrusion laminated to a multi-ply board with a PE inner layer.

Graphic Packaging metallizes and converts the metallized PET. Other participants in the project include design and contract packaging by Cin-Made Packaging Group (Cincinnati). The paperboard, from Kappa Attica Packaging (Eindhoven, The Netherlands), consists of a layer of old corrugated container fibre sandwiched between laminated outer sheets and a 48-pt, 900-gsm sheet. The new structure has helped boost sales more than 600 percent and replaces a label-laminated or direct-printed version that was less water-resistant. Judges recognized the functional benefit the metallized PET gives the structure and described the package as an "improvement over the bag in the garage."

(E) Unifoil swept the Healthcare, Cosmetics and Toiletries category, capturing both the Marketing and Technical Awards.

The Marketing Award honors a holographic set-up box for Holiday 2004 gift packs of Tommy Hilfiger brand Tommy Boy and Tommy Girl fragrances from Estee Lauder Inc. (New York). Unifoil converts the custom registered Holographic UniLustre™ paper, an 80-lb metallized litho stock, which is register-printed with ultraviolet transparent ink (blue for the men's product, red for the women's) and top-coated.

Toray Plastics (America) Inc. (North Kingstown, RI), provides the base film substrate to Crown Roll Leaf, Inc. (Paterson, NJ), which embosses and metallizes it. The design is the brand's latest and most complex use of star graphics, a traditional element for Tommy holiday packaging. The sharp, eight-point stars require registration within 0.015 in. in either direction. The judges cited the shelf impact of the sparkling graphics. "There's an illusion of motion," noted one.

The Technical Award in the Healthcare category was also won by (F) Unifoil, which laminates, coats and sheets the acrylic-coated metallized polyester/18-pt SBS carton for the Oral-B/Rembrandt Whitening Pen from Gillette (South Boston, MA). Celplast Metallized Ltd. (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada), metallizes the polyester substrate provided by Toray Plastics (America), Inc. (North Kingstown, RI).

Printing with ultraviolet inks allows the metallized surface of the film to shine through and capture attention in the crowded toothpaste aisle. Inks ensure very white whites, a critical feature for a product touting its tooth-whitening capabilities, while an embossed surface adds texture.

Retail Labels

(G) Flex Products Inc. , a JDS Uniphase Co. (Santa Rosa, CA), won the Technical Award in the Label-Retail category for its SecureShift MetaSwitch label. The anticounterfeiting label relies on pressure-sensitive adhesive, polyester film, multiple-station printing and a combination of matching color-shifting and non-color-shifting inks to create a difficult-to-duplicate pattern, which is only visible at certain viewing angles. Key to the anticounterfeiting capability is the ink's incorporation of SecureShift microflakes, which are based on optically variable pigment. "The MetaSwitch label offers a way to authenticate a product without a reader," commented one judge.

Security also was the priority in the production of passes for the 2004 Democratic National Convention. (H) PROMA Technologies (Franklin, MA), won the Technical Award in the Other category as the substrate supplier and metallizer on the project for the Democratic National Committee (Washington, DC). PROMA worked with Globe Ticket and Label Co. (Warminster, PA), to create the custom 2D/3D holographic logo and produce the custom HoloSECURE security paper for the passes.

After laminating by Foil Laminating Inc. (Plymouth, IN), Globe Ticket and Label printed the material in four colors on one side and two colors on the reverse on a six-color, 16-in. press from Mark Andy, Inc. (St. Louis). Serialized numbers were added in a secondary operation. Other security features include specialized inks, color-coding to identify specific attendee groups and access; proprietary coatings with forensic markers; a proprietary cover security taggant supplied by Stardust Technologies, Inc. (Bellevue, WA); and backside printing with a hot-stamp hologram. "The ticket's simple appearance belies its complexity," agreed the judges.

In the Industrial category, the Marketing Award goes to (I) Film Technologies Intl., Inc. (St. Petersburg, FL), for its role in the production of spandrel glass from Prelco Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). Film Technologies converts two versions of adhesive-coated window film, which Prelco applies to glass for installation on buildings in non-vision areas such as the spaces between floors or other inaccessible areas. Film Technologies produces the films on a 72-in.-wide coater/laminator from Faustel, Inc. (Germantown, WI).

The basic structure consists of 12.7-micrometer silicone-coated polyester release liner/pressure-sensitive adhesive/12.7-micrometer polyester/proprietary adhesive containing metal flakes/25.4-micrometer polyester/proprietary adhesive containing metal flakes plus a final layer of either a 76.2-micrometer black polyester or a 50.8-micrometer white polyester.

Substrates are provided by Mitsubishi Polyester Film, LLC, (Greer, SC); Toray; and DuPont Teijin Films, (Wilmington, DE).

Previously, spandrel glass was made by coating the glass with an enamel, or ceramic frit, and firing it in an oven, a lengthy, energy-intensive process with limited color options. Another production method involves applying black film to the glass to provide opacity. The new multilayer film is easily applied via dry lamination and represents a cost reduction of about 40 percent and time-savings of 67 percent. The appearance of the glass is dictated by the color of the glass itself and whether the final layer of film is white or black. Judges were impressed by the product's building enhancing potential and creative use of metal flakes in the adhesive layers.

The Technical Award in the Industrial category was bestowed on (J) Celplast, the metallizer of a corona-treated LDPE/nonwoven PP for Innovative Insulations, Inc. (Arlington, TX). Converter of the outerwear lining fabric is PGI Fabrene (North Bay, Ontario, Canada). Flexibility, drapability and machinability of the microperforated PP was crucial, as it needed to be processed on conventional equipment. Low puncture resistance, high tear resistance and high drapability make it easy to sew. The nonwoven PP also eliminates rustling and crinkling noises associated with the fabric rubbing against itself or the inner surfaces of the clothing to which it is sewn. Micro-perfs maximize breathability. Judges noted this application moves metallizing into a new market and advances its use.

Judges for the 2005 competition included several Chicago-based converting experts, including Panos Kinigakis, CPP, senior technology principal R&D, Kraft Foods; Paula Record, CPP, senior development engineering manager, Packaging, Unilever Home and Personal Care North America; Dean Lindsay, principal, dean LINDSAYdesign; Melissa Larson, managing editor, Converting; Yolanda Simonsis, associate publisher/editor, Paper, Film & Foil Converter; and Arnie Orloski, vp/executive editor, Packaging World. AIMCAL Awards Committee Chair Steve Sedlak, sales manager, ESK, a Ceradyne Co. (formerly Wacker Ceramics), Saline, MI, moderated the judging session.