With the release last month of its Millennium Collection CD series, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) becomes the first customer of New York City converter Shorewood Packaging (www.ipaper.com) to use new PaperFoam® 5-in. CD trays. Converted via a patented, one-step injection-molding process, PaperFoam is made from a starch-based fiber that is both paper-recyclable and biodegradable when composted. The packaging technology was developed by Barneveld, Netherlands-based PaperFoam BV ( www.paperfoam.com).

“Looking at the way today's consumers store their music, which is often without the jewel box, and retailers' focus on sustainability, the move to this packaging made total sense,” says Michael Davis, UMe executive vice president and general manager. “The result is a completely repackaged CD that's good for the planet and good for the consumer.”

Available in various colors, PaperFoam can be embossed and printed and provides dust-free, scratch-free product protection, Shorewood says. It has the added benefit of helping to prevent product piracy and counterfeiting because PaperFoam cannot be easily duplicated.

With a new product grouping, case forming and closing machine, an unusual microflute-corrugated carrier lets wine bottles do a headstand.

The Maquinaria Boix e Hijos AFS/6B system (www.matik.com), in use by Grandes Vinos y Vinedos in Valencia, Spain, creates a wraparound six-bottle carrier (at left) that has no partitions. It holds the bottles so tightly that there is no product movement during shipping and handling. A side seam ensures that the bottles stay secure compared to competitive designs with a bottom seal, says Boix.

Why a headstand? Connoisseurs know that red wine, which in most cases is still bottled with real corks rather than plastic, needs the cork to stay wet for proper sealing and protection of the wine. The Boix carrier allows bottles to be packed right-side up or upside down—as is done in the case of many red wines.

The package, patented in Spain, is freely available for use by converters in the US. The simple one-piece design eliminates extra elements such as opening tapes or transport handles and their costs.

Everybody knows how valuable a rare, rookie-year baseball card can become over time. But brand-new cards are also worth protecting, says converter Colbert Packaging Co., Lake Forest, IL. Its new BlisterGuard®, a multi-material alternative to all-plastic clamshells, is said to be substantially pilfer-resistant yet safe to open. Created to effectively display The Topps Co.'s Major League Baseball cards, the patented BlisterGuard (at right) also helps counteract retail theft with an enclosed security tag.

Made primarily of tear-resistant Everest® Safe-Pak bleached paperboard from International Paper, the package's fold-over design encapsulates the product inside a clear plastic blister. The cardstock, coated in Valéron® Strength Film, is four-color offset-printed and die-cut. Sensormatic and Checkpoint brand security tags are applied to the cards, and as the package is filled, the back of the card is folded over for the sealing process where the inside surfaces of the board are bonded together under heat and pressure.

The BlisterGuard has also found its way into applications for pricey over-the-counter medications, such as Releev™ cold-sore treatment.