Some of the basic functions of packaging are:
* To preserve the physical integrity of the contents, protecting them from mechanical damages, breakages, despoiling
* To protect contents from the environmental chemical or/and bacteriological contamination…
* To preserve the environment from the contents: leakage of pollutants, poisons, toxics and aggressive products.
Rigid packaging and foams are two efficient ways to satisfy these requirements:
* Rigid packaging offers a structural barrier to impact and other rough mechanical aggressions.
* Foams are efficient damping materials providing an economic protection against vibrations and medium impacts.
Like the other techniques, these types of packaging can also carry information and brand image thanks to their versatile properties: coloured, printed, decorated, aesthetics, transparent to opaque, mimicking metal, wood to inform the prospect or user, to attract the customer.
Motivations are diversified:
* Technical: Rigid plastics offer an exceptional balance of weight, performances, ease of processing, aesthetics, and cost. Foams are the high road to economical damping.