The packing is purposeful the appropriate, solvable casing of a product. The article which can be packed is called packaging material, the finished packed product is the package. Several packages of the same packaging material form a collecting packing (e.g. Tray).

Certain products such as bulk materials, liquids or gases are packed in containers (e.g. tubes, buckets, crates or doses). These products become by the packing bulks.

Components

With respect to the packing method two components are differentiated: Packaging means and the packaging expedient. Packaging means is the main part. With it the packaging material is enclosed partly or completely or summarizes. The packaging expedient serves above all to lock (e.g. tape) or out-pad the packing (e.g. foam material). The packing of a bottle consists e.g. of the bottle body as packaging means as well as the cap and the label as packaging expedient.

The materials, from which a packing is formed, are called packaging materials. Typical packing materials are paper, plastic, wood, metal or glass. Packing from cardboard is called also cardboard boxes.

Kinds of the packing

The transportation packing protects the commodity on the route of transportation, the sales packing supports the durability and serves the protection of the commodity from the trade to the final consumer. The Umverpackung encloses the sales packing as the second layer without additional protective functions (e.g. a folding box around a tooth paste tube).

The gift packing revalues an article optically, in order to express the receiver of the gift its appreciation. With gift packing usually also ornaments are used. The form and color depend usually on the cause.

The so-called Mogelpackung represents a special case from the combination of product and packing.

Functions of the packing

Many products, in particular food, can be stored, not distributed or not sold without packagings. The packing forms a logistic unit (to English unit load, see glossary of logistics) out of one or more Produkteinheiten and supports thereby processes of logistics and the trade. In addition it must fulfill different functions:

• Protective function:

The packing is to protect primarily the commodity against environmental influences, damage, pollution and Mengenverlust. Besides the packing protects also humans against injuries with sharp edged goods, sharpens or poisonous articles. Further means of transport, the environment and the other goods e.g. against damages by running out liquids are protected.

By appropriate organization of the packing (catches, sealing) also a larger protection from manipulation and theft can be achieved.

• Camp function:

Each commodity is relocated from the time of the production up to time of the use or consumption several times and. Like that a storage is possible with the manufacturer or importer, in the large and retail trade, with the carrier or warehouseman as well as with the consumer. Assistance of a suitable packing can be stored to commodity more easily, safe and faster.

• Loading and transportation function

During transport the packing is to prevent that the commodity is exposed to excessive demands. This can take place via a repeated protection (cardboard + pallet). In addition standardized packing leads to a smaller space requirement on means of transport. The standardization can go even so far that the mass of packaging means (e.g. pallets or lattice boxes) with the mass of means of transport it is co-ordinated exactly and to an optimal extent of utilization of means of transport to lead in such a way as well as the loading and discharge process to accelerate.

• Sales function

A sales function carries the packing out by its geometrical or coloured organization and as carrier of informing labels and pictures.

Sales packing as advertising media

By the sales packing the buyer can recognize the product, is it by the name, by the Logo, by the color or form of the packing. A responding sales packing promotes the sales, increases thereby the paragraph and wins new customers. The sales packing obtain frequently the first and purchase-crucial impression.

Sales packing as aids to the rationalization of sales sale

The self-service system could obtain only by the modern packaging methods its upswing. Thus weighing and packaging the desired commodity are void e.g. at the meat bar, if this were packed before, weighed and distinguished and now for self-service is laid out.

Sales packing with auxiliary use:

Often the sales packing offers an additional use, which does not have a purchase to the bought commodity (e.g. mustard glass as drinking glass).

• Information function

The packing marks the product after kind, quantity, weight and price, informed about danger property goods, expiration dates and intended purpose, and is besides carrier of coded data (bar codes). For example the imprinted EAN code makes fast reading possible in at scanner cashes.

Reusability

It used packing equal whether for the unique or the repeated use determines, does not apply in Germany in principle as garbage, but when valuable material, whose disposal, utilization and re-use in the packing regulation are regulated. One-way packages from private households, which are marked by becoming green point, are supplied to the valuable material cycle in the context of the binary system. Re-usable packages participate generally in the borrowing and return traffic and partially against pledge are delivered. Since 2003 a pledge obligation applies also with one-way packages to beverages.

Literature

Heinrich Martin: Transport and storage logistics. Braunschweig/Wiesbaden 2000, ISBN 3-528-24941-2

Related links

• Transportation information service: Specialized information approximately around the topic packing
• Technical terms about packing
• German packing museum
• Federation of German packing engineers and German Verpackungsinstitut

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