Packaging is a production unit of a specific design intended to protect goods or the environment during transport and storage. It often serves as a marketing tool, which stimulates the acquisition of goods with its aesthetic appearance and marketing message (data on the product, brand information, company). Often, packaging is therefore a “silent seller”.
Basic divisions of packaging and calendars printing
The basic division of packaging is taken into account:
- pre-packaging being the packaging of individual products, generally used in retail trade,
- packaging being the packaging of at least two individual packages, normally used in transport and storage processes,
- transport packaging being the packaging of bulk products or unit (collective) packaging used in transport and storage processes.
Functions of packaging
There are three basic functions of packaging:
- technical – enabling distribution, consumption and protection of the product against the impact of adverse external or internal factors,
- economic – covering the ratio of packaging production costs to manufacturing costs of goods,
- aesthetic-marketing – being an aesthetic value of the packaging and designed to encourage the purchase of a given product.
Other scientists use the classification according to the following criteria: protective, logistical, informational and promotional functions.
Packaging functions in logistics
In terms of logistics and transport, the following groups of packaging functions are distinguished:
- protective – including protection against mechanical damage, climatic damage, biotic damage (grammes, pests) and losses;
- storage – they are all about facilitating storage, handling and picking processes;
- transport – it is closely related to optimisation of freight routes and maximum utilization of transport capacity;
- packing – packaging should facilitate the preparation of assortment sets in particular delivery batches, assuming that the capacity of the means of transport is maximised and that the custome;
- is supplied with the necessary set of goods for further sale;
- information – stimulates picking activities, facilitates sales and provides assistance in use;
- recycling and classic – covers the reuse of used packaging or its disposal.
Packaging materials
The division according to the material used is defined by the Act of 13 June 2013 on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management[2], which introduced, among others, the following measures. an obligation to recycle for the following packaging fractions:
- plastics.
- aluminium,
- steel, including steel sheet,
- paper and paperboard,
- glassware,
- wood,
- multi-material.
Approved packaging
The largest share in the packaging market is held by food packaging – used by food producers, but also in catering, confectionery and pizzerias. Such packaging (usually cardboard or foil) is food approved. Manufacturing plants using these packaging units have to undergo the process of product certification at the National Institute of Public Health, which is briefly referred to as PZH (State Institute of Hygiene).