Paper alternative for blister tablet packaging wins award

Syntegon and Huhtamaki have developed a paper alternative to plastic blisters for tablets and capsules, which has won a German Packaging Award in the sustainability category. The jury was impressed by the sustainability and good functionality of the paper-based packaging solution.

“While eco-friendly and health-conscious customers can already find sustainable packaging solutions for a wide range of products, an environmentally friendly alternative for push-through packaging for tablets and capsules was not available to date. That’s something we wanted to change with Blister meets Paper,” Torsten Sauer, Sustainability Project Manager at Syntegon, explains.

While paper-based packaging offers advantages in terms of sustainability, it requires additional barrier layers to adequately protect the product without compromising recyclability. In addition, the tablets and capsules have to be pushed out of the blisters without being damaged.

“Thanks to the combination of our TPU 1000 form, fill and seal machine for paper packaging, the 3D formable FibreForm paper from BillerudKorsnäs, and the sealable barrier coating from Huhtamaki, we have succeeded in forming paper with the geometry required for tablets in cavities of three to four millimeters,” explains Matthias Klauser, Sustainability Expert at Syntegon. In the future, the paper blisters will also be available with diameters of 6–10 mm to package larger tablets such as pain killers.

Huhtamaki used the same sealable barrier coating for the blister‘s lidding material as in the base material, and finished it with a special process to push the tablet easily through the material. The environmentally friendly material concept consisting of a thermoformable base film and a push-through lidding film with barrier coating is marketed as “Huhtamaki Push Tab paper”. The thermoformable barrier and seal layer is also heat-sealable, which makes the paper blister packaging’s barrier properties comparable to classic blister packaging made of mono-PVC or aluminium.

The Blister meets Paper paper blisters can be printed on both sides, while an embossed brand logo can be applied to the top.