Thursday, April 28, 2011

High Tech Packaging

For most of us shipping parcels is a simple matter, and we do not need to use anything fancy to send them in, or need to worry about tracking them in great detail so long as they always arrive safely.
Yet there is a large market out there for high tech packaging, this can be anything from ESD packaging to protect electronic components from static electricity, to special gel based packaging that is designed to provide the best anti-shock treatment possible.
You may not need to use any today, but it is always worthwhile having a specialist supplier in mind if you think you might need it in the future.
Specialist packaging in its simplest form often takes the shape of precision pre-cut foam inserts in to which you can place your goods, providing the ultimate in protection for your goods. With precision cut foam inserts your goods will stand no chance of moving around inside the parcel.
High tech packaging solutions include anti-static (ESD) foam to protect electronic components, through to the latest "Active" anti-shock systems that can actually sense when a parcel has been dropped.
A relatively new innovation in packaging is the introduction of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. These are very tiny metallic strips that contain all of the products information, from the date it was created, to who built it, who packed it etc, etc.
They are the modern version of a barcode only far superior, as unlike a bar code hundreds of RFID tags can be read at the same time. And unlike a bar code the RFID reader can be several metres away from the package.
Whilst you could use just one RFID tag per parcel for identification purposes, with passive RFID tags starting at $0.05 each, then you may want to consider tagging each item you are shipping. Of note is that in the event of a counterfeit goods being made, the one thing they cannot copy is the RFID tag. This also helps matters in the event of a theft e.g. all the tags on the goods can be notified as stolen, thus when scanned they will flag up as such.

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