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BY
Christoph Zumdick
IN
Industry knowledge
Folding box solutions with added value
When you think of folding boxes with tuck-in flaps, tuck-in bottoms or automatic bottoms you probably think first and foremost of rectangular boxes made of paper or cardboard that contain a packaged good, such as a medicine. Actually a rather unspectacular thing. The functions that a folding box with a tuck-in flap has to fulfil are also quite simple: it protects its contents and makes its surface available for product information, medication and as an advertising medium.
SSo far, so good. But just being good is not enough!
Interactive Packaging - folding box solutions with added value
The folding box with insert flap becomes interactive
It is a fact that the digital "mechanisation" of our lives does not stop at packaging. It is also tantamount to a revolution for classic folding boxes with tuck-in flaps. This development is just as significant in its scope as the invention of the folding carton at the end of the 19th century was for the mechanical packaging of goods.The "Internet of Things" is gradually conquering all industrial sectors, trade and our very private everyday lives. QR and barcodes can be easily scanned with a smartphone. As soon as a digital transmitter comes within their reach, readers for radio technologies such as RFID or NFC capture a lot of important communication data. Many packaging products, including folding boxes with tuck-in flaps, are becoming increasingly interactive with these technologies and are getting new functions that make the hearts of "digital natives", producers, marketing managers and consumers beat faster.
Packaging with added value
Folding carton manufacturers eare developing folding carton solutions that go beyond simply printing QR codes or inserting RFID/NFC labels. The aim behind this is to offer manufacturers and customers packaging with "added value": Packaging that provides detailed information increases product and counterfeit protection and makes daily use more convenient. In this blog, we would like to present some examples of packaging with added value and how folding boxes with tuck-in flaps can be made interactive:Folding boxes with NFC chip
Near field communication or NFC for short is a further development of RFID technology. It enables the contactless reading of data with mobile end devices and is already relatively well known as contactless payment with mobile phones. As with RFID chips, a label with a wafer-thin NFC chip is "invisibly" attached to the folding box with tuck-in flap. In the future, electronic inks will almost certainly enable direct printing of electronic components on the surface of the folding box.An industrial reader, as with RFID technology, is not needed to receive data via NFC. The forgery-proof chip can be read with any smartphone and thus used for security and marketing purposes. The prerequisite for secure data reception is a transmitter-receiver distance of (currently) a maximum of four centimetres. The data transmission rate of NFC is a maximum of 424 kbit/s. This is perfectly sufficient to transfer small amounts of data, for example in the form of links to a website, application notes or as competitions directly on the mobile phone display. After the purchase, the NFC chips promise an evaluation of the usage data in real-time. In addition to the place and time of purchase, they make it possible to incorporate the consumer's usage behaviour directly into market research.
Folding boxes with medication card, emergency QR and Pill2Go
Another example of how the folding box with tuck-in flap can be used as an interactive information carrier is the medication cards enclosed with a box of medicines. Via a QR code, the patient deposits his or her data with an internet provider such as Vitabook. In an emergency, the doctor queries the patient's stored data and thus ensures optimal treatment. With the QR code, the patient can register relatives to be cared for and deposit who is to be notified in an emergency. On the Vitabook site, it is also possible to activate a pill alarm, the Pill2Go, and to be reminded to take the pill every day.Folding boxes with integrated screen and sound module
Package inserts, with their many compulsory items of information, are difficult for many people to understand, especially for senior citizens. Therefore, they are often not read. Wouldn't it be better to equip a medicine box with a screen and a sound module? A "digital pharmacist", so to speak, who explains dosage forms, application instructions and side effects on request, just like on TV. In this way, the patient can be provided with important information that additionally supports compliance and, in contrast to written text, achieves a more effective impact. Good approaches would also be available for cosmetics, supplements and food. The first samples of folding boxes with a screen and/or sound module are already available, but it will probably take a while before they can be mass-produced at low cost.These articles might also interest you:
