Stick packs as a 21st-century child-resistant packaging solution

Offering a broad variety of child-resistant packaging solutions, Constantia Flexibles is the market leader with two innovative opening-aid technologies that can also be designed as child-resistant versions: Laser Perforation and Tobepal Opening Feature (TOF) for stick packs.

In our on-the-go culture, stick pack single-dose packaging for pharmaceuticals has long been appreciated for its convenience and reliability. By incorporating an opening aid from Constantia Flexibles, stick packs become extremely user friendly while relinquishing none of their barrier properties.

The Laser Perforation opening feature is achieved by laser scoring the outer surface of the PET layer. By sufficiently weakening the laminate at a desired point, this allows the packaging to be easily opened in a linear direction. The design can be customized to meet customer requirements. To make this solution child resistant, an additional step is added to the process. A stick pack, for instance, has to be squeezed first before it can be torn open. This procedure does not harm the aluminum layer of the stick pack because the aluminum reflects the laser and therefore remains undamaged.

The Tobepal Opening Feature (TOF) gets its name from the Spanish operations of Constantia Flexibles. This design features micro-perforations in the PET layer of the laminate, achieved during the printing process using fine needles on a cylinder prior to binding the laminate layers. In both Laser Perforation and TOF, only the external film is perforated, whereas the aluminum layer which protects the drug is never compromised.

Wilhelm Zuser, Head of Innovation Blister at Constantia Patz (Austria), highlights what distinguishes the innovative products offered by Constantia Flexibles, “Both the Laser Perforation and the TOF technologies are in house – and by developing a range of unique technologies and offering its customers an unparalleled choice of options for their child-resistance needs, Constantia Flexibles holds a leading market position.”