1 LESSON 1 Packaging Packaging is an important aspect in overall production and material handling and requires input from engineering, production, graphics, and advertising personnel. The specifications for the product package very much depend on the product design, and any change in design can cause a significant change in package requirements. It is therefore essential to consider packaging in the designing, production, and material-handling phases of the product. Packaging also has a big role in a consumer‘s decision to purchase. If there are several varieties of the same basic product for about the same price, it is most likely that the one purchased will be the one that stands out the most. The size, shape, and colors of the packaging can be very instrumental in product sales. Even for industrial or commercial products, packaging plays an important role in delivering the product intact at minimal additional cost. Packaging mainly serves to protect a product from damage caused by handling or exposure to environmental conditions involving heat, moisture, light, and even electronic interference and radiation. It allows a manufacturing firm flexibility in locating its facilities in a site that is most suitable in terms of production-oriented factors such as labor, raw materials, and utilities without having to be concerned with whether the finished product can be delivered safely to its customers. The type of packaging also contributes to formation of the unit load, which is necessary in the selection and use of the type of material-handling equipment. There are three major categories in packaging: consumer, industrial, and military. Consumer packaging, which can be subdivided into retail and institu...
