The vacuum forming of plastic process is one of the most cost effective ways to produce packaging. One of the most common packaging designs that is common today is the blister pack. It is often used for medication sweets and many other applications. There are several materials that can be used for this sort of packaging and all of them have different properties.
Blister packs Materials
One of the common materials that are used for this type of packaging is PVC. One of the reasons this material is favored for the vacuum Forming plastic process is that it can be made to be opaque. This is important for packing light sensitive medication in blister packs.
PVC and Toxins
The material has some disadvantages however. It can produce toxins when heated to certain temperatures. In some countries blister packs made from this material cannot be disposed through incineration which makes it difficult to dispose for those who find this method of disposing things more convenient.
Polysterene is commonly used in Blister packaging. It is fairly cost effective and is usually transparent. The downside with this material is that it has a high water and moisture permeability. This makes it unsuitable for materials that are sensitive to water and moisture such as medication.
PET and Lidding Materials
PET is another material that is often used for various applications from blister packaging and other containers made from thermoforming of plastic. This material is considered as a viable alternative to PVC and does not produce toxins like PVC.
Other materials used are often used for the base of the blister packs. One material that is often used for vacuum forming of plastic blister packs is aluminum. It is one of the best materials for this purpose and provides the push through mechanism. It is this mechanism that makes it easy to pop pills from the blister pack.
Plastic Packaging Company in Canada 