Camel Cigarette Cartons Take 2012 AIMCAL Product of the Year Award

Source from:  Converting Quarterly  06/07/2012

The Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIMCAL) bestowed its Product of the Year Award on Unifoil Corp., Fairfield, NJ, Sunday night for a series of cartons for Camel Menthol, Camel Bold and Camel Crush cigarettes from RJR Tobacco, Winston-Salem, NC. Unifoil served as converter and metallizer on the project; while RJR Tobacco provided the design. Unifoil relies on its Unilustre technology to transfer-metallize the 12-pt solid bleached sulfate (SBS) tobacco stock supplied by International Paper, Memphis, Tennessee. The barrel-corner cartons are produced on a litho web press and contract-packaged by Amcor, Reidsville, North Carolina. Compared to nonmetallized predecessors, the metallized designs attract more attention at retail. The nonlaminated SBS provides a bondable surface and excellent embossability and also die-cuts and scores precisely, essential features for handling on high-speed cigarette packaging lines. The transfer-metallized paperboard not only delivers acceptable performance for taste and odor, but also is recyclable and repulpable. Alternatives such as metallized film/board laminates would be more likely to warp and harder to emboss, while metallic inks yield a less reflective surface. The Camel cigarette cartons wowed the judges. Members of the panel felt the metallized cartons demonstrate marketing and technical merit. The cartons not only stand out in the cigarette category, but also demonstrate the compatibility of metallized material with high-speed production. "Cigarette lines run at amazing speeds," observed one judge. "Great registration and design features," noted another judge. "These cartons look like metal cases down to the faux rivets and rounded edge," commented a third member of the panel. The Product of the Year Award in AIMCAL's annual Vacuum Metallized or Coated Product Competition was presented at an Awards Banquet on March 11, during the association's annual Management Meeting at the Rio Mar Beach Resort in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The judges also named eight category winners, which received either a Marketing or Technical Award. Enditem