Modes of Pharmaceutical Packaging

Pharmaceutical packaging today is a prosperous industry, owing its existence mainly to the burgeoning base of medical science. Medications are manufactured worldwide using several technologies, and are marketed using different kinds of packaging conversions. This makes pharmaceutical packaging an extremely heterogeneous entity.

Modes of Pharmaceutical Packaging
The blister pack is possibly the most common mode of packing used for packaging medical tablets and capsules worldwide. The blister surface may be transparent, translucent or opaque. Shrink sleeves are as popular in pharmaceutical packaging as they are in the packing of food and beverages. Cartons and bottles are also applied in pharmaceutical packaging in the traditional way, excepting the addition of tamper-proof seals and child resistant packaging. Tubes are also widely used, metal tubes being quickly replaced by more flexible plastic counterparts. The sector of pharmaceutical packaging is highly competitive. The element of packaging is as crucial as any other component of such a sector.

Technologies and Machinery
Owing to the heterogeneous nature of pharmaceutical packaging, different kinds of technologies are applied simultaneously by the pharmaceutical industry:

Thermoforming
Thermoforming is required in the packaging of medications in blister packs. Most capsules and tablets employ the principle of blister packaging. Different industries across the world like Venus Exports and Europack International manufacture thermoforming equipmentdesigned specifically for pharmaceutical packaging.

Blow-fill-seal packaging
Blow-fill-seal technology contributes to sterility and safety. Asep-Tech ® Model 603 is an example of machines used for this kind of packaging.

Cartons
Cardboard cartons are widely used with almost all kinds of pharmaceutical packaging, including bottles, tab strips and tubes. The Scandia Packaging Machinery Company manufactures several models like the Model ALIM cartoning machine.

Tubes
Tubes may be made of flexible plastic or aluminum. Different kinds of machines may be used in the process, like hydraulic tube expanding equipment, pneumatic boiler tube cleaners and tube filling equipment. Airxpa Engineers is an industry manufacturing such equipment.

Filling, Capsealing and Labeling
Filling bottles with medicinal solutions, sealing them with caps and labeling them is another significant domain of pharmaceutical packaging. Companies like N.K. Industries manufacture equipments for this purpose.

Specialized Equipment
A bulk of the pharmaceutical packaging industry is dedicated to the production of medicines that involve the packaging of medicines right from the stage when the products are manufactured. Specialized equipments include machines for creating tablets and distilling solutions. An example of the tablet-creating machine is the Single Stroke Tableting Machine manufactured by Cadmach Machinery Co. Ltd. Form Fill and Seal machines are also available, like the Ua-050 Automatic Form Fill & Seal Machine manufactured by Unique Associates. Specialized equipment for manufacturing tablets includes the PH800 Korsch Tablet Press.

Modes of Pharmaceutical Packaging