From Eco Packaging to No Packaging: DisCling
From the May/June 2008 MEDIAWARE article by Dan Daley
If going green has to do with reducing packaging then why not go the whole way, and eliminate it completely? This is the approach for DisCling disc packaging - no boxes, sleeves, or hubs, just the disc directly attached to an insert or mailer.
DisCling is a surface polymer that is clear and non-sticky (there's no resident to rub away). It can be applied like a label to virtually any substrate. Attach a disc, and it holds with the same force that holds cling signage up on store windows. But the disc can be easily peeled off when you want to use it. And the materials is reusable, so you can re-attach the disc again and store it.
"Without the layers of packaging that go into making envelopes of the plastics that make up a tray, DisCling is really a more environmentally friendly means of packaging," says Alexandra Gordon, DisCling inventor and president of Clinghesive (orignally known as Disc Mount). "There's less waste involved, and less weight in shipping too."
The product has been tested for the past 18 months, and approved by binderies across the U.S. Charles Cadmus of Tri-Media Services, a custom manufacturing and project management company based in the New York area, had led the product's introduction to major publishers and marketing agencies. "It's been exciting to see the DisCling product sail through trials," he says, "with unanimous approval and minimal slow down rates compared to other CD bind-ins."
DVS also has designed a thin multipak for 5-8 discs that is just 1/2 inch thick. "We used the DisCling material in a spiral bound book about the size of a Blu-Ray case," says David Valko, vice president of sales and marketing. "The book is small, but with a lot of real estate for printing full color graphics, and a unique way of presenting the disc. The client loved it."
Clinhesive also has a variety of uses beyond discs. It can be used to create resealable, reusable closures that are thin and clear. And compared to fugitive glue and low tack adhesives for plastic and card packaging, there's no sticky glue residue, and the card can be replaced on the holder, useful for gift card wallets and hotel key cards.
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