Tube of the Year Awards

The Tube Council has announced the winners of its 2010 Tube of the Year Awards. An independent panel of judges evaluated nearly two dozen submissions, ranking entries in the following categories: Innovative Tube, Innovative Component/Process, Pharmaceutical, Food, Personal Care, Dentifrice, and Household/Industrial. Judging resulted in one category with two winners, and runners-up and/or special mentions were named in all categories.

Ted Klein Tube of the Year: Most Innovative Tube Winner: Intuition, manufactured by Montebello Packaging

Ted Klein Tube of the Year:
Most Innovative Tube
Winner: Intuition, manufactured by
Montebello Packaging

Runner-Up: St. Ives Fresh Skin,
manufactured by Albéa

Special Mention: St. Ives Renewing,
manufactured by Albéa

Most Innovative
Component/Process

Winner: St. Ives Fresh Skin, manufactured by Albéa

Runner-Up: St. Ives Renewing, manufactured by Albéa

Special Mention: L’Oreal Studio Line Special Fx,
manufactured by Albéa

Special Mention: Lea Journo, manufactured by Plastube

For the tube with the Most Innovative Component/Process, St. Ives Fresh Skin, Albéa provided a 2-in white plastic laminate tube with Aptar fliptop cap with eye-catching graphics not normally seen on laminate tubes, says Doug Jackson, market manager, North America, Albéa. “The complex graphics are achieved using Albéa’s Pixel Laminate printing technology using CTP (computer-to-plate) high-resolution plate technology. A beautiful white color is the background for the photorealistic graphic.”

Jackson says that CTP (computer-to-plate) technology provides the high resolution. “CMYK printing make the fruit appear like a photograph,” he says. Also used were spot colors, registered matte varnish, and gloss silk screen for the banner carrying the name “Fresh Skin.”

Albéa was able to decorate the tube from the shoulder to the end seal with no disruption of graphics from the heat seal process, Jackson explains. “And a cosmetic seam make the final appearance very similar to an extruded tube,” he adds.

Best Pharmaceutical

Winner: Maxsize,
manufactured by Plastube

Runner-Up: Mentholatum Natural Chest Rub,
manufactured by Albéa

For the Best Pharmaceutical tube, Plastube delivered a prominent tube. “More and more we are seeing the pharmaceutical industry also want to have their products stand out from others out there,” says Kim Sorensen, regional sales manager for Plastube. “Gone are the days of red black and blue print only for this segment of the industry. Plastube is proud to have worked on graphics that are out of the ordinary yet convey the professional image the customer was looking for.”
Best Food

Winner: Intuition, manufactured by Montebello Packaging

Runner-Up: Marvini,
manufactured by Plastube

Special Mention: Turkey Hill Pure Maple Syrup, manufactured by Montebello Packaging

For the Best Food tube for Intuition, Montebello Packaging employed its new neckless tube design. In place of a cap, the 1-in. diameter tube has a hygiene seal. Intuition is Montebello Packaging’s own private label nutraceutical supplement, which launched in the fall of 2010. For more on the tube, see pages 15–16.
Best Personal Care

Winner: Philip B Russian Amber Conditioning Creme, manufactured by JSN Cosmetic Packaging

Winner: St. Ives Fresh Skin, manufactured by Albéa
Special Mention: Bull Frog, manufactured by Albéa

Debbie Grau, Philip B’s manufacturing liaison, calls the Best Personal Care tube manufactured for the company’s Russian Amber Conditioning Creme “fabulous.” All of the company’s products are packaged in similar tubes, she reports. “We have found through the course of time that the tube is the most expedient way to dispense our product. And it displays well!”
A multiple-layer label using special materials and inks was chosen for decoration. Provided by Gene Diamond Associates, the label featured a contruction that allowed it to be crimped through, extending the label fully through to the top of the tube.
Best Dentifrice

Winner: Colgate “My First Toothpaste,” manufactured by Albéa

Runner-Up: Kiss My Face Sensitive, manufactured by IntraPac

Special Mention: Arm & Hammer Booster 3X More, manufactured by Albéa

For the Best Dentifrice tube, Colgate “My First Toothpaste” Fluoride-Free Infant and Toddler Toothpaste, Albéa’s provided a 1 3/16-in. high-density monolayer tube. “Matte coating is used on the standard white sleeve to complement the look on the carton and enhance the intricate cartoon/animal graphics designed to catch the eye of consumers with small children,” explains Doug Jackson, market manager, North America, Albéa. “The complex graphics are achieved using Albéa’s Pixel Plastic printing technology using CTP
(computer-to-plate) high-resolution plate technology.”

A double-wall full-diameter cosmetic cap allows the consumer to stand the tube up following use, Jackson adds. In addition, a taller head dispenses product more precisely onto the toothbrush.

For runner-up Kiss My Face, Bob Almer, director of sales for IntraPac, reports that the family of tubes was previously manufactured in Europe, and is now being manufactured in the United States. “The tube specification was changed from a full diameter continuous thread closure to a flip top closure,” he explains. “Graphics are critical, and we were able to successfully achieve the detail they were looking for with our six-color process printing.”

Best Household/Industrial

Winner: Dap Strong Stick Adhesive, manufactured by IntraPac

Runner-Up: No More Nails, manufactured by Plastube

For the Best Household/Industrial tube, Bob Almer, director of sales for IntraPac, says that “printing with Day Glo pigmented inks is difficult.” DAP owns the Day Glo pigment company, he adds, and the tube was printed with Day Glo pigmented inks, and the closure was molded with Day Glo pigmented polypropylene resin. “To ensure proper color, we had to lay down the yellow and red colors twice on the web,” he explains.

Judges for The Tube Council’s 2010 Tube of the Year were:

Tedi Weitekamp, Senior Manager, Global Packaging Engineering, Skin Care, Avon

George Kress, VP, Corporate Package Innovations, Estée Lauder

Michael Larocca, Project Manager, Packaging and Global Brands, GlaxoSmithKline, Consumer Healthcare

Brian Wassall, Assistant Vice President, L’Oreal USA

Daphne Allen, editor of Tube News.

For information on The Tube Council, visit www.tube.org.