A record crowd at Package Design 2006, the conference organized by Packaging Strategies, enjoyed a fascinating program.

For example, Eye Tracking, Inc., let designers try out their video headset rig and then analyzed how attendees’ eyes viewed various packages and P-O-P displays.

Procter & Gamble principal engineer Paul France briefed the audience on ‘universal design,’ an approach to designing products and packages that are easier for everyone to use—it’s really hot in Japan and Europe and increasingly entering P&G’s design strategy.

ELAU rounded out the session with examples of how critical the early involvement of packaging engineering can be to the success of a package design project.

ELAU’s perspective is unique as automation supplier on many of the world’s most innovative packaging machines. Often these machines had to be invented so that equally innovative package designs could see the light of day.

Trends involving cooperative design of packaging and packaging machinery to watch:

• Trends from Europe, including machine builders developing new package types and the equipment to run them

• In-line integration of product manufacturing and packaging

• In-line integration of package converting and packaging

• Technology transfer—using packaging from one industry to solve an application in another

• Technology transfer—for example, technologies once used only in rotary machines are being applied to in-line machines

• Building customized capabilities from standardized machine modules to save lead time and engineering cost

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