Packaging Technology in Depth

LIFE IMITATING ART - BRING YOUR PACKAGING TO LIFE!

Now you can see what your product packaging, pallet load & truck load will really look like with the new colorful, interactive graphics and true to life packaging components created using CAPE PACK. This April CAPE Systems launches its latest pallet loading and packaging design software, CAPE PACK. A sophisticated group of programs, CAPE PACK combines innovative graphics technology with a user friendly style, making it an essential tool for evaluating product packaging design, pallet loading and product distribution.

Users of CAPE PACK can create a variety of solutions for loading cases onto pallets by entering data that relates to the case size, the pallet size and any loading restrictions which might apply. The program also handles package arrangement and case design, primary package optimisation, mixed product displays and promotional pallet loads. Designers and engineers can simply select the program groups they need to design and redesign their packaging, test outer case materials and sizes and create mixed product pallets for retail display purposes.

The new graphics technology behind CAPE PACK presents the user with the opportunity to view true to life representations of solutions and the power to share these results with other people. The program generates three dimensional, color displays of a range of pallet layering solutions and true to life pallet loads. It can also represent almost any package shape, even non standard shapes such as ellipses. Users can draw product shapes such as bags, bottles, rectangular bottles and even light bulbs quickly and easily using the Shape Wizard feature and they can design cases and trays using the Tray Wizard. Other capabilities include showing dividers within the outer pack and creating bundles of packs in their outer packaging. CAPE PACK can depict shrink wrapped bundles or pallet loads, open flaps on cases, show cut away views and display how pallets can be loaded into trucks.

In addition to this, artwork images such as labels, carton graphics and brand logos can be transferred to the surfaces of the packaging components within CAPE PACK to further increase visual reality. It is easy to quickly transfer scanned images or imported artwork files to the surfaces of your primary pack, bundle, or outer packaging. The program will then turn the surfaces of the flat blank image into a proper 3D object that can be used in CAPE PACK.

When users finalise their packaging design and pallet loading analysis they can print out graphical, three dimensional configurations in both color or black and white to show their customers or colleagues in the warehouse how the products will be packed in the outer cases and how the outer cases will be loaded and shipped on the pallets. These printouts with multiple views of the product case and pallet load can be used as a marketing tool or as part of a specification to assist the assemblers in the warehouse. One view may show how the primary packages are arranged in the outer case, another may show each layer of the loaded pallet and a third might show the finalised fully loaded pallet.

Once you have chosen a solution from the program you can export both text and graphics information to other software systems such as CAD, databases and specifications, as well as robotics and end of line packaging machinery applications. The CAPE PACK graphics also act as an OLE Server and can therefore be inserted into other programs such as Microsoft Word.

The technology behind CAPE PACK uses the power of your PC to create an unprecedented level of simplicity and reality in this type of software. CAPE has used feedback from its 3500 users in conjunction with Visual Basic, C++ and the latest object orientated graphics technology to develop CAPE PACK. This program structure offers a stable environment and sound technical platform for future versions of the software in both 16 and 32 bit operating environments.

Even though the CAPE PACK program uses very advanced technology it is extremely easy to use. The new program has been specifically designed to follow standard Windows convention and to operate in a similar style to Microsoft Word. Data is therefore confined to a single input or output screen and there is on line help. CAPE PACK has been designed for both single PC and network installations and to operate within the Windows, Windows 95 and NT environments.