Explaining Tablet Packaging Types

Tablet packaging protects your product during shipping and storage and serves as a marketing tool to draw in your customers.

Read on to learn more about the most common tablet packaging types to ensure you select the right packaging for your product.

Blister Packs

Blister packaging allows pharmaceutical companies to retain the medicinal quality of their products and protect them from heat, moisture, and contamination. Blister packs are also useful for newly developed drugs, which may conflict with traditional packaging materials. Additionally, blister packaging is great for adhering to regulatory standards, since it’s often used for solid unit doses of medicines and can keep tablets or capsules separate and protected until use.

Along with pharmaceuticals, there are many other types of products packaged in blisters, like:

The Blister Pack Process

A successful blister packaging process ensures product protection from contamination, oxygen, and UV light. You can easily integrate an automatic blister packaging machine into your existing packaging process. Blister packaging equipment develops high-quality packaging by creating a cavity made from aluminum foil or plastic. After the product is placed inside the cavity, another packaging layer made from aluminum foil or plastic is added to the seal pack, protecting the pharmaceutical from the elements and retaining its medicinal properties.

Tablet Packaging Types: Bottles

In the pharmaceutical industry, bottles are commonly used for liquids, tablets, and capsules. Bottles can be manufactured with either glass or plastic, depending on the product. Glass is ideal for sensitive pharmaceutical products and liquids that are stored for long periods. Plastic bottles are more versatile and well-suited for a variety of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, like vitamin D and ibuprofen. Whether a bottle is manufactured with glass or plastic, the pharmaceutical bottle packaging must protect the product from damage and degradation. It’s common for bottled tablets to include a coil that keeps the product from breaking during shipping.

The Bottling Process

The bottle filling process uses several systems that work together to accurately fill and count tablets and capsules. Pharmaceutical bottling machines are typically designed with air cylinders to prevent spillage and allow bottle changes before filling takes place. Thanks to sophisticated and intuitive sensors, pharmaceutical bottling machines can count tablets and capsules accurately and efficiently.

Comparing Tablet Packaging Types: Bottle vs. Blister Pack

Bottles and blister packs are the two most prevalent tablet packaging formats. While both packaging types offer protection against moisture, temperature, humidity, oxygen and light, they each have their own distinct advantages.

Protection

When it comes to providing your product with a high level of protection, cold form alu/alu blisters are the golden standard for moisture sensitive products and have a virtually zero Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR). Plastic bottles also offer some protection, but over a two-year shelf life, the RH (Relative Humidity) inside the bottle will remain almost unchanged. By including a desiccant, such as silica gel in the bottle, you can extend your product’s shelf life. However, once the cap is removed and the induction seal broken, the barrier is never the same.

Cost

If you’re looking for the most cost-effective packaging option, then blister packs, strip packs, and stick packs are the way to go. Blister packs are cheaper to produce than bottles, since they use a fraction of the material and are lighter weight, reducing logistic costs. Strip packs offer even greater savings, using 30-40% less material than blister packs. However, strip packaging lines operate at slower speeds than blister packaging lines, so production efficiency must be factored into the equation.

Patient Safety and Compliance

When it comes to patient safety, child-resistance is only one part of the equation. Blister packs are seen as more child-resistant than bottles due to their design, since only one or two tablets can be extracted from a blister at a time. Blister packs also have a clear advantage when it comes to patient compliance, thanks to calendarized packs providing a visual snapshot of the patient’s dose history. Additionally, blister packs also reduce the margin for dispensing errors within pharmacy operations.

Sustainability

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor in the pharmaceutical packaging industry. On the surface, it may seem like blister packs are less sustainable than bottles because they’re not recyclable. However, what isn’t taken into account is the amount of material consumption—blister packs use a fraction of the material that bottles do. According to the waste hierarchy, blister packs come out on top as the more sustainable option.

If your final product includes multiple ingredients that require separate storage until use, frangible seal packaging may be the right packaging type for you.

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Key Takeaways

Blister packaging allows pharmaceutical companies to retain the medicinal quality of their products.
Bottles are commonly used for liquids, tablets, and capsules.
While bottles and blister packs offer protection against moisture, temperature, humidity, oxygen and light, they each have their own distinct advantages.
Cold form alu/alu blisters are the golden standard for moisture sensitive products.
You can extend your product’s shelf life by adding a silica gel inside the bottle.
Blister packs are seen as more child-resistant than bottles due to their design.
Blister packs also reduce the margin for dispensing errors within pharmacy operations.

Providing Different Types of Tablet Packaging Equipment

Ascend Packaging Systems provides different types of tablet packaging equipment for a variety of industries and products. Our team of experts is prepared to help you with all of your packaging equipment needs, from bottles to blister packaging for tablets, capsules, and medical devices. We even offer non-destructive leak testing equipment that eliminates the possibility of human error, saving you time and money while reducing waste. Contact us today to learn more about how we can take your packaging solutions to the next level.