You see them everywhere these days, those little cards with pills and other things neatly packaged and sealed within. The blister card is a very efficient way to pack things (especially medications) and it makes keeping track of daily doses simple and easy. This is only one reason for their increasing popularity. But did you ever wonder how these marvels of packaging technology came about? Let’s journey back a few years and see.
Birth Control Pills
When birth control pills hit the market in the 1960s, there was no suitable packaging for taking a daily pill. Women wanted a fool-proof method for remembering to take their pills each day and special packaging was developed to meet this need.
The Blister Card Catches On
Soon after the “pill” became popular, companies realized the potential in this new form of packaging. In fact, it provided several important benefits to the user, such as:
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Protection against moisture and damage
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Convenient to use
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See how many pills you have left and have taken
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Security – easy to see if the pack had been tampered with
This innovative packaging was good for the manufacturer also. For example:
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Cheaper to produce, store and ship
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Greater manufacturing efficiency
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Easy to include important drug information – no extra packaging required, as the info could be printed on the cards.
The Manufacturing Process
Why fix something which is not broken? For the most part, the process of manufacturing blister packs has changed very little over the decades. However, modern technology has sped up the process and it has spread to a number of different products, besides medical things. Today the production process is fully automated.
Materials
Originally a clear PVC plastic product was used, along with aluminum foil. Today proprietary film materials are used to provide better protection against moisture.
Why Are They Sometimes Hard to Open?
You may notice that your blister card may require a great deal of force to push the pill out. This happens for a reason and was in response to the Poison Prevention Act of 1970. This way, it is much harder for small children to get into packages they are not supposed to open.
Increased Popularity over the Years
For a long time, blister card production was at a standstill but today more and more drug companies are using this method. Due to the high cost of drugs, companies are desperately searching for ways to cut costs. By using blister packs, more space is available and no batches of medication sit unprotected in bins or storage because everything is properly sealed thanks to blister type packaging.
