Smartboxes is part of the Farish Associates Design Consultancy Group that specialises in creating and manufacturing customised plastic and cardboard products for the travel industry, coffee shops, and retailers.
Its reputation is based on creating new products which, according to the company, are both abespoke and very special'.
The new asafety-first' meal boxes have been designed to reduce the risk of hot or cold food falling from the table or tray while in flight (Fig.1). They meet the toughest safety standards of the airline industry, clip firmly shut, and have strong handles so they can be used after the flight as carrying cases for school lunches, children's games and toys.
Smartboxes says the trendy new meal boxes have proven a hit with children of all ages, as branded souvenirs of time spent on board with the airlines.
Moulded from clear polypropylene, the design of the new in-flight airline meal boxes delivers cutting-edge styling tailored to the exact requirements of airline specifications. In its latest product styles Smartboxes wanted something that would complement its existing designs while adding a new dimension by being dazzling, bright, and clean, but also non-toxic and durable.
The company knew that the answer was an exciting range of colours that would deliver high quality clarified colour transparency as accents or saturated throughout the designs. So the company turned to the plastics additives business of Milliken Chemical Company. In particular, Smartboxes was interested in the company's ClearTint range of colourants.
ClearTint colourants are Milliken's latest generation of products that are widely regarded as the best option for maintaining clarity in polypropylene applications.
In the past, opaque polypropylene products were coloured with pigments. With the expanding use of Millad clarifying agents in polyolefin resins, ClearTint has met the need for colourants that do not interfere with clarity. ClearTint colourants are oligomeric colouring materials which combine the exceptional aesthetics of dyes with the migration resistance of pigments.
ClearTint colourants provide the brightest, cleanest, most transparent colours available. These colourants can be used as light tints to mask residual haze or used for deep, rich shades not possible with pigment colourants.
An added benefit is the fact that the colourants are non-toxic, contain no heavy metals and are agency approved for use in food-contact applications. So they are safe for children, another key Smartboxes requirement.
"Our clients need practical, functional solutions that work perfectly in very demanding environments the form and visual impact of the finished product must be better than anything else on the market,“ said Andrew Farish, creative director of Smartboxes, which counts British Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Emirates among its clients. "Add kids into the equation and the more colourful the product to enhance the design, the better, and in the final analysis, Milliken's Plastics Additives Business ClearTint colourant stood out as the best solution for our requirements,“ he added.
ClearTint colourants can be used in injection-moulded, thermoformed and blow-moulded applications. As in the case of Smartboxes' children's in-flight meal boxes, they insure that excellent clarity is maintained.
The colourants are custom-formulated to meet the shade, colour, depth and performance requirements of the new meal boxes, helping to differentiate the new Smartboxes product in the marketplace.
