In the two weeks during which The Converting Curmudgeon was offline, the package-printing and converting industries were certainly not sitting still. Quite a lot was going on. Here’s the first of a few posts to help you catch up on events.

Winners of the 67th National Paperboard Packaging Competition, sponsored by the Paperboard Packaging Council, were announced last week at the group’s spring meeting in Cincinnati. Thirty-three PPC members submitted 110 packages for consideration. Of those, 20 also competed in the Innovation category and 13 in the Eco category. The envelopes, please…

Taking the top Paperboard Package of the Year and the Rigid Box of the Year Awards: Bert-Co for its “Norman Lear DVD Collection” for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The pack’s objective: Create a high perceived value and minimize space to house multiple DVDs without the need for plastic trays. The box set and length of packaging make it stand out on the retail shelf, and the packaging is more likely to be retained and reused.

If I bought DVDs, this might be on my shopping list. Classic TV shows from the 1970s. One Norman Lear spinoff after another: All in the Family begat The Jeffersons and Maude begat Good Times. (Sounds like a Bible passage.)

Winning Folding Carton of the Year was Graphic Packaging International for its “Dove Moments” for Mars Snackfood US LLC. Using a subtle gold background printed on a metallized, polyester-board lamination, the carton’s design melts into Dove’s iconic ribbon swirl and a color-coded base area which identifies a specific gift occasion (Birthday, Thank You, etc.). A cloth ribbon tied into a bow is attached around the narrow neck of the carton.

Want a package that looks like a gift-wrapped present straight off the retail shelf? This is it. Also, any excuse to eat Dove chocolates is fine with me.

Great Northern Corp. won the Innovation Award for its “Kleenex Hand Towels.” The pack’s unusual shape fits towel-rack and counter-top functionality and includes an inside printed window to aid single-pull dispensing, a 45-deg grain-direction scoring profile, interior flaps that form and seal on automated equipment, and a tear-out perforation for an easy-to-open window. The box is printed with tinted, UV-metallic inks and a high rub formula for ink and coating to prevent abrasion and scuffing on embossed elements.

Why it took Kleenex so long to extend its ubiquitous tissue brand to in-home consumer hand towels is beyond me. Almost no one uses hankerchiefs anymore. The same fate may await cloth hand towels at homes across America someday.

MeadWestvaco took this year’s Eco Award for its Multi-Component Basket Carrier. The carrier uses more uncoated paperboard than traditional basket carriers as well as a lower-caliper combination to create a basket that’s 30% more efficient in pack-out. The result: Better pallet efficiencies, lowered fuel costs and improved warehouse storage.

I’m pretty sure that your average Smirnoff Ice drinker is NOT terribly concerned about sustainability and Mother Earth when making their purchase. I AM sure that anything converters can do to cut costs and boost efficiencies for their packaged-goods customers is a win-win.