GE Plastics today unveiled a brilliant edge glow effect for five-gallon
water
bottles made with LEXAN
polycarbonate resin. The new effect called
IlluminateTM helps the eye-catching
bottles featured at the International Bottle
water Association's Convention and Tradeshow (GE Booth #323) add visual
impact that
bottlers can use to help cash in on their brand equity and seal
customer loyalty.
"This new GE Plastics LEXAN resin grade transforms invisible
light to create a
brilliant edge glow effect that accents a water bottle by simulating an interior
light source," said Doug
Hamilton, GE Plastics product manger. "Bottlers can
use an Illuminate effect and color to help create five-gallon water bottles with
greater consumer appeal."
LEXAN Illuminate resin for
blow molding joins another GE VisualfxTM portfolio
effect introduced to the water bottle industry in 2000 - LEXAN resin with the
Light DiffusionTM effect - which combines transparency,
diffusion and
eye-catching color to both hide and reveal the contents of a water bottle.
Both
resins are part of the Visualfx portfolio of effects that are formulated
with the color and effect inherent in the pellet to create colorful and
exceptionally rich looking products like water bottles out of the mold.
"Traditionally, LEXAN resin offers bottlers a competitive advantage because it
can be used to make very lightweight and impact resistant water bottles,"
Hamilton said. "Now, with the new Illuminate effect, bottlers can look beyond
the cost savings advantages to increasing their growth by building valuable
brand recognition."
Bottlers can use LEXAN resin with the Illuminate or Light
diffusion effect to
help further enhance their water bottles' aesthetics by coupling either effect
with GE Plastics' in-mold decoration (IMD) technology to create visually
distinctive five-gallon water bottles with exceptionally durable labeling.
Instead of
paper or post-molded screen-printed
labels, which tend not to age
well or last long, bottlers can have the artwork of their label printed on and
sealed behind naturally transparent LEXAN film, which is then incorporated into
the blow molding process, to create a crisp, colorful and new appearance
even after prolonged use.
"Aesthetics is an integral part in the development of an overall brand
strategy," Hamilton said. "The Illuminate effect in LEXAN resin can deliver the
emotional punch or 'wow factor', which can drive consumers to pick a
particular bottler's brand out of a sea of competitors."