Hey POP and Packaging Designers

I am looking for a name and supplier of a material I always see at the POP show (on a side note, do they still put on that show?). It is a plastic sheet, I think about 20 mil thick. Where I have seen it used the most is as the packaging material for toothbrushes. Not the stuff that is vacuum-formed but the material that is folded-up. I have also seen it in cosmetics and bath products. It is clear or frosted and I think it may come in tints. The POP vendors say how well they can print on the material. Any ideas of what I am writing about? I have had samples in the past but it has been years and I can’t find any documentation.

You just discribed almost every Pkg material. Do you have a sample that you can show us. It is also hard to pick the material just by looking at it and not being able to feel it. Show us a picture and maybe we can give you some hints.

I found what it is - polypropylene sheet. You can see an example here:

http://www.tpackaging.com/polyprop.html

Now I am having a hard time finding it thin - .015 or .020. Thick (.031 +) is easy to find as is PP film. Any sources for the thin, rigid sheet?

You might try contacting a distributor, such as Robeco (http://www.robecoinc.com/) I know they have a sales office in NYC on Park Ave. They could probably provide you with samples.

PVC Tech also markets polypro (http://www.pvctech.com/). They have a great swatchbook that shows a wide range of textures and colors. But from what I know, they prefer that you buy PP from them pre-packaged (50 sheets at a time.) Not sure what your specific needs are with this.

The thing is, though, that poly, isn’t an especially rigid substrate, particularly when you work with thinner stocks. One of the things that make it appealing is that it has a softness to it. However, in the thinner gauges, that suppleness may not work for you.

You might want to consider PVC or APET. Both offer a lot more rigidity at the thicknesses you mentioned.

I hope this helps.
-KS

I must apologize for not thanking those who replied. It is one of my pet peeves about this forum and I feel bad for being a hypocrit. Its like letting someone into traffic and not getting a wave - its just wrong. So, kryptoniteshopper and PackageID, thanks for your replies, they were very helpful.