The COLOURFORM™ Manufacturing Process
Experts in design and manufacture
COLOURFORM™ is a James Cropper innovation. We are a world-renowned group of experts in the design and manufacture of pulp and fibre-based products. Everything we create is manufactured on-site here at Burneside Mills, next to the River Kent, on the edge of the English Lake District. We have complete control over quality, environmental and workplace standards – and we always will.
What is moulded fibre?
COLOURFORM™ is moulded fibre – a thermoformed, 3D packaging product made using 100% natural renewable wood fibres (cellulose) or recycled fibres.
Moulded fibre was first used in packaging more than 100 years ago. Modern manufacturing has already advanced the quality and potential of moulded fibre packaging to appeal to consumer brands. But today, our design-engineered approach and thermoforming process goes even further to create bespoke packaging with stand-out, luxurious appeal.
What is thermoforming?
Thermoforming is an incredible manufacturing process.
The process is based on the use of custom-made ‘moulds’ – made to create the exact shape of your bespoke packaging design (right down to the fine details of texture and embossing).
Coloured pulp from your choice of fibres flows into the mould – which is then carefully heated in stages. This results in a solid shape exactly matching your bespoke design.
Entirely bespoke, we customise the process to achieve distinctive finishes and to meet each client’s custom design requirements.
What does ‘design-engineered’ mean?
‘Design-engineered’ means that our manufacturing processes are led entirely by design to meet your creative and technical requirements. That’s how we enable you to harness the full potential of our thermoforming process – not only to achieve your creative vision, but to build in elegant and technical performance features that can be harder to achieve with other packaging materials.
- Uniform wall thickness – improve packaging quality, strength and integrity
- Natural hinges – discover new possibilities for inner and outer packaging
- Easy de-nesting – enjoy smoother, more efficient production processes
- Greater design possibilities – make the most of design-engineered features such as precision embossing, holes and cut outs
- Retention features – improve presentation and protection with simple, but effective design details
Our Process
Design Exploration
From your initial brief, our designers will develop a range of effective 3D concepts and present them to you in photographic detail and animated sequences. That’s to help you select, validate and improve your chosen design as quickly and easily as possible.
Prototype
Once your design is approved, we prototype ahead of manufacture – providing you with ample quantities for assembly and market testing, presentation or any other pre-production requirements.
Manufacture
Everything we create for our global clients is manufactured on-site in our own factory at Burneside Mills, next to the River Kent, on the edge of the English Lake District.
Coloured pulp from your choice of fibres flows into the mould – which is then carefully heated in stages. This results in a solid shape exactly matching your bespoke design.
Manufacture is on-site in the north west of England.
