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When it comes to the different types of films, there’s some confusion out there. And like most of our blog posts, we seek to thwart the confusion.

Flexible Film

A film is any kind of very thin membrane or barrier film made of plastic. Film can be flexible or rigid. If it’s rigid, it’s called a sheet of film. If it’s flexible, it’s called flexible film. Flexible film is made from resins that once formed is…flexible! This type of film can be used to make various types of bags, pouches, single-serving condiment packets, frozen food film, box liners, and more. Flexible film can be easily bent or crumpled without failure to its integrity or structure.

Flexible film can be extruded from a single polymer to form a single layer. Mono-layer Co-extruded film has had multiple polymers mixed to form a single layer by extrusion.  Single or multi polymer, single layers of film can be fused using adhesives or heat to form multilayer flexible films.

Metalized films are polymer films coated with a thin layer of metal, usually aluminium. They offer the glossy metallic appearance of an aluminium foil at a reduced weight and cost. Metallized films are widely used for decorative purposes and food packaging, and also for specialty applications including insulation and electronics.

In general, film has many uses, including lining boxes, mixing with metal to create a shine, composite films with multiple layers, and lamination of paper products. [Read more…] about Clarifying Flexible, Stretch, and Shrink Film

Even among those with a history in the packaged-goods industries, there can still be an element of confusion between shrink bundling, bull’s eye, bundle wrapping, full-enclosure wrapping, and shrink wrapping. In this post, we’ll be clarifying the identities of the two and showcase what each has to offer.

Shrink wrapping is also known as full-enclosure wrapping. It involves covering a set of multiple items in low-density polyethylene film (LDPE) and passing it through a heat tunnel or other heating method. The film shrinks over the products, enclosing them 100% in plastic film. The products can be free-standing, or placed on a tray or pad. There are other methods to completely enclose products that do not involve heat. Large items can be shrink wrapped individually. This is frequently done with items like windows, doors, and large rolls of textiles.

There are several advantages to shrink wrapping. It enables you to apply new UPC labels, glue products together, and collate items like brochures and leaflets. It also allows for applying IRC labels and Outsert labels. This method is also cost-effective and provides an excellent way to save space. However, this technique is best used if you’re only wrapping one or a few items. If the number of items is beyond that, you’ll probably be better suited with bull’s eye wrapping. It works really well for products like DVDs and video games, as well as many food products. Shrink wrapping can offer a very attractive, completely closed, polished look. It’s generally more attractive than shrink bundling. The latter method is similar, but presents some important differences. [Read more…] about Full Enclosure and Bull’s Eye Wrapping Compared, Contrasted, and Admired

Much removed from gangsta rapping, shrink wrapping and stretch wrapping are a couple of the go-to methods for protecting products and especially keeping them intact and upright during transport. There are similar concepts between these two, but also oft-neglected and important differences. Shrink and stretch wrapping get confused frequently, so we decided there was need enough to write a blog post clarifying their differences and their indicated uses. They may not increase sales in albums on Google Play Music, but they can help you move cases of widgets in the direction of store shelves.

Stretch Wrap

Stretch wrapping is usually made from polyethylene plastics. As the name implies, it can be stretched over a stack of boxes to make them stay together and keep the tower upright. It’s most commonly used for stacks of boxes or cases on a pallet for transportation or storage. There are a few varieties of stretch film that serve specific purposes. Some notable examples of these include ventilated pallet wrap, colored film, anti-static stretch wrap, pre-stretched wrap, and UV stretch wrap. Its protective qualities include repulsion of dust and moisture, and the UV stretch wrap can protect against high-frequency radiation. Among pallet wrap options, stretch wrap is among the most economical. The tools and equipment needed to work with the material are also lower-cost than a lot of other options, including shrink wrap, which will be covered shortly. This category of packaging is rather versatile. Different films exist to accommodate different types of products and surfaces.

There are a few options for needed equipment. Here’s a brief rundown:

• Automatic stretch wrappers are machines that cut and seal the plastic using conveyor belts and other mechanical methods. These are faster and better suited to high-production, but also higher in cost.
• Semi-automatic wrappers come in several versions. A rotary wrapper rotates about a still stack. Orbital wrappers feed the stack through a ring of stretch wrap. Turntable wrappers spin the stack in place and a roll of film moves vertically while unraveling.
• Manual stretch wrappers have a handle that allows them to be easily unraveled by a human worker as they’re moved around a pallet. One of the easier-to-use options is the pole-wrapper. Some manual models come with a mechanical brake and brake-resistance mechanism. Manual stretch wrappers are recommended if you’re wrapping fewer than 15 loads a day.

Shrink Wrap

The application of heat lets loosely-laid plastic conform to the shape of the load. The material is usually polyolefin or a polyethylene plastic. The heat source for shrink wrapping can be a heat tunnel, a handheld heat gun, or an oven. Heat tunnels radiate heat onto the item as they’re brought into and back out of the tunnel by a conveyor belt. Heat guns emit a stream of hot air and are preferred for more professional-looking products. It should be noted that shrink wrap shrinks at ∼300℉. If you’re shrink-wrapping a pallet, the handheld device is likely preferable, although shrink wrapping is not used for pallets very often. There are automatic and manual devices for sealing such as L-bar and I-bar sealers. Many methods from manual to fully-automatic shrink wrap sealers are able to cut and seal the plastic film together. The next step is the application of heat to actually shrink the wrap. Shrink wrap’s primary purpose is to keep small items bound together and protect them from moisture and dust particulate. Moisture buildup is prevent by the ventilation inherent in shrink wrap. Polyolefin is for retail applications like the plastic that holds rolls of Christmas wrapping paper together. Polyethylene is typically not used for high clarity retail applications, such as 12 packs of water at the local grocery store.

Gangsta Wrap

When I’m at a party and rap starts playing, that means my time at said party has come to an end. We’re now at the end of our brief discussion on the differences between these two similar methods of plastic wrapping. We hope you’ve learned something valuable about this topic, and we hope you continue enjoying our posts about all things packaging. Remember, whenever you feel ready to address the packaging needs of your growing business with an expert, we’re here to help. We are the experts, and we’ve sold hundreds of solutions to happy customers. their bottom lines have expanded thanks to our services, and we would be thrilled at the chance to do the same for your firm. Our offerings come with prices much lower than other comparable providers as well as many years of success and the expertise that brings. We look forward to discussing your vision with you!

What’s the most embarrassing thing you can think of? Let us volunteer a suggestion: confusing cases and cartons! Indeed, nothing will get you tarred & feathered at a packaging convention faster than not knowing the difference between these two containers. In fact, we suspect a lot of people avoid the terms in social situations proximous to an abundance of viscous carbon and poultry processing by-product. The difference between a case and a carton is something nearly everyone involved in manufacturing needs to know. If you put products into packages, you almost inevitably use cases, cartons, or both. If you’re wondering what you can do to impress your colleagues with your packaging savvy, you’re in for a treat. In this post, we’ll explore the differences between cases and cartons, leading you to a firm grasp of their definitions and attributes. Let’s start with definitions.

Cartons
There are varying definitions of these two terms across the web, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to internet users. To offer a strict definition, a carton is a paperboard container whose walls are between 0.25 mm to 1.0 mm in thickness. In addition to the physical parameters, a carton is usually used as display packaging on shelves. Naturally, it should be able to accommodate printing of graphics and text. Unlike corrugated box material, carton walls are made up of a single layer. An appealing benefit of cartons as primary packaging is that they have a small storage footprint and are lightweight. However, they must be packed inside heavier containers for transit. [Read more…] about Case vs Carton: Clarifying and Distilling the Facts

What should you consider when planning robotic operations for your company? There are many, many aspects, issues, and perspectives that may pertain to your specific situation. This is a list of eleven considerations that nearly everyone in your position should weigh before a purchase order is made. Oftentimes, if you don’t consider these things, you can’t even make it to the purchase stage. If you find this list helpful, peruse our blog and website for more important information. You’ll also find that consulting with our experts about your automation upgrade will pay dividends in both the short- and long-run. Without further ado, onward to the most exciting eleven-point list on choosing industrial robots!

1. But Mama, what is a robot?

Robots aren’t all Decepticons and Autobots. Business people need to stop envisioning robots as anthropomorphic, emoting characters. Robots are machines of myriad physical dimensions that can move, assemble, and measure materials and be reprogrammable for different tasks. Robots on YouTube that look like dogs or a Terminator nemesis are rare incarnations in manufacturing. [Read more…] about Have You Addressed these Eleven Points for Robots?

Many packaging types require sealing by heat. That sounds simple enough, but the choices and variety of heat-sealed packages are vast. In this article, we’ll get an overview of nine of the most important things to consider when planning heat-sealed packaging.

1. Configuring the Ideal Seal

There are a multitude of parameters to consider when selecting a type of heatseal. Heavy-duty seals tend not to be produceable at the same speeds of more minor seals. There’s a classic trade-off between seal durability, cost, and production speed. Below is a list of ideas and relationships to think about:

• What shape do you need? Wide, narrow, or custom? Just seal or seal with a cut?
• Do you need a heavy-duty seal for something like a pressurised item, or will a minor seal do the trick?
• How important is appearance? This factors into that trade-off we mentioned earlier.

[Read more…] about The Noble 9-Fold Path of Heatsealing