Film and pack trial planning
Prepare representative products, reels or pouches and measurable seal acceptance criteria.
Wrapping and sealing buyer guide
“Wrapping” and “sealing” describe several different processes. Choose the route from the finished pack that must be produced: the product presentation, film or pouch construction, seal position, barrier and handling requirement, not simply the name of the machine.
Provide an approved pack sample, artwork or drawing showing the product orientation, film or pouch material, seal locations, opening method and acceptable appearance. State whether the pack is primary packaging around the product, a collation wrap around several units, a tamper-evident sleeve, a protective transit pack or a sealed bag. The answer separates processes that can look similar in a catalogue but use different material paths and product handling.
| Process | Pack produced | Critical inputs |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal flow wrapping | A continuous film web forms around a product and is longitudinally and transversely sealed. | Product length and pitch, infeed timing, film construction, print registration, fin-seal position, end-seal clearance and product temperature. |
| Shrink wrapping or sleeve wrapping | Film is placed around a single product or collation and shrunk to conform or contain it. | Collation pattern, film type and gauge, seal arrangement, tunnel conditions, ventilation, pack distortion and finished appearance. |
| L-sealing | A product is enclosed in folded film with an L-shaped seal before shrinking or discharge. | Product footprint and height, film width, seal-bar clearance, product presentation and tunnel compatibility. |
| Vertical form fill and seal | A web is formed into a vertical bag, filled and sealed in a cyclic or continuous sequence. | Product dosing method, forming set, bag dimensions, film, registration, seal contamination and discharge handling. |
| Pre-made pouch filling and sealing | A manufactured pouch is opened, filled and reclosed or heat sealed. | Pouch material, zipper or spout, opening reliability, product dose, seal-area cleanliness and pouch presentation. |
| Continuous band sealing | The open mouth of a filled bag travels through heated sealing bands. | Bag material and thickness, seal width, product clearance, bag support, line speed and cooling. |
| Induction or foil sealing | A compatible foil liner is sealed to the container finish by an induction process. | Container and liner compatibility, cap pressure, neck finish, product condition, coil position and verification method. |
Material should be identified by a full converter specification rather than a generic term such as “plastic film”. Provide structure, thickness, sealing layer, coefficient of friction where known, print registration, reel dimensions and winding direction. For pouches, include the zipper, spout, gusset, finish and any surface treatment. Material variation can affect tracking, static, opening, seal initiation and finished shrink.
Define the seal acceptance method. It may include visual continuity, seal width, peel behaviour, leak testing, burst testing or another customer process. A clean-looking seal is not automatically suitable for every product or distribution environment. Product dust, oil, liquid or particles in the seal area can reduce reliability and may require changes to dosing, settling, bag length or cleaning.
Flow wrappers and shrink systems need products or collations at a controlled pitch and orientation. Manual loading can be suitable for variable or delicate products; automatic feeding may use belts, lugs, timing conveyors, collation devices or robotic loading. The infeed must cope with the actual product tolerance and recover from gaps without trapping or damaging product.
For loose products entering VFFS or pouches, the dosing system and bagger must exchange ready, dose-complete and fault signals. The discharge must protect a fresh seal and avoid dropping fragile packs onto unsuitable conveyors.
Heat-sealing and shrink processes depend on material, dwell, pressure, temperature and cooling. The machine setting must be established with the intended film or pouch and production conditions. Products sensitive to heat, packs containing volatile material, cold or wet surfaces and rooms with strong air movement can need additional review. Provide the product safety data where applicable and obtain a competent assessment for flammable or hazardous atmospheres.
Browse flow wrapping, shrink wrapping machinery, vertical form fill and seal equipment, sealing and coding equipment and pre-made pouch machinery.
Prepare representative products, reels or pouches and measurable seal acceptance criteria.
Coordinate print registration, data, verification and rejection with the wrapping process.
Plan product pitch, ready signals, fault recovery and transfer around the wrapper or sealer.
Flow wrapping forms and seals a film web around a product, usually with a longitudinal and two transverse seals. Shrink wrapping places film around a product or collation and then uses heat to shrink it. The finished pack and product infeed determine the suitable process.
Possibly, but sealing range, tracking, friction, thickness, print registration and forming geometry must be compatible. Every intended material should be identified and tested rather than treated as interchangeable.
Potential causes include contamination, wrinkles, insufficient or excessive heat, pressure or dwell, damaged material, poor alignment, cooling disturbance or an unsuitable film structure. The test should reproduce the product and production environment.
Allow for machine threading, setup, several operating conditions, all formats and retained samples. Agree the test plan and reel dimensions before supplying material.
Often yes, provided the coder can print on the chosen substrate within the available stationary or moving window. Define the code, registration, verification and response to a failed print as part of the line specification.
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