Automatic packaging film

The automatic packaging film is characterized by its ability to be customized according to the specific characteristics of the product to be packaged. Regardless of shape or size, this solution gives you the flexibility to tailor your packaging to your unique characteristics and market objectives. This is a real competitive advantage. When it comes to customization, you have enormous possibilities, because in addition to material characteristics (such as clarity and gloss), you add a visual component: its printability. It allows you to showcase your product and your brand in an eye-catching way. The ability to print graphics directly on the package and thus wrap your product creatively, or include important information, gives you even more versatility and adds value. Since the flexible film for automatic packaging can be adapted to the specific size of your product, you don't need to use more materials than absolutely necessary. It can conform to your products and offer a higher product-to-packaging ratio, which reduces your manufacturing costs, eliminating the cost of labeling, for example. The films are designed with many different product requirements and realities in mind. There are options that prioritize durability and tear resistance, safe distribution and storage, food freshness and safety, and protection against environmental elements such as temperature, light, moisture and gases. It helps to increase the shelf life of perishable items and can mask odors from the contents of the package. Let's summarize the main advantages of using film for automatic packaging: Flexibility. Customization and versatility. Cost savings by using only the necessary material. Consumer appeal. The packaging adapts to the product and not the other way around.

The automatic packaging film is characterized by its ability to be customized according to the specific characteristics of the product to be packaged. Regardless of shape or size, this solution gives you the flexibility to tailor your packaging to your unique characteristics and market objectives. This is a real competitive advantage.

When it comes to customization, you have enormous possibilities, because in addition to material characteristics (such as clarity and gloss), you add a visual component: its printability. It allows you to showcase your product and your brand in an eye-catching way. The ability to print graphics directly on the package and thus wrap your product creatively, or include important information, gives you even more versatility and adds value.

Since the flexible film for automatic packaging can be adapted to the specific size of your product, you don't need to use more materials than absolutely necessary. It can conform to your products and offer a higher product-to-packaging ratio, which reduces your manufacturing costs, eliminating the cost of labeling, for example.

The films are designed with many different product requirements and realities in mind. There are options that prioritize durability and tear resistance, safe distribution and storage, food freshness and safety, and protection against environmental elements such as temperature, light, moisture and gases. It helps to increase the shelf life of perishable items and can mask odors from the contents of the package.

Let's summarize the main advantages of using film for automatic packaging:

• Flexibility.
• Customization and versatility.
• Cost savings by using only the necessary material.
• Consumer appeal.
• The packaging adapts to the product and not the other way around.

Most of today's packaging films are multilayer structures ranging from 3 to 12 layers. They are also called coextruded films because they are manufactured by a coextrusion (or multilayer extrusion) process. The combination of several layers of different materials improves the mechanical and physical properties of the film, such as puncture, tear and heat resistance, as well as moisture and oxygen barrier properties.

Multilayer films have many applications in the high-volume packaging industry, including food packaging. The combination of several layers of polymers significantly increases shelf life by controlling the rate of oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture transmission, as well as the oxygen concentration inside the package, which is key to preserving the freshness of fresh produce for longer.

Each of the materials used has different capabilities and characteristics that make them suitable for specific applications, or they can be combined to create multilayer films with different barrier properties for better protection or longer shelf life.

The most commonly used polymers in the flexible packaging industry are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polyamide (Nylon, PA), ionomers (EAA, EMAA) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). Among these, polyethylene is the largest and cheapest packaging film. It is easy to process and is often combined with gas/aroma barriers such as PA and EVOH. The most important grade is linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). It is a high clarity film widely used for food packaging. It is sometimes combined with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is stiffer, harder and has higher tensile strength, but lower impact and tear strength than LLDPE. The combination of LLDPE and HDPE provides superior properties and allows for thinner films. For this reason, most packaging films today include more than one olefin layer. For example, cereal bags consist of several layers of HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE combined with an aromatic barrier, while films requiring higher mechanical strength and/or higher heat resistance (microwaveable packaging and hot-filled food) usually include a polypropylene (PP) layer. In addition to higher heat resistance, PP provides the basic strength of the package and contributes to the moisture barrier.

Some important limitations of polyethylene films are their poor gas barrier properties, low temperature resistance and difficult adhesion. To improve these properties, olefins are often combined with polar polymers such as PA, EVOH or Saran (PVDC). However, coextrusion of these materials requires bonding resins1 because olefins do not adhere well to these polymers. A typical packaging film for fresh produce consists of four to seven layers.

For more demanding packaging applications, plastic films are laminated with an aluminum foil or combined with a metallized film. The aluminum layer greatly reduces the rate of water and oxygen transmission and also provides a metallic, shiny appearance. Aluminum is the most effective vapor and aroma barrier. However, in recent years, the amount of aluminum foil used in packaging has decreased to reduce recycling problems.

With the use of high quality films, the need (and corresponding cost) for additional packaging elements, such as cardboard trays, can often be eliminated. In addition, the expense involved in the application of film for automatic packaging, from materials to production costs, is significantly lower than that of pet or glass packaging. Because flexible packaging is lightweight, it is more affordable to ship domestically and internationally. Although it may seem strange, adding more layers to your flexible packaging design can help improve production costs and functionality, as doing so allows for more precise layer control and fewer constraints.

With new technologies available, you can further reduce packaging costs by reducing the width or selecting a film with a smaller width. If your packaging line generates a significant amount of film waste, it is worth trying a smaller width to see if it can be reduced. By working with a packaging specialist to perform a film audit of your packaging line, you can really see what cost reduction options are available to you.

As sustainability becomes increasingly important to consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies of all sizes, it is critical to adopt packaging materials that meet sustainability standards. One of the biggest advantages of polyolefin and polyethylene films is that they are recyclable. Efforts are underway to create compostable and biodegradable alternatives to plastics that will last as long, but few options are available today. In addition, polyolefin film is an FDA-approved material for food use and does not release harmful vapors during the heat-sealing process.

Flexible packaging film requires less energy to manufacture and transport, and generates lower amounts of greenhouse gases on its way to market. The recyclability, sustainability and waste reduction associated with flexible film options can increase product appeal to consumers who prefer to buy from brands and companies that take steps to reduce their environmental impact and footprint.

If you are new to the world of flexible packaging automation, you may feel a little overwhelmed. Don't worry, we'll help you with an overview of the different types of machines. Let's start with the basics.

According to the Flexible Packaging Association, a flexible package is any package or part of a package whose shape can be easily modified. Examples include pouches and bags. Its opposite is rigid packaging, such as bottles, cans and jars.

Many leading companies are incorporating flexible packaging into their lineup, for reasons such as the following

• Low cost per package.
• Larger surface area for graphics and messages.
• Low storage and shipping costs.
• Lower carbon footprint.
• Increased consumer demand for portable, lightweight, flexible packaging.
• Flexible packaging materials.

Flexible packaging equipment processes a layered material (usually plastic) called foil for automatic packaging. This material usually contains a sealing layer that is heat-bonded to create a sealed package.

Some flexible packaging machines use a large roll of film wound around a hollow core, called a reel, to form the pouches. Other packaging machines use ready-made pouches, usually called pre-made pouches. In either case, the rolls and pre-made pouches are purchased from a packaging film supplier such as Coplasem, a company that creates packaging materials.

Filling and sealing machines are the most commonly used type of automatic flexible packaging machine. This equipment does exactly what its name implies: It forms the bags, fills them with product and seals them. Some machines perform these processes vertically (vertical form fill seal or VFFS) and others do it horizontally (horizontal form fill seal or HFFS).

Often, a flexible packaging machine is integrated with a filler or dosing machine to accurately measure the weight or volume of the product before it is placed in each bag. Depending on the properties of your product, different filling equipment will be recommended.

Filling equipment is often classified by its speed or throughput, i.e., the number of finished bags the machine can complete in a given time. This is usually represented as bags per minute (bpm), which is the number of finished bags the machine can produce per minute.