Packaging Nightmares
And How to Avoid Them
Customers often reach out for help when problems arise with their current packaging, and it’s up to us to find a solution. It can truly feel like a nightmare when the packaging you’ve invested in isn’t doing its job, so keep these packaging mistakes in mind as you consider options for your application.
Nightmare 1: Faulty Heat Seals
If your pouches and bags are leaky or ineffective, you might have a faulty heat seal. Poor seal quality is most commonly caused by non-optimized machine settings. Most flexible films have a set of parameters provided by the raw material supplier that indicate the dwell time, temperature, and pressure that should be applied when making a seal.
To achieve optimally strong seals, parameters must be developed for each different sealing device that define a specific temperature to be applied, under a specific pressure, for a specific duration of time. We achieve this consistently by using equipment with calibrated controls for temperature, pressure, and time instead of manual equipment, like an iron.
Examples of under-heated seals
Poor seal quality can present in many ways due to under-heating and over-heating. We avoid this by testing parameters. Under-heating of the seals can present as a missing seal or peelable seal. These defects are typically caught at the machine when the operator uses a tool called a wand to put pressure on the interior seals of the bag.
If the wand pokes through the seal at any point during this wanding process, machine settings are reviewed and modified to ensure seal integrity is achieved. If the seal passes the wanding phase at the machine but still measures under the acceptable threshold for tensile strength, this will be noted during our quality inspection rounds.
The inspection phase
The testing phase
At Heritage Packaging, the quality inspection rounds occur hourly and are the second line of defense against poor seal quality. During each hourly round, a quality technician takes a sampling of the production parts based on MIL-STD-1916 to complete dimensional, tensile, and burst/immersion testing. These tests are early indicators that a seal hasn’t reached its maximum capability.
Over-heating seals, on the other hand, can present as a curling seal or burnt seal. These defects are typically caught by our team of experienced professionals who are well versed in the proper visual aesthetics of a seal. Additionally, our culture of “Quality is Everyone’s Responsibility” ensures that any quality defects are captured and remedied quickly.
Nightmare 2: Scuffed or Missing Print
Using a printed flexible material is a great way to display eye-catching graphics that draw in consumers, display important safety information, directions, and to display your company’s branding. Printing on flexible materials and films isn’t the same as printing on paper, so it’s important to understand both the production process and the print process. It’s a nightmare to realize that the beautiful design you commissioned won’t adhere to your custom-made packaging product!
For example, some materials are commonly stocked in warehouses until they are ready to be picked and converted. During the warehousing time, the readiness of the film to accept printing inks may decrease. To avoid poor ink bonding in this example, we would explore using a corona treating process that conditions the film appropriately so it can undergo printing.
Corona treatment is an application to the surface of a flexible film that is designed to increase the surface energy of the material in order to improve the adhesion of inks, coatings, and adhesives. The adhesion is measured in dyne level. The higher the dyne level the better adhesion paints and glues will have when placed on the surface of the film. This treatment is often short-lived and needs to occur as close to the printing/coating/laminating process as possible.
A good convertor will always raise concerns about potential ink bonding risks!
Nightmare 3: Packaging Fail During Transportation
We’re frequently asked to fabricate crate liners for expensive assets that need low moisture vapor transmission rates, corrosion protection, and/or low oxygen transmission rates.
It’s imperative that we ask for detailed information in order to create the best fit with the appropriate level of barrier. We need to know:
The dimensional details of the asset or inside dimensions of the crate (if one is being used),
How the assets will be positioned within our cover systems or liners
The quantity needed
And the mode of transportation.
Having all the information up front is critical to the success of the packaging. To avoid a nightmare during transportation we pay special attention to whether the final product will travel by air, water, or land.
When shipping via air, high altitude causes the air pressure outside the package to decrease, causing the inside of the package to inflate. That inflation places additional stress on the seals of the packaging and may damage them or cause them to burst.
This crate was compromised by the pressure of an expanding flexible packaging material liner that began to inflate when it reached 15,000 feet in altitude.
In the past, we’ve successfully reduced the likelihood of packaging failures during air transport by offering relief valve installation and by suggesting the use of modified atmosphere packaging.
Pressure Relief Valve installed in the wall of an Air Transport Barrier Cover made from CPPC CadPak HD200
With your help, our team of Engineer’s can create a packaging system that ensures the safe arrival of your product.
Conclusion
There are many moving parts to engineering the perfect packaging solution, which is why we’re here to walk you through the process each step of the way. Custom doesn’t have to mean complicated, we just need to know all the details about your application in order to save you from an avoidable nightmare.
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Need to talk to our team about your specific challenges? Send us an email, fill out our quote form, or give us a call to see if an engineered flexible packaging solution is right for you.