Printing and flexible films Testing Instruments

Flexible Packaging & FMCG Packaging Testing Instruments

Flexible packaging is fast replacing traditional packaging materials such as foil and paper.  Owing to its numerous advantages, flexible packaging has become one of the fastest growing segments in the packaging industry. It not only provides value to both food and non-food products, but also combines the best qualities of conservative packing materials like paper, plastic, film and foil, so as to create a unique and sustainable material for packaging. 

Moreover, it is also known to generate significantly less waste. Thus, it has a much lower carbon footprint than other materials. No wonder flexible packaging is becoming the packing method of choice among manufacturers and distributors globally. 

Attributed to its property of being light in weight yet durable, it is now the best alternative to traditional rigid packaging. It also provides manufacturers an opportunity to develop creative solutions to showcase their products while reducing costs, at the same time.

Why Do We Need Flexible Packaging Testing?

Flexible Packaging needs to be tested primarily due to the following reasons:

1. Testing the flexibility of the packaging material is vital to ensure that materials meet the demands of physical and mechanical stress.
2. There are industry-approved standards in place. These standards are necessary, because they provide guidance on testing to ensure the material used will meet desired specifications.
3. Many manufacturers and third-party companies also use flexible packaging testing for cost optimization and creating more economically viable options.
4. Manufacturers also have to ensure that their perishable products remain fresh, until the packaging is opened. Thus, flexible packaging testing is quite important because it should maintain freshness yet be durable enough to endure stress during transport and storage.

Testing Instruments – Evaluation of Mechanical properties of Flexible Packaging

Checking how much physical and mechanical stress the packaging can sustain before it breaks is very important. This includes the following tests:

• Scuff Tester

In today’s times, it is very important to evaluate if the printing on the flexible packaging is good enough to resist damage or abrasion during transportation, stacking and storage. To check the quality and abrasion resistance capacity of the labels or printed material, a Scuff Tester is widely used. The test procedure is based on simulation of real time abrasive movements.

• Tensile Strength Testing Machine

It is necessary to evaluate how much force is required to break the flexible packaging and how much it can be elongated before it reaches its breaking point. For this purpose, a tensile strength tester is required. It also gives the elongation to failure data – that is how much a material can be stretched.

• Dart Impact Tester

The dart impact test is also known as the drop dart test. The is performed using a Dart Impact Tester, which checks the toughness of the flexible packaging. In this test, a dart is released from a certain, specific height. The dart is allowed to undergo a free-fall. The sample under test is clamped tightly at the base. The dart is released such that it falls onto the flexible packaging. During the evaluation process, darts of different weights are used to study the materials.

• Peel / Bond Strength Tester

Bond strength is used to determine the strength of the lamination. The Bond Strength Tester is widely used to check the amount of force needed to take the layers apart.

• The Coefficient of Friction Tester (CoF)

Coefficient of friction is a measure of how easily two surfaces slide against each other. The Coefficient of Friction Tester is used to evaluate the smoothness of the film or the packaging. The testing procedure is based on checking how easily packaging films can slide over another material.