Choices in Film to Wrap

Your product has its own special needs.

Different products require different film characteristics to achieve an attractive wrap. Let’s discuss BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) and its equivalents which are used for flowwrap and overwrap.

Over the life of a product, you typically spend much more on the film but agonize much more over the purchase price of the machine to wrap. So lets try to understand how they work together.

Right now there are films that are biodegradable and home compostable, recyclable, thin films, heavy weight films, holographic films, perforated films. All of these can be good for wrapping. Films can be treated, coated with acrylics to change  permiability or metallized, printed with regular or soy-based inks.

Take film thickness. Film thickness is expressed in gauge or microns. 80 gauge equals 20 microns. 120 gauge equals 30 microns. Food products are wrapped using 80 gauge or greater film. Perfumes are often wrapped with 150 gauge or higher.

Most products’ wrapping requirements fall somewhere between 100 gauge and 150 gauge but we have customers who overwrapped using cellophane whose gauge was much higher and customers who prefer the lightest wrap possible. Film for bundling often runs over 200 gauge.

Within BOPP there are films that are softer and more flexible and films that are more brittle and rigid.  Flow wrap film is heat sealable on one side only, since it seals to the same side of the film. Overwrap film must be heat sealable on both sides since it seals to both sides of the film. This means they require different coatings on the films for the different wrap styles.

Film options are exploding. BOPP is made from petroleum and is a byproduct of making fuel. Its sustainable equivalents are cellophane or cellulose based films which are made from wood pulp. Other sustainable film options are available but not yet for flow wrap and overwrap.

One word of caution is that not all machines can handle all gauges of film. If you think you might change your gauge at some point, make sure that the machine you select will handle the proposed change. You will spend more on film over the life of the machine but the machine has a long life, so choose wisely.

A second note of caution is that consistency of film correlates to consistency in wrapping. Expect loss of operational efficiency if you change your film or film provider, while you learn your new film’s behavior.

At Package Machinery, we work with all the major manufacturers of BOPP and with their sustainable equivalents, film converters and printers. We are happy to try new films and learn their performance characteristics.

Contact us if you wish to learn more or discuss your product’s special needs.