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Flexible packaging specification guidelines

Here are nine tips to help you get started with the process of deciding what film or films to include in a flexible structure or in a rigid package with film barrier.

Scotts creates a no-mess, no-guesswork lawn spreader that works with pouched lawn-care products that snap into place and provide controlled-flow dispensing.
Scotts creates a no-mess, no-guesswork lawn spreader that works with pouched lawn-care products that snap into place and provide controlled-flow dispensing.

How do you get started with the process of deciding what film or films to use or include in a flexible structure or rigid package with film barrier? Plenty of polymers and film production methods are in common use in the industry. A basic understanding of the choices available and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches can simplify the selection process and get you moving faster toward a good solution.

This section will provide a look at the basics of an area of technology that is fundamental to the flexible packaging industry, has application to some semi-rigid and rigid packages, and affects every consumer who purchases packaged goods. Let’s get started.

1. Start at square one. Before even starting to think about polymers and production options, it’s important to first know what to focus on. The goal is to specify the attributes or properties that matter in converting and end use for film structures that work in such a way that the supplier can make satisfactory structures consistently and efficiently, and that the converter and end user receive materials that consistently meet their needs at a cost appropriate for the use.

2. Take an integrated perspective. It’s critical to appreciate the multifaceted goal of a flexible package project while breaking down the essential elements of this goal so they guide us in our choosing and specifying activities. Remember that this is not an exercise in choosing just a couple of elements. Flexible packaging development requires a coherent, integrated approach that needs all elements in place to succeed.

3. Specify what matters. Specifying means quantifying, and this is critical as both a guide for the supplier and as a means for the end user to ensure they get what they need, want, and expect. Focusing on what matters means understanding real requirements and not including an attribute or property in a specification just because it can be measured, or because you saw it in another specification. Opening the door to specifying things that don’t matter leads to increased costs for all parties involved. Failing to include things that matter opens the door to surprises and failures in converting or to uses that lead to increased cost for all parties. There is a thinking person’s balance to be struck here, and some leeway in judgment, but realize that neither extreme in specifications efficiently serves all parties’ needs in the end.

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