You must first decide on the material to use for product packaging. But which packaging supplies should you choose? Plastic, metal, cardboard, paperboard, foil, shrink film, bio-plastics, boxes, clamshells, or something else?
Once you’ve considered your alternatives, you may select the best material(s) for your packing requirements. However, you must first determine which supplies suit your specific needs. Industrial Packaging has been selling, operating, and consulting on packaging materials for centuries.
6 Kinds of Packaging Material
Once you have selected the packaging supplies, it’s time to learn about the packaging material types. Let’s discuss in detail:
Corrugated Boxes
Corrugated boxes are widely used in the packaging sector. For years, corrugated boxes have been a popular packing material. They are used to package a large number of items on packaging lines all over the world.
Corrugated boxes are frequently ordered prefabricated into the standard rectangular box shape. However, they may come in flat stacks, requiring hand assembly.
Stretch Film
Stretch film is one of the world’s most widely used packaging materials. Companies with a shipping department nearly always use stretch film to pack their items into pallets before delivery.
This is done to prevent things from collapsing or being damaged during transportation. Stretch film achieves this purpose through what is known as “load containment.”
Shrink Film
Shrink film is used on millions of packaging lines in businesses worldwide. It is one of the most popular forms of packaging material available today, and it packages a staggering number of items.
Each composition is tailored to specific purposes. Polyolefin is the finest shrink film for wrapping food.
Polybags
Polybags are often clear or transparent plastic bags used to package and distribute various consumer items. They are generally made of polyethylene, one of today’s most used plastic package formulas.
Polybags have an average thickness of 1-6 mils.
However, unique poly bags are available in various thicknesses, both thinner and thicker. Some specialized plastic formulas are also available on request. Polybags are popular because of their small body form, smooth hand feel, reflectivity, and high flexibility.
Roll Bags
Roll bags are clear or printed flexible bags produced from various plastic formulas. They are pre-rolled onto a plastic core and delivered on a roll. Every bag includes an open side for easy product entry and an opposite perforated end that allows each bag to be easily removed from the roll.
Roll bagging is comparable to the bags hanging on a roll at the grocery store for produce packing. Although roll bags are most popular in the e-commerce industry, they are also commonly used for paper mailers and medical supplies.
Bundling Film
Bundling film is an example of shrink film. This sort of film is frequently used to create multi-packs of items, which are often referred to as bundles. A multi-pack may comprise free-standing products or those that rest on top of a platform or sheet of material.
The package is wrapped in shrink film (often LDPE) and sent through a heat tunnel. The bundle is then packed together by shrinking the film that keeps it together. Items that are packed in this manner include packs of water bottles and boxes of Kleenex.