We have received a lot of questions regarding custom mylar packaging over the past few months from our blog on How to Print Custom Mylar Bags. While our expertise is on the printing side, and providing the equipment, coatings, and materials to digitally print mylar packaging material, we understand that this is only one piece of the puzzle.
We decided to create a blog focused on the second piece of the puzzle; form fill seal machines, or mylar bag sealing machines.
What is a Vertical Form Fill and Seal Machine (VFFS)?
A vertical form fill and seal machine is a system that takes printed, or unprinted materials from a roll, and seals them into flexible packaging. This is done in the vertical direction meaning the material is folded in on itself log ways to make a sealed pouch.
The fill aspect of the machine is optional in some cases depending on the equipment, but can be added later.
VFFS packaging equipment is typically very specific to the mylar bags that are being made, and can be customized depending on the specific bag size and product to be sealed.
For instance, you would not seal frozen foods in the same manner that you would seal snack foods or pet food. The bag size will be different, as will the type of material that is needed.
All of this factors in to the type of pouch filler and sealer that you will need for your bagging machine.
What is a Horizontal Form Fill and Seal Machine (HFFS)?
Horizontal sealing occurs in the same manner as vertical packaging machines except in the opposite direction. Rather than folding the material on itself long ways, it is folded and sealed on itself from the short side to create the pouch.
There are benefits and drawbacks to each style, and the right choice will of course come down to which form fill seal system is right for your product.
What are Sachet Machines?
Packaging sachet machines are systems that are used for smaller items that don’t necessarily need their own pouch to be formed and sealed. Instead sachet packaging can be used for small items like chocolates and condiments.
These condiment packaging machines allow customers to create a pound and fill it with the item all at once so the top can be sealed without having to stop the system.
This type of equipment is used in a number of industries such as cosmetics, condiments, candy, tea, coffee, and more!
How to Make Stand Up Pouches
Some customers don’t want to fill and seal their bags, but would rather add a zipper to the final product to be filled later. These types of machines are specially designed to form 3 sides of the bag while adding a zipper to the top to allow for pouch filling at a later time.
This type of bag is used a lot within the cannabis space for packaging dry flower and edibles. Since the majority of cannabis manufacturers are not printing their own packaging, having the ability to create custom mylar bags and then filling them at a different location is crucial for the industry.
Our ArrowJet Aqua 330R is the perfect solution for printing the bag material, but as we noted in the beginning of the article, this is only one piece of the puzzle. It features water based pigment inks for high durability and food contact compliance.
High speed, water based pigment, label printer
However, the bag making machine is just as important, if not more important, than the printer itself! This is why our team has been working on developing an end to end solution for customers who are looking to create their own mylar bags and other types of flexible packaging.
Most of the equipment on the market is not designed for end users to have control of their production. Our complimentary equipment will change this and allow our customers to digitally print and create their own bags with the click of a button!
If you are interested in this process, please contact us at any time and we will be more than happy to work with you and your team to help!
