What Is Flexible Packaging And Commonly Used Related Terms

Lot of people must be aware of the packing and wrapping materials used nowadays in the market and people may have seen a lot of different wrapping techniques used too. One of these methods of wrapping and enclosing food and other non-food stuff that is quite in nowadays is the non-rigid packing. It is called non-rigid because the stuff or the material isn’t stiff at all and can be bent or molded.

How it is defined:-

Non rigid packing is readily defined as any package or enclosing whose shape can be changed from the original one. Mostly they are unbreakable as they are not stiff like conventional material used. Bags and pouches are the best example of non-rigid material used for enclosing.

Now let’s go through some of the related terms that are used in the flexible packaging companies in UAE.

Converting:-

Simply saying converting is a process of changing a thing into some other form then it was originally. But in the case of non-rigid packing the conversion process will be the utilizing of foils, resins, films and combining them into a structure of different layers.

Extrusion coating:-

The process of coating a molten web which is made from synthetic resin on to the substrate material is called as extrusion coating. This process is carried by involving extruded resin from a die slot to the moving web by using the extreme temperatures of 320°C or 610°F. Then it is passed from a nip which consists of rubber roller for pressure with a cooling role that is chrome plated. The chrome plated cooling roll cools the molten film back to the solid state then the desired finish is imparted to the plastic surface.

Extrusion lamination:-

It works on the same principle as of the extrusion coating, except one thing that in this process the extruded hot molten resin becomes the bonding medium to a second layer of material.

Adhesive laminating:-

It is the process of laminating different webs of material by the usage of adhesives in place of molten plastic resin. There are a number systems of adhesive lamination that are used for non-rigid packing that include solvent based, water based and solvent less systems.

Difference between mono extrusion and co-extrusion:-

Two systems that are widely used in the flexible packaging companies in UAE are the Mono-extrusion and co extrusion system. Extrusion of a single resin is called Mono-extrusion but on the other hand the simultaneous extrusion of two or more than two resins in a sandwich like film which can be distinguished clearly in individual layers is called as co-extrusion.