Up, Up, and Away

The use of pouches seems to be growing like the proverbial bean stalk.

January 2009 by Tom Polischuk

multipage

If you want to highlight an important growth segment that promises to expand the use of film materials, start with pouches. Pouch configurations using laminated film structures are providing consumer product companies (CPCs) with unique opportunities to reduce supply chain costs, while offering consumers distinct packaging, convenience, and ease of use. 

As pouch applications continue to grow, new material configurations extend their reach even further. The available material options are beginning to run the gamut from standard offerings to high-tech configurations engineered for specific applications that push the envelope of technical capabilities. 

Depending on a package’s functionality and end-use requirements, there can be numerous design elements to consider. “Most pouch designs are custom configurations,” says Dan Kearny, VP of marketing for Bemis (www.bemis.com). “Size, type of side and bottom seals, reclose type (if applicable), and materials used are common variables.”

Some of the configurations are customized from a common material base. Kearny notes that a very common configuration for pouches is a 48-guage oriented polyester (OPET) laminated to a polyethylene (PE) film. From here, the gauge of the PE film can be changed to accommodate different pouch sizes.

Further modifications can be made from this base to meet additional needs. “Sometimes additional stiffness is built into the pouch through the use of stiffer PE resins,” says Kearny. “Additional barriers can be added through the use of a third ply of film such as metallized OPET or OPP [oriented polypropylene], or the substitution of a standard PE sealant with a coextruded sealant that contains barrier resins.”

Sal Pellingra, innovation and marketing director, Ampac Flexibles (www.ampaconline.com), concurs with the assessment of customized designs for pouches. “Pouch applications are almost always custom structures,” he says. There are many factors that make them unique, including shelf life, aesthetics, manufacturing capability, and environmental conditions through distribution and use. 

“Product compatibility and shelf life are the primary considerations,” he says. “Material, barrier, and sealing need to remain compatible with, contain, and meet shelf-life targets.” 

For aesthetic factors, Pellingra mentions the need to define the graphic requirements such as a clear package, opaque, metallic, or process print. “Two products from different manufacturers could each require a barrier lamination, but one may want the consumer to see the product and one may want to represent the product with process print and high graphics,” he says.