You can find more information on our web, so please take a look.
1
)A spout pouch is a flexible packaging material that contains a lip or tube protruding from the container. This guide provides comprehensive details on the different aspects of making a typical spout pouch for packaging a variety of products.
Often, when making a spout pouch, one must first determine the specific intent of using it as a packaging option. You can use spout pouches in many ways including protecting, preserving and storing your product from air, moisture and many other elements.
Identifying the exact purpose of this packaging option allows you to easily identify other subsequent factors surrounding it. For example, you can easily determine the ideal material for a spout pouch for a specific content and application. It also allows you to determine the exact design, size and shape of the spout pouch to ensure you get the best and most satisfactory results.
Once the specific purpose of the spout pouch has been determined, the next thing to do is to design the bag. Now, it becomes easy because you will know what product to pack in the spout pouch.
When designing a spout pouch, you should be aware that there is a specific limit to what it can hold. Thus, this enables you to consider several important factors such as the shape, quantity and quality of a particular spout pouch and its intended content.
It&#;s worth noting that the quality of what&#;s contained in this packing option determines whether or not a nozzle is required. Nozzles also come in different shapes. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the specific shape you design resonates well with the product and the consumer.
For example, some nozzle designs need to come in handy, but the product may need hard packaging. Specifically, you have to figure out the nature of the contents of the spout pouch.
This is necessary because it pinpoints the exact design that guarantees the efficiency of product packaging. Essentially, this is a fundamental factor you need to consider when deciding whether to use rigid or flexible packaging.
Plus, it makes it easy to determine if the contents require a spout pouch with a self-sealing, tear-off, or press-to-close seal. For example, liquid products are only ideal if they come in a spout pouch, not necessarily a ziplock bag. Nonetheless, it is also appropriate to take into account the target market for the product.
This enables you to customize the spout pouch design to meet customer satisfaction. In addition, it allows you to determine the cost and possible return on the investment required to invest in the production of these bags.
Spout pouches&#; efficiency and usefulness are determined by the type of material they are made of. The finish of the material is also an essential element that you must keep in mind when choosing the ideal material.
Some customers prefer to use clear spout pouches for their products so that they can see the products. You may also find that some customers prefer spout pouches with a frosted look.
A typical spout pouch is mainly composed of multiple layers of different barrier materials laminated together to form a continuous sheet. Barrier materials and pouch construction determine the safety and shelf life of your products
In short, the material determines whether the bag will leak, crack or tear, so a high-quality bag needs to be selected to minimize possible problems. Usually, different spout pouch materials will make different contents.
However, there are mainly three types of materials used to make spout pouches for different products. These materials include foil (usually aluminum), polypropylene and polyester.
Essentially, all three of these materials are combined in varying proportions to create spout pouches of varying variety and quality. The spout pouch structure contains 2-3 layers, including the outer layer, middle layer and inner layer.
Ideally, the outer layer consists of an actual finish, usually designed to grab the customer&#;s attention and convey a brand message. The ideal material for the outer layer of the spout pouch is kraft paper because it is natural and environmentally friendly.
In addition to adding aesthetic value to this bag, the kraft paper is also very strong and durable, thus assuring the quality.
It is also an essential part of the construction of the spout pouch. You can make it with various film materials. However, aluminum foil, metalized film or polyethylene terephthalate (PTE/PETE) are usually preferred.
Aluminum foil is relatively durable and can store products for more than 20 months compared to metalized films, which have a shelf life of about 13 months. In addition, aluminum foil has a higher aesthetic value and provides better protection.
Metalized films are typically used for relatively low-end packaging solutions or fast-moving products. It provides barrier protection, but is not necessarily as durable as aluminum foil.
Plus, it has a metallic look, so it doesn&#;t necessarily attract many customers when the bag is opened.
PTE/PETE is a thermoplastic polymer resin, which is a suitable interlayer material, mainly for the packaging of personal care, food and beverage products.
It is an essential element in spout pouches, especially when used in food and beverage packaging. Ideally, the inner layer of the bag is in direct contact with the product.
Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is a widely used material for the inner layer of this packaging component. Technically, it&#;s recommended because it&#;s also FDA-approved.
Additionally, this material allows for easy heat sealing of spout pouches, which subsequently provides a tamper-evident seal for your product. Essentially, this gives your customers confidence that the product has not been opened or tampered with.
When choosing the right spout pouch design, you need to figure out what specific product you&#;re going to be packing. It is also important to understand the target market for the product so that you can invest carefully in designing that component.
However, if you make bubble baths, drinks, or other liquids, you can equip your pouch with a built-in lid or spout. Essentially, this makes dispensing the contents relatively easy, quick and clean.
Additionally, consumers may appreciate the ease of emptying the entire contents of the pouch, which would be more convenient with a spout. When designing a spout pouch, make sure to customize it so it stands out from the competition.
Make spout pouches with unique shapes and sizes that easily grab the attention of your customers. Also, consider adding a Euro slot to the top of the spout pouch for easy hanging on a hook display stand.
Most retailers like to have as many options for merchandising as possible; therefore, built-in holes make it easy to please. When designing spout pouches, ensure consumers can easily open and access the contents.
Of course, this depends on the exact nature of the product you are packing in the bag. If your product is relatively large and heavy, consider adding die-cut handles. It allows customers to easily carry it in one hand while leaving the other hand free for other clutter.
A highly mechanized environment is used for this step.Printing is done before sealing material and spouts.
Typically, printing is done using specially formulated inks that do not bleed the plastic into the product. Printing deals with branding and providing other relevant information about products and companies.
Once that&#;s done, the next step is to feed the package into the machine&#;s magazine. The material passes through a set of plows, which fold the W-shaped gussets to the bottom, allowing the bag to stand upright.
Ideally, this aspect would require human interaction, and the greater the magazine capacity of the machine, the faster the sealing process would be. The magazine has a rubberized gas piston that gently presses the magazine sideways. At the same time, they are evenly fed into the machine.
Using a suction arm, the sachets are then collected and moved onto rubberized conveyor grips. As the bags pass through, the jig tilts them at an angle and prepares them for insertion into the nozzle.
Ideally, the nozzles come from a different magazine and then go down the chute into the dispenser. The dispenser puts the nozzles into the bag one by one.
This happens instantly and the spout is quickly sealed to the sprout with a pair of heat-seal clips that close from both sides.
In essence, the manufacture of spout pouches is a highly industrial activity that requires high-end machinery and technical know-how. Spout pouches are usually subjected to multiple tests to verify their applicability and reliability when holding different products.
Some of these tests include the following;
All of these quality inspection tests are carried out in a well-equipped laboratory to ensure that your spout pouches function properly and provide reliable performance.
How useful was this post?
Click on a star to rate it!
Are you looking for something to elevate your product and its packaging to the next level? What if we told you that there is a type of packaging that elevates your brand&#;s presence on the shelves while also being functional for your products and sustainable for the environment? The packaging we&#;re referring to is custom pouches.
Wanhui Packaging Technology are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.
With the rise in demand for packaged food, businesses are increasingly adopting flexible packaging for their products that cater to cost-effectiveness, sustainability and aesthetic appeal. Pouches are just one type of flexible packaging that&#;s seen an increase in popularity in recent years, and for good reason.
Pouches are versatile for many industries, such as food, beverage, medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and personal care, with MarketsandMarkets projecting stand-up pouches to dominate the pouch market from to . Stand up pouches for food and drink, in particular, have seen a spike in demand due to their inherent synergies with the products and abundant benefits to the food industry. So, in this guide, we will cover everything you need to know before beginning your pouch packaging project!
The Flexible Packaging Association states that flexible packaging is one of the fastest-growing packaging industry sectors. Additionally, according to a industry report by GlobalData, businesses that switched to stand-up pouches reported a 25% increase in shelf impact and a 30% reduction in packaging costs.
Flexible packaging and, by extension, pouches packaging add value to food and non-food products by combining the best protective qualities of plastic, film, paper, and aluminum foil while using the least amount of materials. Pouches offer:
While the benefits mentioned above can extend to both custom and premade pouches, custom-made pouches offer so much more than stock pouches. Though premade pouches are lower in cost, customization is almost non-existent, a significant disadvantage to your brand in today&#;s market.
On the other hand, custom stand up pouches are designed from scratch to fit your product and branding requirements. The possibilities are endless, and at PakFactory, you can customize everything from the type of pouch to the materials, coating, layers and features. By developing a unique design that&#;s pleasing to the eye, convenient, and functional for customers, you are creating a positive image of your brand that will help distinguish you from the competition!
So, with custom pouches in mind, the first thing you can decide is the type of pouch you want for your product. Different pouches have their own set of benefits, but the ability to choose the one that best fits your product is another plus over premade pouches.
Stand up pouch bags are ideal for storing and displaying foods or other retail products. They are one of the main go-to options for flexible packaging and are available in various sub-styles.
The block bottom bag, or flat bottom bag, is a pouch with a flat rectangular base that is sometimes gusseted on the sides, allowing it to stand upright. This pouch offers the maximum balance of stability and presence for your product as it can stand upright on the shelf, has good volume and space for heavier products and features 360 degrees of surface area for custom printing.
Block bottom bags are excellent for products such as coffee, pet food, spices, sweets, frozen foods, nutritional products, household chemicals and high-density products.
Bottom gusset bags are a type of stand-up pouch with a rounded gusset bottom that allows the bag to stand independently without support. They are stronger and hold more weight than block bottom pouches. They are also generally larger than side gusset pouches, allowing more products to be packaged. This pouch type is flexible and suitable for many products, such as snacks, candy, coffee, baking powder, custards, liquids, hygiene products, and medical products.
The three main types of bottom gusset pouches available to you include;
The side gusset is the last sub-style of stand up pouches. As the name suggests, side gusset pouches feature gusseted sides and two flat panels on the front and back, making this style less box-shaped. Side gusset bags take up less space on the shelf but can still hold a good amount of product. Still, their smaller package size makes them more cost-effective, less wasteful, and perfect for storage.
Side gusset bags are popular for snacks, dry ingredients, frozen food, coffee and tea.
A flat pouch, or lay-flat pouch, is a style of flexible pouch packaging that is the most economical out of the other options we will cover in this guide. As the name suggests, lay-flat pouches are designed to lay on the shelf but still offer stability and a large printable surface for customization.
The three main styles available for flat pouches include;
The pillow pouch packaging style is the most common type of flexible packaging. When filled, the pouch expands in the middle and flattens out at the top and bottom seals to resemble a pillow. Pillow pouches are cost-effective, use little space during storage and transport, allow for complete customization on the package&#;s front and back, and are ideal for single-serve products, snacks, frozen foods, and meal kits.
Pillow pouches also have other optional features, such as press-to-close zippers, hanger holes, product display windows, and tear notches.
Three-sided sealed bags are similar to their four-sided cousin but are sealed on three sides and folded on one. The fold is generally featured on the bottom of the package to allow flexibility and the product to settle at the bottom of the bag, making this pouch ideal for ground products, coffee, snacks, spices, pet food, and produce.
A three-side sealed bag offers the same optional features as the other flat pouch styles while providing more bag volume than the four-side sealed bag and maintaining cost-effectiveness, efficient storage and transportation and good package uniformity for cartoning.
As the name suggests, a four-sided sealed bag is sealed on all sides to provide the best protection against leakage while still being customizable on the front and back panels. Unlike a pillow bag, this flat pouch cannot flex and expand as much, but it is a popular choice for liquid, medical, or sample products.
Four-sided sealed bags are also cost-effective, efficient to store and transport, and offer the same optional features as pillow bags.
Roll stock is a printed and laminated film on a roll that is then used with Form, Fill, Seal (FFS) machinery to form a package, fill it with a product, and seal it. This package option allows brands to create pouches using their own equipment, allowing for high speed and output over long runs.
Roll stock is perfect for smaller items such as nutrition bars, packaged snacks, single-serve samples and stick packs.
Custom shaped pouches offer the ultimate form of customization for your flexible packaging endeavors. If none of the above styles fit your brand&#;s identity, consider creating a shape that best suits you! Whether you are looking for a standing or flat pouch, you can always customize the bag to suit your desire. From the shape, size and openings to other optional features, a custom shaped pouch is guaranteed to elevate your packaging further.
After deciding on the type of flexible pouch that fits your product, you need to consider the materials you want to use to create it. How pouches are made plays an equally crucial role in your packaging project as the type of pouch you choose, so it is worth considering all the options when making your decision. Some typical pouch materials used include plastic, metal foil, paper, and bioplastics.
Plastic is an excellent barrier against contaminants like oxygen, moisture, dust and UV light. It helps maintain your product&#;s freshness and has good material qualities like rigidity, stability, flexibility, tensile strength and transparency.
However, plastic has a low melting point and cannot withstand high temperatures. It has a shorter life cycle than containers like glass or metal and is very environmentally harmful, with challenges related to waste, disposal, and recycling.
Plastic materials for pouches are typically made of;
Metal foil provides maximum protection for your product against moisture, light, aromas, and oxygen, extending its shelf life. Foil packaging is durable, resistant to punctures and tears, and can withstand various temperatures.
However, it must be noted that foil still cannot be microwaved and is also harmful to the environment when improperly disposed of. Like plastic, it is non-biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to break down. In addition, foil is more expensive than other materials, such as paper and plastic.
Paper materials are available in natural brown or white kraft. Unlike plastic and foil, kraft stand up pouches are naturally compostable while offering excellent barrier properties that protect a product from spills, pests, UV rays, oxygen, and moisture. Kraft paper also provides a high tensile strength, making the pouch resistant to punctures.
However, though kraft paper offers moisture protection, it still has poor water resistance and strength compared to other materials.
Bioplastics are an environmental alternative to traditional plastics, offering similar protective properties while being less environmentally impactful. Made from plants or other biological materials like polylactic acid (PLA), bioplastic reduces carbon emissions by being biodegradable, breaking down naturally without releasing harmful chemicals. Bioplastics are also resealable, allowing the use of recyclable pouches to further contribute to a sustainable initiative.
However, though bioplastics seem to have all the benefits of plastic without the negatives, this is untrue. Bioplastics generally cost more&#;though their recyclability somewhat counteracts this&#;and sometimes have a shorter lifespan than traditional plastics, depending on the type of material used. Also, though bioplastics are biodegradable, they require special facilities and proper disposal to reduce pollution effectively.
We briefly mentioned the optional customization earlier in this guide, but more than a brief mention is needed to show you the breadth of what you can do with a custom pouch. Pouches feature many customizable options, such as various fitments, closures, merchandising features, layers, and shapes.
The first type of customization we will look at are the fitments and closures. These customizations contribute to the longevity of your product by determining how the pouch dispenses your product and whether it can be closed again. Popular options include;
These customization options help display your pouch on store shelves and attract potential customers with convenient additions to your packaging. Options include;
Barrier and coating layers come in direct contact with the product and protect the pouch and its contents against contaminants by providing crucial barrier properties. These customizations improve packaging integrity and structure while increasing shelf life and preventing food waste. Barrier properties for stand-up and flat barrier pouches include;
Typical coating materials to achieve the above barrier properties include aluminum foil, EVOH resin, transparent film, nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and breathable or permeable barriers.
Pouches typically have multiple layers of material structure, all of which can be customized for different functions to market, protect, and preserve a product. Layers include;
With your packaging customized to your liking, it&#;s time to consider one of the most crucial factors in your pouch packaging endeavor: how to fill stand-up pouches.
Not only do different treatment and packaging techniques contribute to your product&#;s ability to maintain taste and freshness while having an optimal shelf life, but they are also crucial to meeting safety, compliance, and quality standards established by regulatory bodies like the FDA.
Standards for product sterility, sterile zones in the manufacturing process, packaging systems, materials and more are all requirements, so carefully considering your treatment and filling methods and ensuring they meet FDA or other regulatory body standards is essential. Common filling and treatment methods include;
The most basic and generally low-cost method of filling involves using a scoop or similar tool to fill a pouch by hand. The bag is then manually sealed using impulse heat-sealing or direct heat-sealing equipment. Manual filling allows greater control over quantity and quality but may only be suitable for small-scale operations or starting businesses, as this is far from ideal at larger scales.
Aseptic packaging is the typical method used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. The product is sterilized through quick exposure to high heat in a technique known as flash pasteurization and then rapidly cooled to room temperature. The product is then filled into sterilized pouches and sealed in a sterile environment, enabling the packaged contents to last up to 18 months.
Ideal applications for aseptic filling include liquid pouch packaging for milk or high-acid products such as juices in glass, aluminum or PET containers.
The retort-filling method involves filling a package with a non-sterile product and sealing it in a non-sterile, retort-able flexible pouch with heat-resistant plastic layers that can withstand high temperatures with or without aluminum foil so the product can be thermo-processed. The retort pouches are then loaded into a retort pressure chamber and sterilized with heated pressurized steam.
Retort pouch packaging is ideal for foods with a pH level greater than or equal to 4.5, such as chicken breasts, chili, ham, and tuna.
The hot-filling process involves sterilizing a product through high heat before filling it into a non-sterile container and immediately cooling it to preserve taste and quality. Opposite to retort packaging, hot-filling is suitable for foods with a pH lower than 4.5 and is also cost-effective for various liquids, including soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, juices, water, and teas.
The design and print are the final things to consider when planning your pouch project. Depending on the purpose, budget, and type of finish you are looking for, one technique might better suit your needs than the others.
But before we discuss the various techniques available to you, it is important to note that color matching with packages involving two or more components of different materials may be difficult regardless of your chosen printing technique. So, with this in mind, let&#;s look at the various other pros and cons each printing technique offers.
Flexography is the most commonly used technique for pouch printing and works very well on pouches made of kraft material. It involves rolling the pouch through a printing press and then pulling it into several printing units. Flexography is best for larger runs, as it has high setup costs but has the lowest cost per unit among the other printing options. It offers minimal coloring and lower print qualities unsuitable for photo images but excellent for simple designs and a quick turnaround time.
This printing method works well on a wide selection of materials and involves engraving the image design on multiple color plates and transferring it onto the pouch. Like flexography, rotogravure is best for larger runs with a high setup cost and a lower cost per unit. However, unlike flexography, rotogravure offers crisper colors and exceptional image quality.
The digital printing method involves printing digital-based images directly onto the pouch. This technique is best for smaller runs and dynamic content like special promotions and serialization as it has no setup costs but a higher price per unit. Digital printing offers the fastest turn-around time while having a high print quality and can be used on most materials.
Although this guide contains many factors to consider and may be overwhelming, they are all equally essential to a successful custom pouch project. However, you do not have to work alone. Whether you are looking for more help, are ready to find a pouch packaging manufacturer or partner, or want to jump right in and order custom pouches, PakFactory is the choice for you.
Don&#;t believe us? Check out some of our previous designs for pouches and get inspired!
The company is the world’s best Custom Spout Pouch supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.