Food and bakery
Biscuits, cookies, snack bars, confectionery and similar products that can be spaced and presented to the sealing jaws.
Food flow wrapping
Product suitability
Flow-wrapping applications across food and non-food sectors
Flow wrapping is best suited to products that can be presented consistently to a horizontal infeed and enclosed in a heat-sealable flexible web.
Machine selection support
Application groups
Start with how the product behaves
Sector labels are useful, but product geometry, stability, surface and feeding method are the real engineering inputs.
Consumer goods
Soap, sponges, cosmetic kits and household items requiring a compact, visible flexible pack.
Consumer applicationsIndustrial products
Filters, small tools, components and controlled groups where protection and count presentation are important.
Industrial applicationsWet wipes
Folded tissue products requiring liquid application and a sealed barrier pack.
Wet-wipes lineMultipacks
Grouped sachets or products where the group can remain stable through the infeed and film former.
Horizontal wrapperSpecial formats
Products needing custom guides, pushers, carriers or special discharge can be reviewed as an engineered application.
Submit a special applicationSuitability test
Five questions that shape a viable project
- Can the product be presented in a repeatable orientation? Random presentation normally requires an upstream feeder or manual loading.
- Will it remain stable while accelerating? Rolling, bouncing or fragile products may need flights, carriers or controlled transfer.
- Can the film seal around the product profile? Pack width, height and end-seal clearance must remain inside the machine envelope.
- Is the seal area clean? Crumbs, liquid, powder or protruding product can compromise seal integrity.
- Is the upstream process capable of the target rate? The complete line—not the wrapper’s maximum cycle rate—sets sustainable output.
Provide real samples
Product drawings are useful, but physical samples and the proposed film give a clearer view of friction, fragility, seal contamination and infeed behaviour.
Related decisions
Build the application specification
Film and print
Define the complete film structure, sealant, print repeat and registration mark.
Film guideMachine platform
Compare the general horizontal wrapper with the dedicated wet-wipes line.
Machine comparisonLine interfaces
Plan feeding, accumulation, coding, inspection and discharge as one system.
Integration guideApplication qualification
Use product behaviour to decide whether flow wrapping is practical
A product name is not enough. The same category can include stable, easy-to-feed items and variants that require carriers, collating or a different packaging process.
| Product characteristic | Why it matters | Possible project response |
|---|---|---|
| Regular and self-supporting | Products remain aligned on the infeed and pass through the former predictably. | Standard guides or flighted infeed may be sufficient, subject to trial. |
| Fragile or crumb-producing | Breakage and loose particles can enter the end-seal area. | Gentle transfers, controlled acceleration, crumb management and slower jaw timing may be required. |
| Rolling, round or unstable | Orientation and pitch can change between the loading point and jaws. | Pockets, carriers, side guides, top restraint or an automatic orienting feed may be needed. |
| Sticky, wet or oily surface | Product can mark the film, drag through the former or contaminate seals. | Review contact materials, film friction, separation, sanitation and whether flow wrapping is suitable. |
| Sharp or abrasive features | Film can puncture during forming, sealing or distribution. | Trial a suitable film structure, adjust guides and consider protective orientation or an alternative pack. |
| Variable groups or counts | The group must remain stable until the end seals are made. | Use collating, counting, pushers, trays or carriers, and define missing-product detection. |
Prepare the application brief
Describe the normal range and the difficult edge cases
Lancing needs the production variation that the machine will see, not only one ideal sample. Include the conditions that cause current packing problems and the pack characteristics that are mandatory for the customer.
Product and presentation
Dimensions, weight, orientation, temperature, fragility, residue, surface friction and how the product arrives from the upstream process.
Pack and protection
Finished dimensions, film, seal layout, barrier, opening, artwork, code, shelf-life or handling objectives and an approved reference pack where available.
Production and acceptance
Sustained good output, batch pattern, changeovers, cleaning, inspection, rejects, line interfaces and the evidence required at factory and site acceptance.
Choose the process first
Route the product to the packaging method it genuinely needs
Horizontal flow wrapping is strongest when a discrete product or stable group can travel through the machine at a controlled pitch. A different product form or pack objective may belong to another packaging process, even when the finished pack is also made from flexible film.
| Starting condition | Most relevant route | Evidence to provide |
|---|---|---|
| Single regular product or stable group | Horizontal flow wrapper producing a conventional pillow pack. | Product envelope, orientation, pitch, finished bag, film and sustained output. |
| Biscuits, bars, bakery or confectionery | Food flow-wrapping application review. | Fragility, crumbs, product condition, infeed behaviour, barrier objective and approved pack. |
| Soap, sponges, filters, kits or components | Consumer and industrial flow wrapping. | Surface, sharp features, count, orientation, film interaction and reject logic. |
| Folded tissue plus liquid application | Dedicated wet-wipes packing line. | Tissue, fold, wipe count, lotion, pack dimensions, barrier film and closure requirement. |
| Loose powder, granules or product dosed downwards | Vertical form-fill-seal specialist route. | Dosing method, bulk density, target weight, bag style and dust or flow behaviour. |
| Bundle or presentation pack formed by film contraction | Shrink-wrapping specialist route. | Collation, shrink film, required enclosure, heat sensitivity, tunnel duty and finished presentation. |
Define the pack backwards
Build the pillow-pack duty from the approved result
The product and finished pack should define the infeed, film former and sealing window. Starting from a generic machine name can hide the handling work needed before the product reaches the jaws.
Product path
Record how the product leaves the process, its orientation, speed variation and whether it rolls, bounces, sticks, breaks or changes shape before wrapping.
Seal clearance
Define the empty film area required for the fin and end seals. Loose pieces, crumbs, protrusions or unstable groups must be kept outside that area.
Pack objective
State whether the pack is primarily for protection, presentation, grouping, barrier, coding or handling. The required proof should follow that objective.
Automation boundary
Identify who supplies spacing, counting, collating, inspection, rejection and downstream accumulation, including the signals exchanged with the wrapper.
Does every product need a custom infeed?
No. A regular, stable product may suit a straightforward flighted or guided infeed. Custom feeding becomes more likely when products arrive randomly, vary in orientation, need counting or grouping, or cannot remain stable at the required pitch.
Can irregular products be flow wrapped?
They may be suitable when guides, pockets, carriers, trays or controlled presentation keep the product stable and protect the seal area. Representative trials are needed because the product name alone does not show how it will behave through the former and jaws.
Is a pillow pack suitable for loose product?
A horizontal pillow pack normally expects a discrete item or controlled group on the infeed. Loose powders or granules that must be dosed into a bag generally belong to a vertical form-fill-seal process rather than a standard horizontal wrapper.
Should grouped products be tested as a complete group?
Yes. Test the actual count, orientation, holding method and normal variation. The group must remain stable from collating through film forming and end sealing, and missing or incomplete groups need a defined detection and reject method.
Route the application to the right architecture
Product behaviour should decide feeding, support and sealing
After confirming that a horizontal pillow-pack process is suitable, use the difficult production condition to select the next engineering review.
| Application condition | Primary question | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Stable product but irregular arrival | How should products be separated, phased or collated? | Flow-wrapper feeding systems |
| Soft, sticky, delicate or difficult to push | Would supporting the product on the film reduce handling risk? | Inverted flow-wrapper guide |
| Difficult film or seal requirement | Does the application need a different jaw contact or clearance? | Rotary vs box motion |
| Unproven product, film or format | What must a representative trial demonstrate? | Trials, FAT and SAT |
Multi-client and multi-format work
Contract packing needs a controlled format range, not a promise that one wrapper handles everything
A contract packer may change product, film, artwork, code and customer acceptance rule repeatedly. Select the machine around the verified product portfolio, changeover method and evidence required to release each format.
| Buyer task | What to define | Related guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Group products into format families | Dimensions, orientation, infeed, former or format parts, film and seal arrangement. | Contract-packer specification guide |
| Screen dimensional fit | Minimum, nominal and maximum product envelope, finished bag and reel data. | Film width and pack-size guide |
| Control customer film and artwork | Material structure, web width, unwind, print repeat, eye mark, code and revision. | Film and seal specification |
| Release each format | Representative products, production film, first-off approval and measurable good-pack criteria. | Trials, FAT and SAT |
Route the application correctly
Product form, group formation and seal behaviour change the machine route
Loose product or discrete item?
A loose product that is dosed downwards may need vertical form fill seal; a discrete item or controlled group may suit horizontal flow wrapping.
Compare the processesSingle pack or multipack?
A group needs count, orientation and stability before the wrapper can make a repeatable finished pack.
Plan the collationFilm name or proven seal?
Film structure, product condition and available contact time must be qualified together at the intended line speed.
Prove the seal window