This article provides information on poly bags and their applications.
Polybags are a part of the everyday life of packaging personnel. These bags have come a long way to become one of the mainstream packaging options for a wide array of products.
What is a polybag?
Polybags are clear or transparent plastic bags to pack and ship various products. A typical polybag consists of polyethylene, which is one of the most common formulations of plastic.
An average polybag comes with a thickness ranging between 1 and 6 millimeters. Bags thinner or thicker than this range fall into the category of specialty polybags.
These bags are popular due to the material they consist of. They are slim with a smooth texture, flexibility, and reflective surface.
Common uses for poly bags
Polybags are can pack several products, including magazines, clothing, blankets, pillows, mail, and a lot of other consumer goods. Polybags have become more popular due to their shipping application, mainly due to the rise of e-commerce. In many cases, these bags replace cardboard boxes.
The reason poly bags can replace corrugated boxes for some products is that they use much less material than corrugated cardboard. These bags are not much cost to ship and have a very little impact on the environment. Due to their reduced size, they have a much lower carbon footprint compared to corrugated boxes and other rigid packaging materials.
That is why many businesses continue to choose poly bags over corrugated boxes. That helps them save a lot of money in product packaging and shipping and contributes to the green movement.
Equipment needed for polybag packaging
If you have to deal with lower volume applications, you can use zip-lock poly bags that can be sealed by hand. You will need to use heat-sealable poly bags for higher volume applications.
For heat sealing, you will need a bag sealer. You can choose from different types of sealers, including L-bar sealers, lap sealers, and side sealers. These sealers seal the product in the bag. The heating element of these sealers seals the open ends of the bag.
In some cases, you may need to remove air from the bag. You can use vacuum sealers in such scenarios. A vacuum sealer sucks out the air from a bag to help protect the products within. This option is mostly used in food packaging applications.
Do poly bags serve your packaging requirements?
You will have to answer a few questions to figure out whether or not poly bags are right for your packaging requirements. Here are the questions.
- Do you want to cut packaging costs? If yes, you can use poly bags in place of cardboard boxes. That will be a significant cost saver.
- Do you need strong, protective packaging? If you want to avoid breakage of your product packaging during transit, using polybags will not be a good choice.
- Do you want to reduce your carbon footprint? If yes, polybags can help you reduce your carbon footprint significantly.
- Do you want to reduce the use of plastics in packaging? If yes, polybags will not serve you well because they are made of plastics.
- Do you need transparent product packaging? If yes, you can use polybags. They will allow your customers to have a look at the original product.
If you want to incorporate polybags into your packaging operations, be sure to speak to your packaging vendor to know the best options.
