Plastic Pouches: The Ultimate Guide

Plastic pouches are a common form of flexible packaging containers.

They are made of thin, flexible, plastic film, a nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile.

They are used for storing and transporting goods such as beverages, foodstuff, household items, and healthcare products, etc.

In this guide, we will explore more about plastic pouches’ advantages, uses as well as limitations.

Best Materials for Manufacturing Plastic Pouches

 Plastic pouches

Some of the best material for manufacturing plastic pouches are:

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), is light in weight with great tensile strength and both temperature and waterproof.

They are mostly used in restaurants and grocery stores.

Light Density Polyethylene (LDPE), make clear pouches but with a low melting point. They are ideal for bulk storage of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), have the same characteristics as LDPE but with less thickness. They are ideal for freezing food items.

Polypropylene (PP), have a higher melting point, non-porous, more transparent than LLDPE and LDPE. They are mostly used to package snacks and candies.

Other material types include Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP), Aluminum (AL), Nylon (NY) Polyethylene (PE).

All our materials, are bisphenol A (BPA) free and are United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) compliant.

During manufacturing, we can use a single material or combine two or three material structures depending on your pouch needs.

This ensures the quality properties of the plastic pouches are achieved.

Uses of Plastic Pouches

Plastic pouches are used to package, store or transport different items such as:

1. Beverages such as coffee and tea.
2. Foodstuffs for example; meat, vegetables, fruits, spices.
3. Pet food.
4. Cosmetic products such as shampoo, beauty cream and lotion.
5. Toys.
6. Healthcare products such as nutritional supplements, medical drugs, etc.
7. Wine and water.
8. Snacks and candy.
9. Farm products such as fertilizers, pesticides, seeds.
10. Household items; kitchen stuff, toiletry, and detergents.

Industries that use Plastic Pouches

Plastic pouches have a wide variety of application in the following industries:

1. Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare to package medical drugs such as antibiotics, analgesics, etc.

2. Industrial packaging utilizes plastic pouches to package substances such as coal, industrial chemicals, toys, electrical gadgets, etc.

3. Pet foods manufacturers use plastic pouches to package cat and dog biscuits, horse chews, and bird seeds.

Manufacturers prefer them due to their longevity in storing pet foods.

4. Human Food products such as nuts, cereals, meats, fish, etc. can be stored and transported in plastic pouches.

5. Home and kitchen garden produce such as bell pepper, green peas, tomatoes, can be packaged nicely in our plastic pouches.

They will remain fresh and retain their quality for longer due to the barrier properties of the plastic pouches.

6. Cosmetic industry uses plastic pouches to package and retail their beauty products in plastic pouches.

This is because the products are guaranteed to retain their quality and are economical to transport to various destinations.

The products include beauty cream, shampoo, hand and body lotion, etc.

When to use Laminated Plastic Pouches

Plastic pouch

• When you need your plastic pouches with an excellent barrier against external elements such as oxygen, dust, moisture, light, etc.
• When your products need to retain their flavor for a longer period of time.
• When you are packaging light-sensitive products that may be degraded by exposure to light.
• When you need your branded products to stand out the laminated plastic pouches will be perfect for you.
• When you need inexpensive packaging pouches with great barrier properties and extra thickness.

Benefits of Plastic Pouches

Some of the benefits of plastic pouches include:

• They provide a great barrier against elements such as oxygen, moisture, dust, UV light hence maintaining your product freshness and quality.
• Plastic pouches consume fewer resources during production compared to other packaging types such as glass and plastic tins.
• They are biodegradable and can be decomposed by microorganisms such as soil bacteria thus reduce on plastic wastes in landfills.
• Plastics made from microwavable food-grade plastic materials such as laminated PET and LLDPE are ideal in the food packaging industry. This is because they can withstand high temperature and pressure hence can be cooked in without damage.
• They are light in weight and inexpensive to transport compared to rigid plastic or glass tins.
• Plastic pouches can be displayed by hanging hence consume less storage space
• They also provide a great surface for company logo and product branding making it easier to print on them.

This, in turn, makes them stand out on shelves thus attracting more consumers to your packaged products.

• It is easier and faster to open plastic pouches thus they save on packaging time.

Limitations of Plastic Pouches

Before you invest in plastic pouches, you should note the following:

· Low Melting Point

Plastic pouches made from polyethylene, nylon, polyester materials have low melting point thus cannot withstand high temperatures.

This makes them highly flammable hence are known to easily catch and spread fires.

· Environmental Hazard

Plastic pouches that cannot be decomposed by bacteria may take thousands of years to break down.

As a result, they end up pilling in landfills causing environmental pollution or in water bodies and choke the marine habitat.

· Short Life Cycle

Plastic pouches have a short life span than glass or metals container.

They are therefore used and disposed of within a shorter period compared to the glass and glass containers.

· Harmful to Nature

The manufacturing of plastic pouches may require additional chemicals that are not environmentally friendly.

As a result, these harmful chemicals release fumes in nature hence depleting the ozone layer and accelerating greenhouse gases.

Ways of Closing Plastic Pouches

We offer different closure options that you can select for your plastic pouches depending on your needs.

· Re-sealable Zipper

This type of closure option comprises a pair of plastic tracks that close by interlocking and open when pulled apart.

They are normally fixed near the top of the plastic pouches for easy access.

They enable you to open, close, and reopen your pouches at your convenience thus making them reusable.

· Tear Notches

Tear notches are tiny pre-cuts running from one end to the other of plastic pouches.

They are there to guide you in opening your pouches easily and without spilling the content of the pouches.

Unfortunately, plastic pouches with tear notches cannot be reused.

· Spouts

These are tubes long or short fixed at the top of the plastic pouches with a cap for closing and opening.

They make dispensing of the pouches content easy and smooth hence avoiding unnecessary spillage.

Features to Consider When Choosing Plastic Pouches

Yu should consider the following features:

• Hang holes for minimal space consumption while displaying product.
• Closure type determines whether the pouches will be single or multiple-use such as tear notches and zippers respectively.
• Handle for easy carrying, transporting and handling of the plastic pouches.
• Rounded corners to minimize injuries as a result of manufacturing defects.
• Valves to expel excess gas emission from some product to avoid pouches from bursting due to pressure build-up.
• Window to enhance product visibility and display on the shelves.

Types of Plastic Pouches in the Market

Some of the most common plastic pouches in the market include:

· Plastic Pouches with Zipper

This type of plastic pouches has a zipper fitted on it for easy opening, closing and re-opening of the pouches.

The zippers provide barrier to the content from spillage.

 Plastic pouches with zipper

· Plastic Pouches for Liquids

Plastic pouches for liquids are mostly fitted with spouts for easy access to the pouches’ content.

The spouts make drinking or dispensing easy and smooth and also prevent spillage.

Plastic pouches with zipper

· Plastic Pouches for Liquids

Plastic pouches for liquids are mostly fitted with spouts for easy access to the pouches’ content.

The spouts make drinking or dispensing easy and smooth and also prevent spillage.

Laminated Pouch

· Quad Seal Flat Plastic Pouch

This type of plastic pouches has four sides sealed and with gussets with a flat bottom.

These pouches are strong and can stand on their own.

Quad seal bag

· Flexible Plastic Pouch

A flexible plastic pouch has square gusseted bottoms that allow them to stand on their own.

· Plastic Stand up Pouch

Plastic Stand up pouches are designed to be self-standing due to the presence of a completely flat bottom part.

Their ability to stand on their own makes it easy and convenient to store and display products on shelves.

 Stand up pouch

· Plastic Pouch with Spout

These plastic pouches have a protruding tube at the top that makes it easy to dispense the pouches’ content.

They have a cap for opening and closing to prevent spillage.

 Liquid pouch with spout

· Plastic Pouch with Tear Notch

Tear notches makes it easy to open your plastic pouches due to existing pre-cut areas.

 Plastic pouch with tear notch

· Plastic Pouch with Window

A transparent window is added to these pouches to make the packaged products visible from the outside.

This improves your product visibility thus attracting customers.

It also enables you to monitor the content of your pouches.

Pouch with window

· Plastic Pouch with Hang Hole

Plastic pouches that have their top parts punched with a hole for easy hanging on hooks for display.

They consume less space as a result of hanging.

Plastic pouch with hang hole

· Plastic Pouch with Handle

Are plastic pouches that have handles added to them to make transportation and handling of the pouches easy and convenient.

Plastic pouch with spout

· Plastic Pouches with Valve

These are plastic pouches fitted with a one-way vent to let out excess gasses from the pouches’ content preventing bursting.

They are common with pouches for packaging roasted coffee which emit carbon dioxide (CO2) gas for some time.

The valve makes it possible for the gas produced to escape leaving the packed coffee fresh.

They also make it possible to feel the pouches’ content aroma from the valve without opening.

Plastic pouch with spout

How to Customize Plastic Pouches

In order to have your plastic pouches customized, you can contact us through our official email on our website.

In your order form indicate the features you need customized such as shape, design, size, color, printing technique among others.

Once we receive your order, our design engineer will build a sample mold for the plastic pouches using the exact specifications.

They will then share with you the mold via email in order to get your approval before proceeding to mass production.

When you are satisfied with the sample mold, an agreement between you and the manufacturer will then be signed.

This is followed by a down payment of about 30% before mass production commences.

The balance of 70% is paid upon production completion.

How to Test Quality of Plastic Pouches

Plastic pouches

Check for the sealing characteristic by subjecting the plastic pouches under a regulated pressure flow.

When the seal burst within a few minutes of pressure-flow then they are weak seals.

Another way of testing the quality of plastic pouches is through the barrier properties against oxygen, moisture penetration.

A machine is used to check for the threshold of the elements respectively.

A higher oxygen penetration and moisture content is an indication of poor barrier properties and vice versa.

Quality Certifications of Plastic Pouches

Our plastic pouches have been inspected from when we source raw materials, the factory, and the manufacturing methods used.

This has awarded us quality certifications such as FDA, CE, ISO, SGS among many others.

Factors Affecting Cost of Plastic Pouches

Some of the factors that affect the quality of pouches include:

• Size: the bigger the plastic pouches the higher its cost.
• Materials: high-quality plastic material films make the plastic pouches cost to go up compared to average material quality.
• Customization and add-on features: printed plastic pouches are likely to cost more than plain plastic pouches. The same applies to plastic pouches with extra features such as handles, hang holes, valves, etc.

Color Options available for Plastic Pouches

Plastic pouches come in a variety of colors from bright, white, black and a combination of colors.

We offer up to ten color options to choose from when placing your plastic pouches order.

How to Manufacture Plastic Pouches

We manufacture plastic pouches in a two-step process as below:

In the first step, also known as extrusion, the machine is heated to very high temperatures of 500 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

This temperature melts that raw plastic materials into molten pellets which are then introduced into a machine compartment with defined thickness.

The resulting plastic film is then pushed into a bubble by air and then to a cooling process.

Thereafter it is cut at the right length and size.

For the second stage of the process, the cut plastic pouch is introduced into a spindle.

Here, the film is unwrapped and cut with a hot knife sealing the plastic pouch sides.

Once this is over, the plastic pouches are ready to be used.

You can however continue with adding extra features at this point and proceed to print if need be.

How to Fill Plastic Pouches

You can fill plastic pouches by hand or a filling machine depending on your product volume.

While hand filling is recommended for small scale packaging, machine filling is ideal and accurate for medium to large volume packaging.

When hand-filling, use a spoon, spatula or measuring jugs to scoop your products and pour them into the plastic pouches.

Thereafter seal the plastic pouches accordingly depending on the type of closure on the pouches.

Machine filling is an automated process and does not require you to scoop and pour your products.

The machines are calibrated with the right product measurements and the pouches moved to the fillers using a conveyer belt.

Machine filling process is either continuous or a one step process.

It is more accurate because the machines have a funnel or pump which dispenses the right amount of the products.

The plastic pouches are thereafter sealed accordingly before they are exited from the filling machine.

Plastic pouch

Ways of Printing Plastic Pouches

The printing process is an important process because it makes the plastic pouches more appealing to the consumers.

We offer different types of printing methods such as flexography, rotogravure as well as digital printing services.

Flexography and rotogravure are ideal for large order printing while the digital printing method is good for small orders.

How Plastic Pouches compare to Plastic Bags

Plastic pouches are manufactured from plant-based non-toxic materials while plastic bags may contain harmful toxins such as bisphenol A (BPA).

Plastic pouches bags are flexible and easily fit in small spaces whereas plastic bags are rigid and occupy bigger space.

Plastic pouches are lightly weighted hence are economical to transport while plastic bags are heavier and expensive.

Plastic pouches are resistant to bacterial attacks while plastic bags tend to encourage bacterial growth.

Plastic pouches are produced by a combination of different materials while plastic bags use one material at a time.

Both plastic pouches and plastic bags can be fitted with different closure options.

They are both less fragile and cannot break or tear when dropped.

Considerations when Designing Plastic Pouches

You should consider the following when considering plastic pouches:

Duration of Storage

This is important because it determines the quality and freshness of your products over time.

You may consider vacuum plastic pouches if you intend to store your products for a longer time without compromising on quality.

· Storage Space and Bag Size

If you want to minimize space consumption then consider adding hanging holes to your plastic pouches for display.

Also, you may need a gusset on the sides of your pouches for an increased product storage space.

· Temperature

The temperature under which you will package and store your products determines the material of choice.

Materials with high melting points are great for microwavable food product packaging.

Benefits of Biodegradable Plastic Pouch

Here are some of the benefits of biodegradable plastic pouch:

1. Reduced carbon emission since they are mostly made from plant-based polymers compared to the regular plastic container.
2. They consume less energy during their manufacturing process since they are recycled thus using initial energy.

This reduced on the consumption of the limited energy resources which is fast getting depleted.

3. They are considered environmentally friendly because they can be decomposed by the naturally existing bacteria thus reducing on landfills piles.

Available Surface Finishes for Plastic Pouch

We offer surface finish treatment for plastic pouches such as matte finishing and glossy finishing.

In matte finishing, the surface has a non-glossy look which eliminates light reflections.

This method of surface finish is a bit expensive as it gives a professional look to your plastic pouches.

It is however dull and also influences the graphics to be dull too.

The glossy finish is a high-quality shiny surface treatment with a mirror-like effect and is waterproof.

It makes the plastic pouches prints stand out on the shelves hence attracting more buyers.

This type of finish is inexpensive and leaves fingerprint stains on it.

Available Sizes of Plastic Pouches

 Different sizes of plastic pouches

We define the size of plastic pouches in terms of length, width, and thickness.

The width is also known as the breadth, and length is measured in ‘inches’ while the thickness is in ‘gauge’.

These dimensions together determine if the pouches will be light, medium or heavy.

The light pouches have a thickness of about 120 gauge, while 250 gauge is medium and 500 gauge is heavy pouches.

You are free to determine the right size of your pouches depending on your product needs.

You can also consult with us on the best size of your products if you are not sure.

Turnaround Time for Manufacturing Plastic Pouches

Our turnaround time is dependent on the size of your order and the design you wish your plastic pouches to have.

For large and complex plastic pouches orders, we take between 20 to 30 days from the date of order confirmation to delivery.

Small and simple design orders take us about 10 to 20 days from the time the order is confirmed.

We leverage our timely delivery on our modern machines which run on the latest technology.

Times it Takes for Plastic Pouches to Decompose

Biodegradable plastic pouches are quickly and completely broken down by bacteria the moment they are disposed of.

On the other hand, non-biodegradable plastic pouches can take up to thousands of years to decompose completely.

How Opaque Plastic Pouches compares to Clear Plastic Pouches

Opaque plastic pouches make products invisible whereas clear plastic pouches enhance product visibility.

Opaque plastic pouches are made from HDPE materials while clear plastic pouches are made from LDPE, LLDPE, or PP materials.

Opaque plastic pouches limit the amount of light that passes through whereas clear plastic pouches allow maximum light to pass through.

Required MOQ for Plastic Pouches.

We have a minimum order quantity of 50,000 pieces for plain plastic pouches and 80,000 pieces for customized pouches.

The quantities are not limited and you can negotiate for lower-order size in case you are new in the market.

We, however, offer discounts for large orders, therefore, we encourage you to place big orders and enjoy our good rates.

Depending on your requirements, TedPack offers the perfect solution for all plastic pouches.

Contact us now for the best solutions for plastic pouches.