Export Packaging Note No.

16

TECHNICAL NOTES ON THE USE OF PLASTIC FILM

Contents
I. Introduction --------II. Abbreviated designations of plastic materials --------III. Review of nine important packaging films --------IV. Coding system for regenerated cellulose films (cellophane) --------V. Methods of expressing the thickness of plastic film --------VI. General properties of plastic materials --------VII. Selected terminology for plastic packaging --------VIII. Some practical hints for the procurement and use of packaging films --------IX. Some likely development trends for plastic packaging

This Note has been prepared, without formal editing, as a service to exporters and the packaging industry in developing countries, least developed countries and economies in transition by the Functional Advisory Services Section, Division of Trade Support Services, International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO, 54-56 rue de Montbrillant, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Tel. +41 22/730 03 93; fax + 41 22/730 09 05; e-mail: packaging@intracen.org ; Internet: http://www.intracen.org (Postal address: International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ii International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO Export Packaging Note No. 16

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Introduction Abbreviated designations of plastic materials Review of nine important packaging films Coding system for regenerated cellulose films (cellophane) Methods of expressing the thickness of plastic films General properties of plastic materials Selected terminology for plastic packaging Some practical hints for the procurement and use of packaging films Some likely development trends for plastic packaging

1 1 3 7 7 8 11

13 14

IX.

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iii

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International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO Export Packaging Note No. 16

TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE USE OF PLASTIC FILMS

I. INTRODUCTION
Plastics have become a major material in packaging along with paper, metal and glass. Plastics are used mainly for consumer packages in the form of wraps, pouches, bags, bottles, jars, tubes and boxes. There are also important applications for plastics in the field of transport packaging, where plastic containers and drums replace the traditional steel and glass. Other major transport packaging applications are sacks, shrink and stretch film wrapping of entire pallet loads, etc. Plastics are man-made products, chemically synthesized from oil, coal or natural gas. Despite the fact that crude oil prices have risen very sharply at the same time also elevating the prices of oil-based raw materials which are used for the manufacture of plastics, this product group still has unlimited possibilities for packaging applications in the future. Not only the existing plastic materials but also competing natural fibrous materials, along with glass and metal, will show a rising price curve over the next medium- to long-range period. Thus plastics are not expected to lose any ground, relatively speaking, and it is to be expected that, on the contrary, they will be more widely used than they are at present, thanks to their versatility, flexibility, adaptability and ease of handling. New plastic materials and new combinations of existing materials, both synthetic and natural, in the form of copolymerisation products, laminated or coextruded material combinations to suit any possible need, will certainly continue to be developed at a fast rate. (Section 9. of this note gives some likely development trends for plastic packaging.) Plastics have to be considered as a very interesting packaging material for developing countries in general and for the small or least-developed in particular. Although the raw materials (plastic compounds as powder or granulates or rolls of plastic films) have to be imported, these are standard products with a good yield, relatively inexpensive and easy to transport and keep in stock. The equipment is relatively inexpensive for all types and stages of production. Low and intermediate speed machinery is also readily available from many suppliers. This makes plastics very feasible packaging materials in developing countries, even in the smallest islands and territories.

II. ABBREVIATED DESIGNATIONS OF PLASTIC MATERIALS

Certain standard abbreviations have been developed for the different plastic types and are used all over the world to describe, with a few letters, the often complicated names of the various plastic materials. The most important ones are: PE* LDPE* LLDPE MDPE* HDPE* PET* PP* OPP* = = = = = = = = Polyethylene Low density Polyethylene Linear Low-density Polyethylene Medium Density Polyethylene High Density Polyethylene Polyethylene Terephthalate (Polyester) Polypropylene Oriented Polypropylene
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PS* OPS* EVOH CPET HIPS PC EPS SAN ABS PA* PVC* PVDC* PVA PVAl CMC CA* EVA TPX CAB EC

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Polystyrene Oriented Polystyrene Ethylene-vinyl alcohol Crystallizable Polyethylene Terephthalate High Impact Polystyrene Polycarbonate Expanded Polystyrene or Foamed Polystyrene Styrene Acrylo Nitrile Copolymer Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Styrene Copolymer Polyamide (Nylon) Polyvinyl Chloride Polyvinylidene Chloride (Saran) Polyvinyl Acetate (also: PVAc) Polyvinyl Alcohol Carboxymethyl Cellulose Cellulose Acetate Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Polymethyl Pentene Cellulose Acetate-butyrate Ethyl Cellulose

* Briefly described elsewhere in this note.

III. REVIEW OF NINE IMPORTANT PACKAGING FILMS (a) Polyethylene (polyethene). The ethylene polymer, polyethylene, is the most important of all the plastic packaging materials today. Polyethylene is classified into three main groups: LDPE: MDPE: HDPE: Low Density Polyethylene Medium Density Polyethylene High Density Polyethylene 0.910 - 0.925 g/ccm 0.926 - 0.940 g/ccm 0.941 - 0.965 g/ccm

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is the dominant type of PE and the most commonly used. It finds its greatest use in film form as a basis for bag making. LDPE is readily heat sealed and is also the cheapest type of PE. The range of low density PE includes those with a variety of slip and antiblock agents, such as required in bulk packaging where low slip for good stackability is needed. Bags for soft goods, where high slip is desired for easy packing, are other applications of LDPE. Low density polyethylene is flexible and tough. Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE) is used for film formulations or other applications where a higher stiffness or higher softening temperature than LDPE is necessary. The MDPE material is a little more expensive than LDPE. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is more rigid than the two previous types. HDPE can be subjected to temperatures of up to 120C and, therefore, this type can be used for packages to be sterilized by steam. HDPE can also be slit into narrow tapes to make woven plastic sacks. However, polypropylene is a more commonly used material for this purpose.

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The different PE types have some interesting properties, which make them all very suitable as packaging materials. First, PE has good moisture and water barrier properties, the better these properties the higher the density. Polyethylene also has very good heat sealing characteristics and will retain its flexibility at very low temperatures - it can be used under freezing conditions down to 50C (-58F). It has a comparatively even viscosity curve with varying temperatures and is, therefore, easy to handle and convert. Physiologically, there are no disadvantages connected with PE. When it burns, it produces only carbon dioxide and water. There are certain disadvantages, however. The material has a rather high oxygen permeability, its aroma barrier properties are limited and it also has a fairly low resistance to fats, especially in the case of LDPE. There is a risk of unpleasant smell if the plastic is converted incorrectly, e.g. extruded at temperatures that are too high. Some packaging machines may not work well with LDPE, because of its rather low rigidity. Polyethylene can be transparent if it is cooled rapidly after extrusion. In other cases, the material is characterised by a somewhat milky appearance. Polyethylene is used a great deal for film extrusion for further converting into wraps, bags and sacks. It is also extruded as coatings onto paper or paperboard and it is the most used material for the blow moulding of containers like bottles and jars. It is further used for flexible tubes, trays, boxes, drums, beverage carriers, etc. One very important application is for various types of closures. The chemical inertness of PE is also worth mentioning in this context. Oriented and pre-stretched PE film is used a great deal in shrink and stretch wrapping. The properties of polyethylene vary substantially from one manufacturer to another. However, some typical figures are presented below in order to demonstrate how the properties change by going from low density to high density material.
Type of PE Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate* Gas transmission** O2 Gas transmission** CO2 Tensile Strength***

LDPE MDPE DDPE

1,4 0.6 0.3

500 255 15

1350 500 350

1.700 2.500 4.000

* g/100 sq.in./24h/l mil ** cc/100 sq.in/24h/l mil *** lbs/sq.in/1 mil

(b) Polypropylene (PP) is another of the olefin plastics. It is much stiffer than PE and it has better tensile strength and higher transparency. It also has low moisture permeability values. Because of its high crystallinity, the softening temperature is as high as 150C and, therefore, it can be successfully used in connection with autoclave sterilization of medical products, etc. PP can be used as a packaging material for ready-made food to be warmed in a convection oven or by boiling. It is also commonly used for injection moulding of closures. The density of polypropylene is as low as 0.90 g/m3 and its higher strength makes it possible to use thinner films, which makes it competitive to certain forms of PE for special uses. It has also taken over many applications from regenerated
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cellulose film (cellophane), e.g. for the wrapping of cigarette packs. There is a tendency for PP to become brittle at low temperatures, and this can, to some extent, be overcome by copolymerizing a small amount of ethylene into the propylene. Polypropylene is used as a film, which is comparatively rigid and has a range of applications much like cellophane, primarily because of its high clarity. PP film is often oriented (OPP), which means that it has been stretched in one or two main directions, producing better rigidity and strength. OPP film is rigid enough to be easily handled on many packaging machines, it is completely transparent and has good barrier properties against moisture. However, it is difficult to heat seal, which can be overcome by co-extrusion with polyethylene. PP is also greatly used for closures and finds successful applications where PE may show stress-cracking of the surface under the influence of certain surfaceactive substances. A common application for polypropylene is as a raw material for woven sacks. (c) Polystyrene (PS) is produced from petroleum by polymerization of styrene. This plastic is completely transparent but it has poor barrier properties against moisture and gases. The material as such is rigid but has inferior resistance to impacts and, therefore, synthetic rubber, butadiene, is blended into it to give additional shock strength. However, adding butadiene destroys the transparency, and shock resistant PS (HIPS) is therefore opaque, usually white. PS is very easy to process for packaging purposes. It can be blow and injection moulded, extruded, thermoformed, etc. Its use for packaging is limited by its poor diffusion performance and it is mostly used for thermoformed trays or cups. Typical uses are packing of vegetables and fresh meat on trays, and yogurt and other milk products in cups. As film, polystyrene is used for the overwrapping of fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes and lettuce. Biaxial orientation gives the film increased strength and toughness. It is then called Oriented Polystyrene film (OPS). Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is manufactured from specially treated polystyrene pellets. Heating the pellets in steam will expand the pentane contained in the material very rapidly and thus a cellular structure is formed. EPS is used for shock-absorbing inner parts for packages containing delicate machinery, etc., being moulded to fit exactly the form of the object to be packed. It has also found wide use for insulating trays and packs for fresh meat and fish, fresh fruit, bakery products, eggs, etc. (d) Polyester or linear ester plastics are manufactured by condensation like the polyamides. It is mostly extruded to form a film, and the film is biaxially stretched in both directions. Polyester has an exceptionally high mechanical strength, together with a temperature resistance of up to 300C. This film has low moisture and gas permeability values and the resistance to organic solvents is good. It has poor heat sealing properties and is, therefore, often extrusion coated with polyethylene. Polyester film can be coated with PVDC and will then become even less permeable to gases and aroma. Combined with aluminium foil and PE, polyester makes an excellent material for the packing of ground coffee in vacuum packs and for meat products, etc. It is sometimes used for boil-in-bag packages, where the contents are heated by boiling directly in the bag. This becomes possible because of the high temperature resistance of the material. Polyester film can be thermoformed
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to a limited extent and there is a shrinkable version of this material as well. A recent, very interesting application is to use a particular type of polyester: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for carbonated beverage bottles. (e) Polyamide (PA) or Nylon has a very good mechanical strength with excellent heat resistance properties. There are varieties of PA with melting points of up to 250C. PA is used as a component in several laminate types, with PE in particular, which are used especially in web-fed vacuum thermoforming machines for packing of sliced meat products, fresh meat and cheese. The laminate used has polyamide as the inner layer. PA is widely used for sterilizable packaging of hospital articles. (f) Polyvinylchloride (PVC) is produced in two varieties: rigid and plasticized. Rigid, non-softened PVC has good moisture and gas barrier properties along with good resistance to fats. Rigid PVC is used a lot for thermoforming of packages for butter, margarine, etc. It is also transparent and makes good bottles for mineral water, cosmetics, edible oils and fruit juices. Plasticized PVC in film form is mainly used for the packaging of fresh fish and meat, fruit and vegetables, and other fresh goods. It can be used for pallet wrapping to secure whole pallet loads to the pallet by stretch film winding. There are also PVC shrink films for use as overwraps, e.g. for gramophone records, where a pilferproof package is required. PVC as such has rather inferior temperature stability and to make it possible to extrude PVC through an extruder, special stabilizers have to be added. Some countries do not accept tin-based PVC stabilizing agents, and in most countries there are strict regulations about the maximum amount of residual vinyl monomer in the final product. (g) Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) is usually copolymerized with vinyl chloride and is often then called by the trade name Saran (registered trade mark). PVDC has a very low water vapour, oxygen and carbon dioxide permeability. It also has good resistance to fats and chemicals. A shrinkable PVDC film is manufactured under the name of Cryovac (registered trade mark). Production of PVDC film is done by extrusion into a water bath, after which the resulting tube is blown up by air to a very large diameter; this orients the film biaxially. Then the film is laid flat, cut lengthwise and made into reels. PVDC is also much used in dispersion from (i.e. dispersed in water) for coating of paper and paperboard. Multiple layers are necessary for good results. PVDC is mainly used for products which demand a very dense packaging material, like cheese and poultry, often vacuum packed in shrinkable PVDC. It can be heat sealed by high frequency sealers or by impulse sealers. PVDC, being the plastic material with one of the best barrier properties of all commercially available plastics, will always find its use when there are high barrier property requirements. Some examples are PVDC lacquered cellophane for biscuits and other moisture sensitive products. PVDC is also used a lot as a component in sophisticated laminates for meat packing; a co-extruded PE/PVDC/PE is an important material. (h) Regenerated cellulose (cellophane), is the dominant material in the group of cellulosic materials used for the same purposes as plastic films. Cellophane
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was the first commercially exploited packaging film and for a long time it was also the leading one in quantity. The polyolefins, and particularly polypropylene, have taken over a lot of ground from cellophane, but the latter still remains an important packaging material for certain purposes. Production of cellophane starts with highly purified chemical cellulose pulp, which is brought to a syrup-like consistency by added solvents. This "viscose" is extruded from a long narrow orifice into a regeneration bath to form a film. This material, therefore, is called regenerated cellulose. The word "Cellophane" is actually a registered brand name which has acquired a generic meaning. There are great many varieties of cellophane, tailor-made for several different uses. The coding system, designed to differentiate between the various types of cellophanes is explained in section 4 of this note. The most used type of cellophane is MSAT, which means a quality that is moisture-proof, heat sealable, anchored and transparent. Cellophane is often lacquered with nitrocellulose or PVDC (Saran) lacquer. This lacquer layer provides a good moisture barrier and heat sealability while the base material in itself is a good barrier, when dry, against gases and aroma. Due to its transparency and rigidity, which makes it possible to run this film on very fast packaging machinery, cellophane is very widely used in the textile and confectionery industries. Sometimes, cellophane lacquered on one side only is used for wrapping fresh met or processed meat products. A problem with PVDC lacquered cellophane, in comparison with homogenous plastic film types, is that the heat seal bond is not particularly strong, as it is limited to the adherence of the lacquer to the surface of cellophane. This material has low tear resistance and a seal can easily be torn open. This is sometimes actually an advantage, e.g. for pouches of sweets. Cellophane has very good printing properties and can be successfully printed by all suitable printing methods. There is a certain amount of water contained in the cellophane and it is this moisture content that gives the film its flexibility. If it is allowed to get too dry, it will consequently become brittle and tear easily. For freezing temperatures it is absolutely necessary to choose the correct grade of cellophane, since a grade not specially built to withstand low temperatures will easily fail in use. Cellophane is mostly used for foodstuffs, tobacco, textiles and sweets. For sweets a laminate composed of cellophane-wax-cellophane or cellophane-gluecellophane is mainly used, in both cases with the printing trapped between the two layers. Other important uses are as laminates for vacuum packaging of meat products, cheese, fish, pickled vegetables, mustard, etc. (i) Cellulose acetate (CA) has a brilliant transparency and is therefore used a lot as a window material for bags and cartons, as well as for covers for gift boxes, etc. Cellulose acetate can be used successfully for skin and blister packages by the thermoforming method. CA is dimensionally very stable in varying moisture conditions and, therefore, replaces cellophane as a laminate with paper, such as that used for book covers, brochures, record sleeves, etc.

IV. CODING SYSTEM FOR REGENERATED CELLULOSE FILMS (CELLOPHANE)

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The characteristics of cellophane films are indicated by a combination of letters and numbers. The most important letter designations are: A = anchored (the coating of the film is anchored, which makes it particularly moisture resistant) coloured demi (half), (moisture-proof coating on one side only) less moisture-proof than standard moisture-proof plain (uncoated, not moisture-proof, not heat sealable) sealable by heat sealing transparent, non-coloured polymer coated (PVDC, Saran)

C D L M P S T X

= = = = = = = =

The figures before the letter designation indicate the thickness of the film, and the figures at the end of the designation are a code number indicating the end use application. As an example, the following designation: 250 MSAT 87 would mean a moisture-proof, sealable, anchored and transparent material to be used in bags for frozen food (87). Its substance (yield) is 25,000 square inches/lbs. According to the metric system, however, the figure 250 designates a substance of 25 grams/square metre. Because of this, as well as the variations in the coding system between different manufacturers, the supplier should always be consulted as to the precise significance of the coding.

V. METHODS OF EXPRESSING THE THICKNESS OF PLASTIC FILMS A plastic film is a web material with a thickness not exceeding 0.25 mm or 0.001 inch. Material over this thickness is considered as sheet material. There are several ways of designating thicknesses. The most common are: millimetres (mm) microns or mu (u) mil (or thou) gauge (or gage) = = = = 0.039 inch 0.001 mm or 0.000039 inch 0.001 inch, 25.4 microns or 100 gauge 0.00001 inch, 0.254 micron

Examples:

International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO Export Packaging Note No. 16

mm 0.0064 0.0127 0.0254 0.0508

inch 0.00025 0.0005 0.001 0.002

gauge 25 50 100 200

mil 1 2

Micron/u 6.4 12.7 25.4 50.8

Plastic films might also be designated by their substance, just like paper, in grams per square metre (g/m2) or in pounds per 1000 square feet (lbs/1000 sq ft). Two, related terms are: Density: weight per volume unit expressed in grams per cubic centimetre - g/cm3 or g/cc. Yield: the area of film, obtainable from a weight unit expressed as square inches per pound usually for a film thickness of one mil. The value is consequently designated as sq.in/lb/0.001". The metric equivalent is expressed in square metres per kilogram - m2/kg.

VI. GENERAL PROPERTIES OF PLASTIC MATERIALS The most important properties of plastics in packaging are: (a) Tensile strength represents the force required to break the material in relation to a given area. Polyester film or oriented PP both have high tensile strength, normally over 400 kp/cm2 (40 MPa), cellophane can reach values over 600 kp/cm2 (60 MPa), but LDPE lies between 100 and 200 (10-20(Mpa). (b) Tear strength is a very important feature and governs the end use of many types of packaging films. It is a guide to the applicability of the films for certain machine operations. For some packages, a low tear resistance may be useful (e.g. a bag of potato chips). PE has a high tear strength, whereas cellulose acetate films have low values in this respect. (c) Impact resistance is a useful property, particularly when packing heavy products in plastic films or for big containers, which are directly subjected to shocks during transport. The method of testing this property is to drop a weight on the material and measure the force needed for penetration or breakage. (d) Stiffness may be important in some machine applications where plastic film is used. But it is also important for bottles and other containers where a rigid package with minimum wall thickness but maximum strength properties is needed. Stiffness can be measured by weighing a stretched material and measuring the rate of deflection. (e) Temperature resistance for plastic materials is composed of several different factors: The softening point indicates the temperature at which the structure of a thermoplastic begins to be affected. It is measured by slowly heating a sample of the plastic at a controlled rate and determining the temperature at which a weighted needle penetrates one millimetre into the sample. This is called the Vicat softening point.
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Melt index is a term used to indicate the rate of flow of a thermoplastic at a given temperature under a specific pressure and through a specific orifice dimension in a given time. The melt index expresses the amount of plastic that flows out through the orifice in grams per 10 minutes. Heat seal strength expresses the force needed to pull two heat sealed surfaces apart from each other at right angles. Polyethylene produces a very high strength seal and cellophane a much weaker one. Sometimes, a strong heat seal bond is not required, as for instance in bags for sweets and potato chips. Another factor to consider is whether the film gets brittle when subjected to low temperatures. This is important for frozen food packaging, where polyethylene is a better alternative than cellophane. The material should also have a certain permanence, which may also mean ability to withstand extremely high temperatures. This may be necessary for so-called boil-in-bag applications. Permanence can be described as general ability to withstand changes in environment without loss of essential properties. (f) Moisture resistance is a factor which is often very important in determining the suitability of a plastic film for the packaging of many products. Some products need protection from outside air moisture, others require that the moisture contained should not be allowed to evaporate through the package. There are several methods of measuring this, the simplest one being to stretch a piece of a film over a container with water, which is then placed in a drying chamber containing a desiccant to absorb the water transmitted through the film. The water in the test container is weighed before and after the standard test period and the Water Vapour Transmission Rate (WVTR) or Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate (MVTR) is expressed in grams of water diffused through one square metre (or 100 square inches) of film in 24 hours (g/m2/24h or g/100 sq.in/24h) with indication of the temperature and the relative humidity on the two sides of the barrier. (g) Gas barrier properties are not the same as water vapour transmission resistance. In this case the transmission rates of specified gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and, especially, oxygen are measured. Fresh coffee, for instance, generates carbon dioxide, which should be allowed to escape from the container, as otherwise it may burst because of inside pressure. Oxygen, on the other hand, makes coffee stale and should be excluded from packs for this product. A material with low oxygen but high carbon dioxide permeability should, therefore, be selected. An example of packs requiring high oxygen transmission is packing fresh meat for immediate sales. Meat needs the presence of oxygen to preserve its bright red colour, so attractive to many customers. The procedure of measuring gas permeability is to determine how much of a given gas is diffused through the material in a given time, in principle the same method as for the measurement of WVTR above. The values given are in cubic centimetres of gas per one square metre or 100 square inches of material in 24 hours (cm/m2/24h or cc/100 sq.in./24h) with indication of the temperature at which the measurement is made. Some additional properties of plastic materials might also be listed and explained in this context:

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Elongation is the degree to which a plastic material will stretch before it fractures. The more it stretches, the better it will absorb shock loading, making breaking less likely. This is important for many applications, such as heavy-duty plastic sacks. Elongation is expressed in per cent of original length. Polyethylene and polypropylene have high values, up to 450 per cent and over, whereas polyester and polystyrene have very low elongation values. Hardness of plastic material is determined, for example, with a Rockwell tester, which has a steel ball of a specific diameter, weighed with varying loads. The depth of the indentation when the load has been removed is measured. The higher the Rockwell number, the harder the material tested. Elasticity is an important factor to consider in plastic packages. What it really expresses is the ability of the material to return to its original shape and size after having been subjected to a load. One could describe it as "memory". Beyond the memory limit, however, the material stays stretched and no longer returns. Elasticity is expressed as a modulus of elasticity. Some materials, such as plasticized PVC, have a low elasticity modulus and stretch well, while others, like polystyrene, have a high elasticity modulus and stretch very little. Dimensional stability can, in some cases, be heavily influenced by changes in the relative humidity surrounding the package. Some materials expand, and others actually shrink, while some remain relatively unaffected. Film slip is the friction a film is subjected to in contact with another plastic surface or a machine part, etc. It can be measured by using an inclined plane, recording the angle where the weight of the sample overcomes the surface friction. The slip characteristics can be adjusted by additives to the film. As an example, there are principally three grades of slip for PE film: high slip, coefficient 0.1 - 0.3 medium slip, coefficient 0.3 - 0.5 low slip, coefficient above 0.5

Grease and oil permeability is important when the packed product contains fat. The appearance of the package could be spoiled if the fat is allowed to migrate through the material to the surface of the pack. Measuring of grease and oil permeability is carried out by placing a pile of fine sand saturated with an exactly measured amount of oil or turpentine on top of a film sample over a piece of absorbent paper. The time needed for the oil to penetrate the film and show up on the paper is recorded. Haze and gloss are extremely important properties in plastic packages, since many users demand a highly transparent material with a glossy and brilliant appearance. Haze appears as milkiness, which lowers the transparency of the film. It can be measured by determining the amount of light diffused by the test sample, as well as the amount transmitted through the material. Gloss relates to the measurement of the amount of light reflected by the film. A light beam is projected against the surface at a known angle and the amount of light reflected is measured by a light meter. Flammability, or ease of burning, can be very important in some applications. Some films burn readily, such as cellophane, others, like ionomers, burn slowly.

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Polyethylene burns slowly but melts at the same time and forms burning drops. Others are self-extinguishing, like PVDC; rigid PVC is very difficult to burn at all.

VII. SELECTED TERMINOLOGY FOR PLASTIC PACKAGING Without attempting to present a comprehensive list of the terms used in connection with plastic packaging technology, the following most important terms have been selected and briefly explained: Polymer Solid matter made up of giant long-chain molecules of a gaseous or liquid substance, such as ethylene, joined together end to end and modified by chemical and physical means. Monomer The smallest repeating structural unit of a long-chain molecule is the monomer. When ethylene monomers are combined to form long-chain polymerized molecules the result is polyethylene. Copolymer When monomers of different molecules, like ethylene and propylene, are chemically joined together the result is a copolymer. Thermoplastics Soften when heated and can be formed, shaped, heat sealed etc. Dominate the packaging field. Thermosetting plastics Do not soften by re-heating once they have set (melamines, phenolics, ureas, polyesters, alkyds, epoxies, etc.). Stabilizing agents: Metallic salt, added during the extrusion of e.g. PVC to make the film more stable. Plasticizer Additive to improve the flexibility of the film. Slip agents Additives to improve the running properties of the film on production and converting machinery. Antistatic agents Usually ammonia compounds added to reduce static electricity. Antioxidants Additives which keep the material from deteriorating under the influence of the oxygen in the air. Olefin plastics Manufactured from crude oil by polymerizing non-saturated hydrocarbons like ethylene, propene, isobutene and menthyl pentene. Plastic film A flexible web material with a thickness not exceeding 0.25 mm/1 mil/100 gauge.
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Extruder (for plastic films) A machine where the plastic resin is fed by a revolving screw through a heated barrel and the melt is extruded through a narrowing orifice (nozzle) which may be either straight, for a single web film, or circular, to give a tubular film. Blow-extrusion The process of extruding the plastic material through a circular nozzle into an endless tube with thin walls. Chill roll casting The film is extruded from a straight nozzle, as a web, directly onto a highly polished, water cooled roll in the machine (not to be confused with "casting"). Casting The resin, as a paste or solution, is cast on a moving surface from which the (dried) film is subsequently stripped. Calendering The material is run over a series of compressing rolls to even out the thickness and/or smooth the surface. Laminating Combining two materials by wax, adhesive, heat, etc. Co-extrusion Two or more different plastic layers are fed through one common nozzle and extruded simultaneously. Blow moulding or extrusion blowing A technique used in the production of plastic extrusion blowing bottles and other rigid packages. A cylindrical tube or parison is formed in an extruder and placed in a mould. The parison is then inflated with air and the walls shaped against the contours of the mould. Injection moulding A technique used for the production of all kinds of rigid plastic packages from small parts, e.g. closures up to large size crates, pallets, etc. The molten plastic from an extruder is forced under high pressure into a closed, cooled mould where it hardens to the desired shape before being ejected. Injection blowing A combination of the blow moulding and injection moulding techniques. Thermoforming The package is formed from a heated sheet of plastic material in a mould by the application of vacuum suction or pressure (also called vacuum or pressure forming). Heat sealing Uniting two or more surfaces by fusion, either of the coatings or of the base material, under controlled conditions of temperature, pressure and time (dwell-time). Impulse sealing Intense heat from a resistance wire is momentarily applied to the area to be sealed and immediately followed by cooling.
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Reverse printing Printing on a transparent film so that the print will be on the inside and visible through the film (also: back printing). Sandwich printing The print is located between the two webs of a laminated film. Shrink wrapping A film which has undergone a special stretching and cooling process is heated by hot air or infra-red radiation, and the film shrinks tightly around the object which has been wrapped. Stretch wrapping A film is wrapped around the object under some form (even manual power) of mechanical stretching, maintaining the tension (very much like a rubber band).

Form-fill-seal A packing method where the same machine takes the flexible packaging material from a roll, forms the package, fills and seals it in an integrated operation. Skin-packing The product is placed on a coated sheet of paperboard, a heated plastic film is placed over the product and vacuum is applied to draw the film closely around the product as a "skin". Blister-packing The product is placed in a preformed plastic "blister" which is then heat sealed or otherwise fastened to a paperboard or plastic base.

VIII. SOME PRACTICAL HINTS FOR THE PROCUREMENT AND USE OF PACKAGING FILMS (a) Materials: Since there are so many different types of films available for almost any application in packaging, it is very important to know their main characteristics in order to be able to choose the type and gauge which will be most economical and efficient. Most of the large suppliers of material make useful documentation available in this respect. (b) Package design/size

If possible, adapt your specifications to standard thicknesses and widths of film suppliers and converters; Make your package size as small as possible. If, for instance, a form-fill-seal pouch is 8" wide with a cut-off of 10", a reduction of 1/8" at the back lap seal reduces the film area necessary to make the pouch from 80 sq. inches to 77.5 sq. inches. This will mean a saving of 2,500 sq. inches of film material in 1,000 pouches. The cut-off-seal area can usually also be reduced as well as the depth of the side gussets in gusseted plastic bags.

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(c)

Equipment: In order to minimize expensive production waste it is advisable to: Maintain machines regularly and keep them clean (especially the sealing

parts); Train the operators in their jobs and make them aware of the costs of waste in production (possibly through a bonus system for minimizing waste); Use rolls of film down to the core. (d) Inventory and storage

Rolls of films deteriorate quickly in storage. Make orders for economical but, at the same time, not too large quantities; Apply a strict "first in - first out" principle in stock rotation; Even if conditioned and temperature controlled storage is not available, be aware of each material's requirements in this context (the ideal storage conditions for cellophane, for instance, are 18-24 C and 35-50 per cent RH); Store rolls of material standing on end, not horizontally laid down; Unpack rolls carefully to avoid damage; If partly used rolls are returned to storage, wrap them again in the original way; Where possible crushed cores should be carefully straightened out to fit the equipment.

IX. SOME LIKELY DEVELOPMENT TRENDS FOR PLASTIC PACKAGING For the basic types of materials: Polyethylene (PE) will continue to be the main plastic for packaging purposes; High-density polyethylene (HDPE) will advance and take over current applications for paper; Polypropylene (PP) and, especially, oriented polypropylene (OPP) will advance at the fastest rate. Regenerated cellulose films (cellophane) will be substituted by OPP; Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and possibly polystyrene (PS) have difficulties in connection with environmental legislation; Polyesters are advancing rapidly; Expanded polystyrene (EPS) has a strong position as a shock absorbing material, both as contoured inserts and as a loose-fill material in beads;

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International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO Export Packaging Note No. 16

Polyurethane foaming is finding many applications as foam-in-box cushioning of fragile products. There are no prospects for the invention of dramatic, new plastics but developments will be intense in finding new material combinations, particularly through the process of co-extrusion; Combinations with aluminium foil will be increasingly substituted by vacuum metallized plastic films; Thermoforming will increase, using also co-extruded materials Use of skin and blister packaging will continue to rise; Upright standing pouches (type Doypak) will find new applications in the food sector; The use of polyester (PET)-bottles for carbonated and non-carbonated beverages is rapidly increasing in sizes from 2 litres down to 1 litre. New applications will be e.g. for syrups, edible oils, salad dressing and liquor; Retortable pouches and cans made out of combinations of plastics and metal foil may become a serious and viable alternative for food canning; Plastic tubes will gain market share from metallic tubes; Plastic sacks made out of woven polypropylene or polyethylene tape will remain a strong competitor for jute and other textile fibre sacks; The use of intermediate bulk units, e.g. large-sized plastic sacks ("big bags") is developing fast, and replacing traditional sack sizes in particular; Stretch films will be favoured in comparison with shrink films, particularly for pallet load overwraps, due to their lower energy consumption.

International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO Export Packaging Note No. 16

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