What Process Terms Does "Flexible" Refer to in Flexible Packaging

Flexible Packaging: Key Technical Terms for "Flexibility"

The "flexibility" in flexible packaging mainly refers to foldable, bendable, and non-rigid packaging forms. Corresponding industry technical terms focus on substrate characteristics, lamination processes, and forming methods, with key terms as follows:

1. Core Substrates (Flexible Basic Carriers)

• Film substrates: Core raw materials for flexible packaging, classified by material as PE (Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene), PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), BOPP (Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene), BOPET (Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate), CPP (Cast Polypropylene), aluminum foil (soft metal substrate, belonging to flexible category), paper-plastic composite substrates, etc., all with bendable/windable properties.

• Flexible paper substrates: Such as coated paper and thin packaging paper, different from hard cardboard, foldable and shapeable, suitable for flexible lamination processes.

2. Core Lamination Processes (Achieving Flexible Function Superposition)

• Dry lamination: Laminating multiple layers of flexible substrates (e.g., PET+PE, BOPP+aluminum foil) via dry gluing, retaining overall flexibility, suitable for food/daily chemical packaging.

• Solvent-free lamination: A flexible lamination process without volatile solvents; substrates remain bendable after bonding, eco-friendly and suitable for high flexibility requirements.

• Extrusion lamination: Extruding and coating hot-melt resins such as PE/PP onto flexible substrates (e.g., paper, PET) to form composite flexible materials, balancing protection and flexibility.

• Coextrusion lamination: Coextruding multiple resin layers to form films without additional bonding, inherently featuring flexibility and multi-functions (e.g., barrier, heat resistance).

3. Forming & Processing Processes (Realizing Flexible Forms)

• Gravure printing: A printing process for flexible roll substrates (films, paper-plastic), where substrates remain foldable/windable after printing.

• Flexographic printing: Printing flexible rolls with flexible plates, suitable for high-toughness, bendable packaging substrates, with high efficiency and flexibility retention.

• Bag-making process: Cutting and heat-sealing flexible composite substrates into various flexible bags (stand-up bags, three-side sealed bags, zipper bags, etc.), focusing on maintaining the bag’s bendable and squeezable flexible form.

• Slitting & rewinding: Cutting large rolls of flexible substrates into small rolls for subsequent printing/bag-making, maintaining substrate flexibility throughout.

4. Key Auxiliary Processes (Maintaining Flexibility & Enhancing Performance)

• Heat sealing: Heating and bonding flexible substrates (e.g., PE layer) to seal without damaging substrate flexibility, a core auxiliary for flexible packaging forming.

• Coating/laminating: Coating barrier layers (e.g., PVDC) or laminating on flexible substrate surfaces to improve protection without changing the substrate’s core bendable property.

Brief summary: The "flexible processes" of flexible packaging essentially revolve around roll-shaped, bendable/foldable substrates, forming non-rigid packaging finished products through lamination, printing, bag-making and other processes. The core is to always retain the material’s shapeable flexibility.