Questions About Skin Packaging
What is ... ?

A. What is the temperature of the plastic film when it comes in contact with the product as it is drawn down and vacuumed for board adhesion?

While temperatures will vary depending on film thickness and pre-heat cycle time, the temperature will be approximately 200-225 degrees.

B. I’m having difficulty getting the plastic film to adhere to the board. Is the film or the board defective?

1. The film has a treated and an untreated side. The skin board has a coated and an uncoated side. The treated side of the film must come down and make contact with the coated side of the skin pack board.
2. There may be no coating or insufficient or spotty coating on the skin pack board.
3. You may be giving too little pre-heat.
4. The vacuum system may be too weak.
5. You may have insufficient heat cause by one or more of the heating elements being burnt out.

C. What is “popping”?

When the plastic film is drawn too thin and the film ruptures, the film will pop. When this occurs, vacuum is lost and proper adhesion is lost. Often a heavier, thicker film is required.

D. What is “webbing”?

A bridge of skin packaging film between two objects packaged closely together on the same board is called a web. A cure for this can be simply a matter of product placement and parts should be placed as far apart as possible.

E. How long will a cutting die last?

A cutting die should last for many thousands of impressions. However, if the knives come in contact with the skin packaged product or the pressure is adjusted too much, there will be a shorter life cycle for the die. Cutting blades can usually be sharpened and/or replaced rather than replacing the entire cutting die.

F. How can I tell the difference between a roll of Surlyn and a roll of skin polyethylene?

Skin polyethylene is a much cloudier film and has poor optics. A roll has milky white appearance. Surlyn is much clearer and has excellent optics.

G. How do I determine how thick the plastic film should be?

Proper film thickness or gauge is determined by the depth of the product, the weight of the product and the shape of the product. Gauges range from .003 mil to .015 mil with most applications in .005, .0075 or .010 Surlyn or .006, .008, or .010 skin polyethylene.