Choosing a Sealer

Choosing a Sealer

Which type of heat sealer?

What is it you are trying to seal?

Heat sealers are used to seal a wide range of products from food, pharmaceutical, hardware and other materials into thermoplastic bags. The heat sealed bag ensures that your product is tamper proof, air and water tight and hygienic. You may have a standard type of bag or pouch where the seal is just two layers or if your bag has a side gusset (like a coffee pouch) or a central folded seam then you may need to seal 4 layers.

What is the material?

The bags or pouches can be single layer or multilayer one of which must be thermoplastic for example:

  • Polyethylene (PE, HDPE, LLDPE)
  • Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
  • Polyethylene Terephthalate (PT)

Note: Foil and craft paper pouches normally include at least one thermoplastic layer.

What is the size?

The width of the sealer depends on the maximum width of the bag you are sealing, always choose a sealer that is at least 20–50mm wider than the width of your bag. This ensures the bag can be easily positioned without overlapping the ends of the sealer. A wider sealer is better.

The thickness of your material is important too. Thickness may be quoted in micron (µ), gauge, millimetres, or inches. Micron and gauge are the most common.

  • 25 micron = 100 gauge = 0.025 mm = 0.001 inch
  • 50 micron = 200 gauge = 0.050 mm = 0.002 inch
  • 75 micron = 300 gauge = 0.075 mm = 0.003 inch
  • 100 micron = 400 gauge = 0.100 mm = 0.004 inch
  • 125 micron = 500 gauge = 0.125 mm = 0.005 inch
  • 150 micron = 600 gauge = 0.150 mm = 0.006 inch
  • 175 micron = 700 gauge = 0.175 mm = 0.007 inch
  • 200 micron = 800 gauge = 0.200 mm = 0.008 inch
  • 225 micron = 900 gauge = 0.225 mm = 0.009 inch
  • 250 micron = 1000 gauge = 0.250 mm = 0.010 inch
  • 275 micron = 1100 gauge = 0.275 mm = 0.011 inch
  • 300 micron = 1200 gauge = 0.300 mm = 0.012 inch
  • 350 micron = 1400 gauge = 0.350 mm = 0.014 inch
  • 400 micron = 1600 gauge = 0.400 mm = 0.016 inch
  • 450 micron = 1800 gauge = 0.450 mm = 0.018 inch
  • 500 micron = 2000 gauge = 0.500 mm = 0.020 inch

Generally, our heat sealers can seal a range of material thicknesses from 25 microns up to 250 microns (100 gauge up to 1000 gauge).

If you are unsure of the material, send PackSealer a sample for us to test and identify the most suitable heat sealer.

How many bags do you have to seal?

The type of sealer will depend on the number of bags you plan to seal:

  • Low usage: up to 200 per day
  • Medium usage: 200–1000 per day
  • High usage: over 1000 per day