Heat Sealers

Heat Sealers
Quality in a Heat Sealer

Heat sealing is a process whereas a heated die, platen or nichrome wire creates heat and bonds two thermal plastic panels together, such as a poly bag. Heat sealing is a way to assure that a company's product will maintain its integrity to the point of use. Heat sealing with a heat sealer is a good quick solution for a wide range of products. Many candy & confection companies heat seal their products in a cellophane or poly bag to thwart spoilage.

Heat sealing machines come in a host of configurations from simple heat sealers selling for less than a hundred dollars to automated microprocessor-controlled heat sealers that cost in the tens of thousands. Because heat sealing is a relatively fast process, it has been a widely used system for packaging everything from electronic components to potato chips.

A heat sealer should be built on a robust platform to stand up to the rigors of its continuous use. A heat sealer should incorporate heat synching properties which mechanically absorb the thermal environment away from the platen after heating in the case of impulse heat sealing. A heat sealer should incorporate also good electronics that manage the temperature at the critical thermal environment. Also, a quality heat sealer should incorporate safety features that prevent injuries to the user through integrated safety devices.

There are different types of heat sealers but the two most popular types include continuous heat sealers and impulse heat sealers.  All types of heat-sealing machines will combine three elements to produce a quality seal: pressure, time and temperature.  The key to finding a quality heat sealer is to find one that uses these three components together and is also durable and reliable for every seal made.

The important piece of the puzzle to finding a quality heat sealer is not only to locate a company that provides a heat sealer that merely uses time, pressure and heat to seal products but also to find one that is reliable for every seal.  Wasting time and effort using a sealer that does not guarantee a quality seal with each attempt will cost your company time and money that could be spent making money and saving time.

Other Components in a Heat Sealer

Other qualifications to look for in a reliable heat sealer will include work space size, materials sealed and machine size.  The size of the workspace available on heat sealers varies.  Some offer a small workspace that can be used for sealing small packages and others can offer much larger workspace.  In this dilemma bigger is not always better.

You will also want to consider the amount of space you have in your work area.  Are you going to be placing your sealer on a counter top or tabletop?  If so then smaller sealers will save space and money.  If it is a larger area or product you are sealing you will likely need a larger sealer that will take up more room but be able to handle the larger heat-sealing jobs.

Consider what types of materials it is you will be sealing.  If you will need only one type of sealer that handles only one type of material such as foil then you may save money by purchasing a sealer that seals only foil packaging.  However if you will be sealing other types of packaging you should research different sealers to locate one that may handle all types of packaging you will be using such as foil, plastics, poly and TyVek films.

When considering a new heat sealer, or impulse sealer, it is important to understand the capabilities of this packaging equipment. The size of your bag, the number of bags you wish to seal, as well as the type of sealing you will be performing, either impulse or constant heat seal. You should determine if you need a sealing timer or a sealing control unit on your heat sealer as all films will perform differently based on chemical composition and required throughput. You should try to find a machine that is durable with quality electronics. Reliability on your heat sealing equipment is paramount to managing downtime on your packaging line. As you will see, there are many companies that offer impulse sealers and heat sealers, but there is no question that not all sealing equipment is equally designed and built.

Heat Sealers