Making the right choice when purchasing a sealer to seal your poly bag

There are many different types of sealers available on the market and choosing the right sealer can be overwhelming.  Before you make a decision, you should have the answer the following questions:

• What is the width of the opening of poly bag?
• What is the material of my bag? (polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, Mylar, coated aluminum foil, etc?)
• How thick is my material?  (usually quoted in mil thickness)
• How wide do I want my seal to be? (usually 0mm for cut and seal applications, 2mm or 5mm)
  

We provide a short guide on sealer function, size, speed and heating elements to help you make your decision.  Let us know if you have any additional questions.

Function

There are two main types of seales:  impulse and or direct heat

Impulse sealers seal poly bags that require a lower temperature to seal.  Impulse sealers require no warm up time and only used power when the jaw is lowered.  We recommend impulse sealers for any thermoplastic material such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP)

Direct heat sealers seal bags that require higher temperature to seal such as coated aluminum foil, Kraft paper, cellophane, mylar, coated PP, and other materials.  Direct heat sealers maintain constant heat in both jaws and use power as long as the machine is turned on.

Size

 Th size of the sealer depends on the width of the material to be sealed.  We recommend adding one inch to the width of your bag for easier handling.

Speed

  Portable sealers are lightweight, handy and versatile.  Sizes, however, are limited.  We usually recommend portable sealers for irregular packages or limited work space. 

 Hand sealers are the most popular sealers given their simplicity and relatively cheaper cost.  The sealing bar is lowered manually and sizes available are from 4" - 40".  Approximately 6-20 packages can be sealed per minute.

Foot sealers provide a faster sealing operation than hand sealers.  The sealing bar is pedestal controlled leaving your hands free.  Sizes available are from 12" - 35" and approximately 8-20 packages can be sealed per minute.

Automatic sealers provide an even faster sealing operation than foot sealers.   Automatic sealers feature a preset time cycle to allow for a fully continuous automatic operation.  Automatic sealers can also be placed in a manual mode and actuated by a food switch.  Sizes available  from 12" to 30" and approximately 20-50 packages can be sealed per minute.

Band sealers are the most automated sealers available and ideal for high production jobs.  Item to be sealed is placed on a moving conveyor.  Various options such as horizonal or vertical sealing, right or left side feed, coding and imprinting are available on band sealers.

Heating Element

There are two types of heating elements: round or flat.  In most sealers, the round and flat wire can be interchanged.  Round wire is mainly used for cut and seal applications where no seam is left.  Depending on the width of the flat wire element, sealers are available in 2-3mm, 5mm, 8mm, or 10mm