about strip packaging technology

1. STRIP PACKAGING
TECHNOLOGY

2. Strip Packaging
Introduction
 Strip packaging is an alternative form of pack for a unit dosage.
It is a method of enclosing the article concerned between the 2
web of materials so that each is contained between separate
compartment. The 2 web of material may not be necessary to be
identical

3. PROCESS OF PACKAGING:
2 webs of materials being fed between 2 heated crimpling
rollers, on which there are circumferential cavities of a size
and depth appropriate to the shape, size and thickness of
the articles being packed. The material to be packed is fed
from a hopper through channels to drop between 2 webs
where they meet between the crimping rolls and the
cavities. There in the webs are then sealed together by the
activation of the thermoplastic coating on their inner
surface and pockets formed around the contents.

4. STRIP PACKAGING MACHINE:
Strip packaging machines are widely demanded for
various packaging applications in pharmaceutical industry
for tablets and capsules. These strip packaging machines
are manufactured with high grade raw material by using
latest technology. These strip packaging machines are
available in various sizes and can also be customized as per
the specifications

6. FEATURES:
 Changeable cutting arrangements
 Noiseless
 Trouble free operations
 Heavy duty electrically vibrating feeding system
 Easy change over of parts
 Sealing rolls with precise knurling
 STRIP DESIGN:
Strip designs are very basic, as the emerging units are
invariably rectangular or square strip. The pocket can be
round, oval and square. The pocket area is critical to the
diameter, shape and thickness of the product. If the pocket
is too tight clearing, perforation of pocket or the wrinkling
of the seal may occur. If the seal area is likely to wrinkle or
cease then wider seals may be necessary. Generally seal
width of 5mm and above is employed.

7.  CHECKING OF SEAL:
 To check that the packaging material is not perforated around
the periphery of the pockets and the heat seals are efficient.
Sample strips are taken at regular intervals and exposed them
briefly, while immersed them in a water to vaccum of
something around 680mb
 MATERIAL USED:
 Materials employing foil provides the
best, excellent, protection provided and effective seal is
achieved
 2 plastic plies, each with a vaxxumised foil, when laminated in
direct contact with one another can give excellent barrier
property.PET is very resistant to tear . Hence needs a tear
feature .It also confers child resistant.
 One of the most widely used material with excellent moisture
protection is paper(40-45gms),extrusion coated(12gm/m²)
 7-9 micrometer soft aluminium foil

8.  ADVANTAGES:
 The contents are individually protected
 Shelf life increases
 Strip of one or more items may be carried in pocket
 Child resistant
 The outer pack in the form of carton or box provides a larger area for
printing or graphic decoration
 DISADVANTAGES:
 Strip packs occupies more space
 It is not usable by elderly and patients with arthetic fingers
 High cost variations among packaging of different number of articles

9.  LEAKAGE TESTING AND PACKAGE INTEGRITY:
 1.Destructive type testing:
 This type of testing equipment is based on destruction of seal by
applying vacuum. These tests include vacuum tests under water
and burst tests. Vacuum tests under water gives the following seal
integrity test:
 Dip the package under test in a pot containing colored water(15-
25 ̊C) and place the pot in the vacuum chamber.
Apply the appropriate vacuum of 33kPa(250mm of mercury)for
strip packages or 24kPa(180mm of mercury)for blister packages ,
for 30s.Return to atmospheric pressure and remove the pot from
the pot and blot off the excess water. Examine the package for
ingress of water into the pockets.

10. 2.NON-DESTRUCTIVE TYPE TESTING:
This type of equipment is usually based on a dry pressure
vacuum procedure followed by detection of pack distortion
(deflection) or non-distortion (non-deflection),i.e .packs with
effective seals become concave them convex as positive pressure
changes to negative pressure, while leaking packs either do not
change or show less or limited distortion, depending on the scale
of the leakage. The introduction of non-destructive tests should
therefore not only improve output , but enable better feedback
on machine performance. This also means that where seal
integrity is lost or is suspect more effective corrective actions can
be undertaken, including improvements in on-line controls.

11.  PINHOLES AND PACKAGE INTEGRITY:
 Pinholes is the common feature of aluminum foil. Pinholes
normally refer to the minute holes, which may be present in
foil. Usually the foil of 0.017mm caliper and above is
recognized as commercially pinhole free. The foil with
0.025mm can normally be `guaranteed', pinhole free. Foil
below 0.017mm gradually shows an increasing number of
pinholes. However, it has been noted that the water vapor
permeation(WVP)of foil of 0.006mm is lower than any
nominal gauge of plastic when used in a heat sealing
lamination. When foil is laminated or coated the initial
pinholes tends to be `filled in’ thus reduces any permeation
risk till further. Permeation is then related to the plastic,
which covers the pinholes.

12.  Conclusion:
 Hence , it is clear that, strip pack offers excellent protection and
superior than reclosable packs. In general, strips are produced at
low cost than blister packs
 Certain sophisticated machines offers high speed of strip
packaging than blister machines
 RECENT DEVELOPMENT:
 Now-a-days with a basic question of environment friendly
package, companies are using biodegradable materials. In this
context, the Japanese have recently introduced silicon oxide
coated PET over wraps. One newer material for cold forming
used 2 thinner layers of soft foil separated by a polymer layer,
while another has involved a double forming process

13.  REFERENCES:
 http://www.slideshare.net/mepradeepchauhan/strip-packaging
 www.youtube.com
 http://www.diecraftmachines.com/special_accessories_text.html
 http://www.nutricaplabs.com/strip-packaging.aspx
 PHARMACEUTICAL PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY-U K JAIN,D C
GOUPALE,S NAYAK