The global packaging film market has expanded to include many types of flexible films. These multi-layered structures offer protective solid barriers and help maintain freshness and hygienic conditions for food and beverages, medical and pharmaceutical products, heavy items and machinery, consumer equipment and thousands of other goods. They are an excellent choice for a wide variety of industries due to their versatility, durability, and cost-effectiveness.

Polyethylene (PE) is a popular plastic film for packaging, offering good tensile strength, puncture resistance, oxygen and odor barrier, and heat resistance. It can also be laminated to other materials, such as soft saran or polypropylene, to produce more functional and cost-effective flexible packages. This type of flexible film is most often used to package foods, dry goods, and odiferous or chemically sensitive products.

Another common packaging film is blown oriented polypropylene (BOPA). BOPA offers great tensile strength, clarity, puncture resistance, and odour barrier properties. This durable flexible film is suitable for food, beverage and cosmetics packaging, and can be complemented with a foil coating to further improve its performance.

Besides performance characteristics, there are several other parameters that must be considered when selecting a packaging film. A few of the most important are sizing, stiffness at lowest thickness, odour barrier, puncture resistance, oxygen inflow test, and cold-seal strength. These tests are designed to ensure the integrity of the bag and its ability to perform its function.

In addition to these basic features, manufacturers can customize a film for a specific application by choosing the thickness, color, print, and seal strength. These custom options can make a big difference in the final product. Some examples of these applications are a pour-out fitment for liquids or a special film for microwaveable containers.

The e-commerce industry has also helped increase demand for packaging film, as it allows customers to buy packaged products at their own convenience. In turn, this has driven the growth of the global flexible films market. The industry is expected to grow significantly over the next few years as a result of new and innovative products entering the market and consumers’ preference for convenience.