India’s flexible packaging materials and solution company Uflex Limited has launched 9.5 micron specialty ALOx polyester film, FLEXALOXPROTECT F-PGX.
Engineered by Uflex’s fully owned subsidiary company Flex Americas S.A. de C.V at the Mexico plant, this is reportedly the thinnest PET ALOx film available globally.
Despite its thin structure, the 9.5 micron ALOx polyester film exhibits superior barrier for oxygen and water vaporsas W.V.T.R (gm/m2/day) and O.T.R (cc/m2/day) are both < 1.0.
Uflex said no other products in the market offer such a thin PET ALOx specialty film with such superior barrier properties.
Conventionally metalized films have been used to impart enhanced barrier properties to laminates, but metallization renders the film opaque. The PET ALOx film can offer yet better barrier properties while still being transparent.
Being a down-gauged film FLEXALOXPROTECT F-PGX is 24% lighter than its 12.5 micron variant and almost 60% lighter than the 23.5 micronvariant. Furthermore, the price coordinates are better and so is the yield.
While the 12.5 micron ALOx film has a yield of 57.14m2/kg and the 23.5 micron film has a yield of 30.4m2/kg, the 9.5 micron speciality ALOx film yields 75.18m2 per kg. This brings major cost savings for the converters.
The PET ALOx film can be reverse printed and then laminated with a sealing substrate. Depending upon the barrier properties required by the product to be packed, ALOx coated films can be used in two-ply structures right up-to multi-layered laminates.
FLEXALOXPROTECT F-PGXi.e. (PET ALOx) film complies with the European Commission (EC) and US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for food contact use. Targeted applications include packaging for dried meat, fresh food, snacks, confectionery, microwavable foods, retort convenience food, cheese, baked goods, drinks, pharmaceutical and medical products.
J.K. Sharma, AGM, Technical Service and New Product Development (Films), said, “One side of the polyester film is coated with Aluminum Oxide in a special metallizer where aluminum metal is thermally evaporated and reacted with oxygen under high vacuum conditions to achieve its oxide. The ALOx when deposited on clean film surface offers very high barrier against oxygen and water vapor transmission simultaneously giving excellent clarity and transparency to the film.”
Pramod Sirsamkar, President – Technical & New Product Development (Films), Uflex, added, “PET ALOx is a significantly down-gauged transparent barrier film which by itself is its biggest USP. Besides excellent barrier properties, the film exhibits superior ink anchorage, suitability for retort applications, imparts strength to the ensuing laminate and has optimum coefficient of friction thereby offering great machinability to convertors.”
Source : China Plastic & Rubber Journal
