A-B | C-E | F-H | I-O |P-R |S-Z
Angel Hair
Thin strands of film appearing at the cut end of film resulting from sealing.
Ballooning
A pillow effect created when air is trapped within the shrinking bag.
Bead Seal
A thin round weld created when pressure and heat are applied to two layers of film.
Bi-Axial Orientation
Oriented along both X and Y-axis.
Blocking
A condition in which two layers of film adhere to one another.
Blown Film
A film extruded by air inflation. Ex: blown stretch film such as: blown hand stretch film
Burn Through
A temperature or condition where a film becomes cloudy or burns in the shrink tunnel.
Centerfold Film
A film that has been folded in half, lengthwise.
Centerfolder
A mechanical device used to create centerfolded film.
Coextrusion
Two or more polymers extruded and combined in a die, each forming a distinct layer in the final film.
Cold Slip
The amount of force required to slide two surfaces against one another at ambient temperature.
Cold Flex (CF)
Ability of a film to perform at low temperatures without failure.
Copolymer
Result of two monomers being combined through polymerization.
Core
A paper tube on which film is wound.
Cross-Linking
A process which binds the polymer chains into a network. Significantly increasing a films heat stability and strength.
Crow's Feet
A series of wrinkles radiating out from a finished package's corners.
Density
Weight per unit volume. Films with a low density offer more coverage per weight of film.
Dog-Ears
Triangular projections of unshrunk film at the corners of finished packages.
Drape
The softness of a film characterized by the ability to conform to irregular shapes.
Electron Beam
A device used in the cross-linking process.
Fish Eyes
A scalloped surface on a finished product surface.
Foaming Head (Plow)
A mechanical device used to shape flat or center fold film into the desired bag shape needed for a particular package.
Form-Fill-Seal
A type of equipment which produces a tube of film into which packages are introduced.
Gauge
A term used to describe the thickness of a material such as shrink film / shrink wrap or stretch film / stretch wrap or pallet wrap ex: 100 gauge shrink film, 60 gauge stretch film, 70 gauge pallet wrap.
Heat Sealing
Joining plastic films by controlled application of heat and pressure to the area being sealed.
Hole Punch
A mechanical device used to produce an air evacuation hole.
Hot Slip
The amount of force required to side two surfaces of heated film against one another.
Impulse Seal
A heat sealing technique where the element is pulsed with voltage during the sealing cycle.
L-Sealer
A term used to describe equipment where the seal area is in the shape of a "L".
Laminate
A general term used to describe structures comprised of two or more materials.
Lap Seal
A seal made with two layers of film overlapping one another.
Machinability
The ability to form and seal on overwrapping equipment.
Machine Direction (MD)
The direction the film is manufactured and moves through the sealing equipment. OR The direction parallel to that taken by the majority of molecules in plstic film, or the direction of the film web as it moves through the film-making machine. Also called Longitudinal Direction.
Memory
The ability of a film to maintain its characteristics after shrinking.
Monoaxial
A film which is oriented to shrink in only one direction.
Monolayer Film
A single layer film extruded from one or a blend of raw materials.
Multilayer Film
A film comprised of more than one layer of similar or different polymers.
Opaque
Relatively impervious to light. Ex: opaque white stretch film, opaque black stretch film (stretch wrap)
Optics
The visual properties of a film. Examples of shrink film products with good optics include: Exlfilm HSP shrink film - a superior optic shrink film, Exlfilmplus LTF.
Orientation
The stretching technique used in the manufacturing of film.
Oriented
The stretching and aligning of a film's molecules at a temperature below its melting point.
Perforations
Air evacuation holes in a film made by pin perforators.
Pin Perforators
A device used to produce small holes in film to allow air to escape during the shrinking process.
Polyethylene
A simple thermoplastic polymer of ethylene.
Polymer
A material made through the process of polymerization.
Polymerization
A gas heated under pressure forms a solid.
Polyolefin
A generic term used to describe ethylene and/or propylene based plastics. Also see polyolefin shrink film and shrink film packaging products
Polypropylene
A thermoplastic polymer of propylene.
Preferential Shrink
The characteristics of a film to shrink more or less in a specific direction.
PVC
Polyvinyl Chloride. Also a type of shrink film.
Seal Wire
An element made from nichrome wire used to seal film.
Selvage
Another term for trim waste.
Shrink
Defined as the ability to become smaller.
Shrinkage / Percent Shrink
The decrease in dimension of a film when it is subjected to heat.
Shrink Film
Shrink film has excellent optics & strength, LTG Shrink Film - a light gauge polyolefin shrink film with excellent clarity, gloss and tear resistance and Exlvalue.
Shrink Film - Anti Fog (AF Shrink Film)
A anti fog shrink film providing clear presentation in refigerator and freezer applications.
Shrink Tunnel
A type of equipment featuring a chamber producing heat and airflow designed to shrink film.
Singlewound Film (SW)
A single layer of shrink film wrapped around a core.
Slip
The quality of a film to move over surfaces with little resistance.
Static
An electrical charge built-up in plastic film.
Static Seal
A type of longitudinal seal used in FFS equipment. Overlapping film edges are adhered to one another via a static charge.
Tap Switch
An electrical device used to control the amount of voltage introduced to sealing elements.
Tear Initiation
The amount of force required to initiate a tear.
Tear Resistance
The ability of a film to resist the propagation of a tear.
Transverse Direction (TD)
The direction parallel to the film width. OR The direction at right angles to that taken by the majority of molecules in a plastic film or the direction at right angles taken by the film web as it moves through the film-making machine.
Trim
The amount of excess film severed during the sealing process.
Trim Seal
A seal made by using a sealing wire element.
Unbalanced
Unequal orientation in the LD and TD.
Wind
The direction in which the film or shrink film is wound on the core.
