Food waste and product spoilage are huge issues for manufacturers and producers. This is why so many are looking for ways to optimize BOPP (biaxially-oriented polypropylene) packaging and minimize (if not eliminate) the growing concern about product wastage due to inefficient packaging.
BOPP film manufacturers recommend BOPP films for a wide range of packaging, lamination, and labeling applications because it offers many inherent properties that are beneficial in reducing food waste, even extending the shelf life of different kinds of products.
The BOPP film used in various BOPP packaging applications is one of today’s most widely used and preferred substrates for food packaging because of its sealability, high clarity, and moisture resistance. Its natural flexibility, combined with its other remarkable properties, makes it suitable for creating packaging solutions with monolayer and homologous structures.
With more and more companies turning to more flexible packaging options, the demand for BOPP packaging products is higher than ever.
BOPP Film Structural Upgrade
With BOPP films becoming more extensively used in various packaging applications, film manufacturers have continuously developed products that meet the needs of the demanding market. One of the latest innovations in BOPP film manufacturing is the use of modifiers, such as those with hydrocarbon resin compositions to increase and strengthen the combination of highly praised BOPP film properties, like improved stiffness and shrinkage, high barrier performance, and easier production and processing. BOPP film modifiers also enhance BOPP packaging by improving transparency, twist retention, and sealability.
BOPP Film and its Barrier Performance
Perhaps one of the most relevant properties of the BOPP film is high barrier performance—the very property that makes it an excellent choice for preventing food waste and protecting packaging contents from all kinds of external contaminants. This is further increased with the help of modifiers, which are now being added in BOPP film formulations. These modifiers allow for great improvements when it comes to creating packaging that is oxygen and moisture resistant, which leads to better protection and longer shelf life for products that are sensitive to oxidation and humidity.
In more simple terms, BOPP packaging helps keep products fresher for longer. Additionally, new BOPP film formulations allow for more simplified film structures, which not only strengthens the product but also offers positive impacts on the cost of production for the film.
Other Benefits of BOPP Film
There are many other ways by which the addition of modifiers in BOPP film formulation optimizes and enhances the material’s packaging performance. Among these properties is mechanical resistance.
Resin-based modifiers help strengthen BOPP’s mechanical resistance, which means an increase in the film’s stiffness and flexibility. This produces higher elongation, which makes BOPP film ideal for a range of applications, including use as overwrap films. Apart from enhanced stiffness, the use of modifiers on BOPP films also helps increase film shrinkage, making BOPP a good choice for applications like labeling and shrink packaging, along with other applications that necessitate high shrinkage capability.
Another practical benefit of optimizing BOPP formulation is enhanced transparency that results in high gloss—properties that producers look for when seeking packaging options that showcase their product well. Sealability is also an inherent property of the improved BOPP formulation. The addition of modifiers enhanced BOPP’s sealability, enabling sealing at much lower temperatures while increasing its peel strength. Twist retention is also worth mentioning, as BOPP films help increase twist wrap retention by 75% while offering other notable benefits like a printable surface and excellent optical properties (low haze and high gloss).
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