Packaging Materials Testing

To help you optimize your packaging design and performance, we offer a wide variety of options for testing the physical and chemical properties of packaging materials. Our capabilities include physical strength testing, packaging material qualification and identification and characterizing material response to fatigue. We provide information from these tests to help you select the optimal packaging material choice for specific applications.

Our cGMP and ISO 17025 laboratory offers testing services concerning mechanical strength, material qualification and identification, quality control and product performance.

We provide a complete suite of packaging material tests, including the following:

Flexure Testing

Flexture testing is the most common, cost-effective and reliable of the packaging material strength tests for brittleness flexure. Methods like ASTM D780 cover the determination of flexural properties of unreinforced and reinforced plastics in three- and four-point bends. For flexible barrier materials, flexible durability (Gelbo Flex) testing is outlined in ASTM F392.

Compression Testing

Packaging materials behave differently in compression than they do in tension, so we perform tests that simulate the conditions the packaging material will see in actual use. Top-load compression testing evaluates the package performance of materials, providing an indication of final packaging performance in storage and transport to help refine the final packaging material selection.

Tensile Testing

To characterize material strength, we perform tensile testing per ASTM D882 and ISO 527. The packaging material is subjected to linear stress until failure or a critical attribute is attained. We conduct tensile testing on many types of packaging materials to gather information about yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, modulus of elasticity (stiffness) and elongation from methods.

Puncture and Impact Testing

We assess the ability of film and packaging materials to withstand penetration forces through puncture and impact testing. The rate of energy delivered affects material properties; multiple packaging material test methods help define material properties under controlled conditions. For example, slow-rate penetration (per ASTM F1306) will yield a much different result than a high-speed pendulum impact test (ASTM D3420). In concert with puncture and impact testing, tear testing helps characterize the energy required to propagate a tear in packaging material.

Barrier Properties

To characterize adsorption, dissolution, diffusion and desorption of packaging materials, package testing for oxygen transmission rate via ASTM D3985 or ISO 15105-2 and water vapor transmission rate via ASTM F1249, ISO 15106-2 and ASTM E96 can help you plan the optimal packaging material choice for specific applications to maximize preservation and prolong the shelf life of your product.