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When it comes to choosing a supplier for your packaging materials and machinery, it is important to do your homework and ask yourself a few questions. You should investigate at least three different suppliers and learn about several important dynamics from each of them.
It is a good idea to choose a packaging machinery supplier who is relatively close to your geographical location or can easily travel to you. This will have an impact on your business when there is a need for repairs or emergency service for your equipment. Pick a supplier who is in another country and you may find yourself dead in the water for days on end. Choosing a supplier with technicians who are local is always a smart idea. When it comes to your materials, you don't have to be as worried about the physical location as most supplies can be shipped timely.
It is important to choose a packaging machine supplier with experienced and certified technicians who are professionally trained to work on your packaging equipment. Without the proper certifications, you are taking a chance with your equipment. You could end up paying big when risking service with non-certified techs.
It may be tempting to source the cheapest packaging materials in an attempt to save money, but if you buy from a company with poor customer service, you may end up losing the anticipated savings anyway. Poor service often means lost dollars. Check out reviews of each vendor and if possible, reach out to current customers and ask about their vendor's customer service and if they would recommend buying from them.
There is an old saying in the packaging industry and that is "shrink film is shrink film". While there are some brands with flashy marketing and sales gimmicks with a premium price, chances are, there are several less costly alternatives that are of equal quality. If you are looking for comparisons, there are generally low-cost films that have lower clarity and higher-cost films that will shine more and have better clarity. Choosing an inexpensive film may cost you in shelf presence.
Snake oil and elevator pitches can blur the line between reality and illusion. At the end of the day, you will want to purchase from an honest supplier who carries multiple offerings at different price points and provides superior customer service.
Depending on how often your machinery is running, your downtime due to repair needs or emergency service will vary. As time is money, it is important to ask your machine supplier about lead times, parts availability, and preventative maintenance programs.
Ask each potential vendor what their average response times for emergency calls are. In most cases, it should not be more than 24-48 hours.
Different types of machinery require different types of materials and utilize different amounts of materials based on the make and model of equipment. For example, while you can save money upfront by purchasing a manual L-Bar Sealer, your cost of goods will likely be higher as a more expensive automatic sealer will generally use less material than the manual machine because the machine will generally be optimized to do so.
That being said, the quantity of product that you will be producing must also be taken into consideration. An automatic sealer won't be the right machine for a small business that is only running a couple of thousand items or less each week.
This is due to the fact that each model is designed to work with specific maximum and minimum capabilities and materials. Every machine is different. Your packaging line's unique needs must be taken into consideration when choosing the appropriate machine for your application. This can result in higher production costs if your choice of machinery cannot run thinner gauge shrink film. Using thinner gauges of shrink film can result in significant cost savings.
Buying packaging machinery is a major investment. The various dynamics of choosing machinery include; safety, budget, physical layout, electrical supply, materials, and a whole host of considerations that can make your head spin.
When moving forward with the buying process it is important to start by reviewing the appropriate KPIs with an emphasis on safety first. Next, you will want to be sure to complete the packaging machinery pre-investment checklist. After filling out the information in this valuable tool and getting your results back, you will want to move on to getting quotes from at least two or three vendors.
Getting an analysis of your packaging department and collecting data on your current machinery, manual labor, materials, physical footprint, electrical requirements, production levels, types of products and the other important dynamics of running a safe and productive packaging line is key.
For more information, please visit Eopac Machinery.
Once you have been able to fully analyze every aspect of your packaging line, asking for quotes from each of the vendors you are giving an opportunity to quote will provide you with peace of mind that you are going get the best deal and receive the best of what each vendor has to offer.
In addition to requesting information and pricing on the packaging machinery you are looking to purchase, be sure to also acquire information about the cost of service, installation, any training available, supply, and repairs. Ideally, you should consider getting a quote for a long-term preventative maintenance plan as this type of program will ensure that your machinery is always running at peak performance and that downtime will be limited when it does occur.
Once you have chosen a vendor to buy from, meeting with your representative and reviewing the machinery offerings that they have will allow you to open a conversation about pricing. Here you can ask about special offers, rebates, additional options, leasing versus buying, and other related dynamics that will help you to get the best price and best plan implemented for your specific budgetary restraints and packaging line needs.
Finally, it would do you well to schedule quarterly, bi-annual or annual meetings for review with your chosen vendor's sales representative and one of their maintenance technicians.
This will allow you to review data from one meeting to the next and identify places where your machinery and materials could be improved upon to further reduce your cost of production, increase speed to market, create greater efficiency and produce a superior performance on your packaging lines KPIs.
Once you have purchased your new machinery and have worked with your chosen vendor to install the machinery, train your operators, and all else has been said and done, be sure to schedule your first review before your representative leaves your building.
If you heed the information in this guide, we assure you that you will make the best possible choice of packaging machinery for your packaging department. Furthermore, you will be able to ensure the purchase and implementation of the best materials for your products and may rest assured that you have done everything in your power to have the best possible packaging line for your business.
Should we not have produced answers to some of your questions or content that is crucial to your particular needs in regard to buying new machinery, contact us directly. Your voice can help others in your position in the future!
Our dedicated packaging professionals can and will answer any questions that have not been answered by this guide. In addition to what you have read here, we invite you to peruse our blog which is absolutely packed to the brim with useful information, free tools, and quality content that will make for a highly useful adjunct to this guide.
Last but not least, you will find a selection of free tools below that will help you on your journey to finding the best packaging machinery for your packaging line.
From all of us here at Industrial Packaging, we wish you well on your quest and again would implore you to contact us if you need anything else that you could not find in this guide.
Many customers have complained to us: Why are you selling the paper rolls at a higher price? For 80mm x 80mm thermal paper roll, you are offering $0.600/roll, while other suppliers offer $0.530/roll. Why there is such a big difference?.
Well, the price difference is normal in every business, but when there is a big price difference, there must be a big problem. The paper roll is just a simple product, and the paper roll business is also small. Though, there are still many tricks (or traps) hidden in the industry. Here in this article, we will reveal the four hidden tricks that some suppliers often use. We hope you can benefit from it and have a deeper understanding of the paper roll business.
You may know that the core is used to wind the paper roll. In some pieces of equipment, a metal flange is inserted in the core and moves the paper forward when a transaction is created. On these occasions, the core is very critical. But you may not know that the core is also a determining factor for the paper roll price.
There are various core sizes available on the market. If you are using a bigger core size inside the paper roll, that will make the paper length less. For example, for 80mm x 80mm thermal paper roll, if using 13mm x 17mm plastic core, the paper length is 60m, the price is $0.600/roll. While if using 13mm x 19mm paper core, the length is only 58m, and the price is $0.580/roll.
Although you are paying less money, you are getting shorter paper, which means you will get fewer receipts when used in the printer.
Most of the end-users dont keep an eye on the paper diameter (or length) when they are using the paper rolls. In this case, many paper roll suppliers would do some trick on the paper diameter (or length).
For the most popular paper size 80mm x 80mm, we are making the roll diameter fully at 80mm, while some suppliers would make it at 78mm or 76mm or even less. Dont neglect the 2mm difference, that will make the paper 2 meters shorter. That means you will get fewer receipts out when used in your printer.
In the same way, for the most popular size 3 1/8 x 230 in the American market, we always make the paper length strictly at 230, while some suppliers would make it at 225 or less.
There are many different paper qualities available on the market, such as 55gsm, 60gsm, 65gsm, etc. The different quality paper has a different thickness that would lead to different paper length for the same paper roll size. For 80mm x 80mm thermal paper size, the 55gsm paper thickness is 60um, the paper length is 80m; while the 65gsm paper thickness is 85um, the paper length is 55m. That means if you are using 65gsm paper, you will have 15m shortness in the paper length. You can check the table below about the paper thickness, length, and price.
SizeGSMThicknessLengthUnit pricePrice per meter80mm x 80mm55gsm60um80m$0.900$0.mm x 80mm60gsm75um59m$0.700$0.mm x 80mm65gsm80um55m$0.680$0.The low-quality thermal paper has poor coating work on the thermal paper surface, which will lead to a blurry print-out image. When your customers get the receipt, the receipt is not readable. Besides that, low-quality thermal paper always has a low sensitivity. Paper sensitivity is a significant factor when selecting a thermal paper for your application. The sensitivity of a thermal paper refers to the degree to which it reacts to heat (energy). A high-sensitivity product will create a better image than a low sensitivity product when given less heat or energy.
Using low-quality thermal paper will also be harmful to your printer head, which will make the printer machines life much shorter. Buying low-quality thermal paper seems to save money, but you are paying much more in the long run.
When you buy thermal paper roll products, our advice for you is always to buy the paper rolls from a renowned supplier and ask to get samples from your supplier before you make any purchase. In this way, you can make sure you are getting what you are paying for.
For more information, please visit paper roll wrapping machine.