Key Takeaways
Medical packaging flow wrap seals each device, kit or carton in its own film pack, so a pack that has been opened shows at once.
Stainless-steel builds, bottom-roll feed for fragile items, and batch and expiry coding are specified to order.
A flow wrapper seals the pack. Whether that pack is a sterile barrier depends on the film and on the manufacturer’s validated sterilisation process.
Medical packaging flow wrap seals single-use devices, test kits, dressings and pharmaceutical cartons in a continuous film. Each item gets its own closed, tamper-evident pack, sealed along the back and at both ends.
A flow wrap machine carries the product through a film tube on a conveyor, then seals and cuts each pack. It can print the batch number and expiry date as it runs. For medical and pharmaceutical production, the machine is built in stainless steel and set up for the product’s shape and fragility. See the flow wrap packaging machine for the range.
Top-roll and bottom-roll flow wrappers with single or double cutters, built in stainless steel for pharmaceutical and medical production.
Flow wrapping protects a medical or pharmaceutical product from dust and handling contamination, and carries the batch and expiry information it is traced by.
It replaces manual bagging, hand-sealed pouches and impulse sealers, where seal quality and pack size depend on the operator. On a flow wrapper the product moves through the machine on a conveyor, so it is handled less than in manual packing.
Every pack is sealed at the same temperature, dwell and pressure, stored as a recipe for each product on the machine’s PLC (programmable logic controller). That is what a quality system needs from a packaging step: the same seal and pack size on every item, batch after batch.
Medical packaging flow wrap suits solid products that keep their shape and can be carried through a film tube. Typical products include:
Loose tablets, powders and liquids are not flow wrapped. They are filled into blisters, capsules, sachets or bottles on other machines, such as blister and clamshell packaging or capsule filling. The finished packs can then be flow wrapped as a group.
Medical and pharmaceutical products run on the same flow wrap machine as other solid products, specified for the job.
A top-roll flow wrapper feeds film from above and pushes the product along a chain infeed. It is the fastest and simplest set-up, and suits rigid items such as cartons and kits.
A bottom-roll (inverted) flow wrapper feeds film from below and carries the product on it. It suits fragile, soft or loose items such as dressings and tubing sets.
A single cutter handles pack lengths that change between runs. A double cutter can increase output on short packs by producing two packs in each cutting cycle, depending on the machine configuration and the product.
For medical production the machine is built in stainless steel. Options include:
Our guide to choosing the right flow wrap machine compares the models.
A flow wrapper seals the pack. It does not sterilise the product.
Whether a flow-wrapped medical pack is a sterile barrier depends on two things the manufacturer controls: the film, and a validated sterilisation and packaging process. Sterile devices use a medical-grade film chosen for the sterilisation method. Where a sterilising gas has to pass through the pack, peelable, breathable materials such as medical paper or Tyvek are used.
Film is also chosen for the protection the product needs: a moisture or oxygen barrier, clear film for inspection, opaque film to shield the product from light, and a surface that takes printed codes.
For non-sterile products, flow wrapping gives a clean, closed pack. Tell us at enquiry whether your product is packed sterile, so the film and seal settings suit your validation.
In South Africa, medicines and medical devices are regulated by SAHPRA, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority. Their production follows GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice).
These rules apply to the manufacturer and the product, not to the wrapping machine. They cover the pack’s labelling, batch traceability and, for sterile devices, the validated packaging process. A flow wrapper supports them by sealing every pack the same way, printing batch and expiry codes, and running in a controlled production area.
Medical packaging flow wrap seals devices, kits and pharmaceutical packs in a coded film pack, on a flow wrapper set up for the product. Send us the product, pack size, film and whether it is packed sterile, and we will specify the machine.
Start with the flow wrap packaging machine, or request a quote.
Yes. A thermal transfer or inkjet coder on the film path prints the batch number and expiry date on each pack. Colour-mark tracking keeps printed film in register, so the code lands in the same place on every pack.
Yes, within the machine’s film width and product height range. Seal temperature, dwell and cutter timing are stored as a recipe for each product on the PLC, so a servo machine changes over quickly. Size the film to your largest product before choosing the model.
Flow wrapping seals each item in its own fitted pack, which suits single devices and kits. Shrink wrapping overwraps cartons or groups products into multipacks. See how pharmaceutical and cosmetic products are shrink wrapped.
Send us your products, pack sizes and volume, and we will specify the flow wrap machine that suits them, with installation by our own technicians, a one-year warranty, CE marking on request and spares held in Johannesburg. You can also send samples for a trial run at our Johannesburg showroom before you buy.
