Vertical and horizontal form-fill-seal machines, and the fill-seal machine for premade pouches, side by side.
Key Takeaways
A VFFS machine forms each bag from roll film, the lowest-cost packaging format, so it suits pillow, gusseted and sachet bags at volume.
A premade pouch machine fills and seals stand-up, zipper, spout and flat-bottom pouches made in advance, at a higher cost per pack.
A horizontal form-fill-seal machine forms stand-up and zipper pouches from film, a middle route between the two.
Choose a VFFS machine if you sell in pillow, gusseted or sachet bags and want the lowest cost per pack; choose a premade pouch machine if your product sells in a stand-up, zipper, spout or flat-bottom pouch and the shelf finish matters more than packaging cost. A VFFS machine forms each bag from roll film, fills it and seals it in one run. A premade pouch machine, also called a horizontal fill-seal (HFS) machine, opens, fills and seals pouches bought ready-made. The pack you sell in decides it first, then your volume and how often you change products. Compare both on our form fill seal machines page.
A VFFS machine makes the bag; a premade pouch machine only fills and seals one. On a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine, flat film comes off a roll, wraps around a forming tube, is sealed along its length and across the bottom, filled from above, then sealed and cut at the top. Bag width is set by the forming tube and bag length by the film pull.
A premade pouch machine picks a finished pouch from a magazine, opens it with vacuum and air, fills it, settles the product or flushes it with nitrogen, seals the top and codes the pack. The pouch arrives printed and made, so the machine does no forming: its job is handling, dosing and a clean seal.
Both take the same dosing systems: an auger filler for powders, a multihead weigher or cup filler for granules and snacks, and a pump or piston filler for liquids.
A VFFS machine forming, filling and sealing bags from roll film.
A premade pouch machine opening, filling and sealing ready-made bags.
Roll film costs less per pack. With a VFFS machine you buy plain or printed rollstock and the machine does the forming, so you pay for film rather than a finished bag. A premade pouch has already been printed, cut, formed and sealed by a pouch maker before it reaches your factory, and that work is in the price of every pouch.
The machine side runs differently: a premade pouch machine has no forming section, and its specification is driven by your pouch size range rather than by film. Packaging material is a cost on every pack you sell, so compare the cost per pack over a year of output, not only the machine. A quotation for either machine is built on your pack size range, dosing system, output and options.
| VFFS machine | Premade pouch machine (HFS) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Packaging you buy |
Roll film, plain or printed |
Finished pouches, printed and made in advance |
|
Pack formats |
Pillow, gusseted and sachet bags |
Stand-up, zipper, spout, flat-bottom, 3- and 4-side seal pouches |
|
Cost per pack |
Lowest |
Higher |
|
Size change |
Swap the forming tube and set the bag length |
Reset the grippers and size parts; hold stock of each pouch size |
|
Floor space |
Less for the same output |
Rotary layout is compact |
|
Output |
Typically 20 to 80 bags a minute, by product and model |
Set by pouch, product and dosing; see the examples below |
The pack you sell in points to the machine. Bags formed from film point to a VFFS machine, ready-made retail pouches to a premade pouch machine, and a stand-up pouch made from film to a horizontal form-fill-seal machine.
Forms pillow, gusseted and sachet bags around a forming tube, and pairs with any dosing system. It suits powders, granules, snacks, frozen pieces and liquids in sachets where cost per pack leads. We have supplied VFFS lines for rice, sugar, coffee and wrapped sweets.
Machine page: Vertical form-fill-seal packaging machine
Opens, fills and seals stand-up, zipper, spout and flat-bottom pouches. A rotary layout suits stand-up and zipper pouches with frequent product changes; a linear layout suits resealable retail packs, oxygen-sensitive products and liquids in spouted pouches. Zipper opening, nitrogen flushing and date coding can be added.
Machine page: Horizontal fill-seal packaging machine
Forms flat, stand-up, zipper and shaped pouches as the film travels sideways, then fills and seals them in one run. It is the route to a stand-up pouch at roll-film cost per pack.
Machine page: Horizontal form-fill-seal packaging machine
Related guides: when a premade bag machine is the right choice and HFFS vs VFFS compared. For chips, popcorn and nuts, see the snack packaging machine.
Output depends more on the product, pack size and dosing than on the machine type, but a VFFS machine is usually the faster of the two for simple bags because it forms bags continuously. A VFFS machine typically packs 20 to 80 bags a minute, depending on the model and product. A premade pouch machine adds handling to every cycle: pick, open, fill, settle and seal.
Pouch lines we have supplied show the spread:
Liquids, large bags and zipper opening bring output down on any pouch machine.
A VFFS machine handles new products and pack changes with less packaging stock: a new bag width is a forming-tube swap, a new length is a setting, and a new design is a new roll of film. A premade pouch machine changes size quickly too, and the rotary layout is the one to choose for frequent product changes, but every pouch size and design has to be bought and held before you run it.
Pouch makers usually set a minimum order per design, which ties up stock when you launch products, run seasonal packs or redesign often. Where several products share one pouch, the dosing system can change while the pouch handling stays the same.
If cost per pack and volume lead, choose a VFFS machine. If your pack has to stand, reseal or pour on the shelf, choose a premade pouch machine, or an HFFS machine to form that pouch from film. Compare all three on the form fill seal machines page, then send us your product, pack size and target output for a trial or quotation.
Send us your product, the pack you sell in and the output you need, and we will come back with the machine that suits it: bags from roll film or premade pouches.