THE LAP SEAM: 
Bag integrity relies to a great extent on how the lap seam is glued. Most frequently, problems have arisen where bags are stored outside in cold and dry climates. The materials get brittle and the seam is compromised. In the early days of making BOPP bags the solution was to convert from glue to an extrusion lap seam. But today improvements have been made in hot melt glues; if the manufacturer is willing to invest in a superior glue, it can be used with confidenc

BAG LENGTH: 
While graphics typically determine a bag’s width, bag lengths often vary where gear-driven cutting systems are employed. Bags are cut according to an “eye spot,” a rectangular black bar printed on the bag that triggers the knife. With a gear-driven system, the trigger tends to gain over time, adding length to the bags. The variations create problems for automated fillers. Anduro employs a servo-motor system to control the rotary knife, wherein a sensor catches the “eye spot” and trips the knife to fire precisely at that point for a consistently accurate bag length.

PACKING AND PALLETIZING: 
Just as critical as making and finishing bags with precision is packing them in pallets so they ship and unpack without wrinkling. Wrinkled bags don’t perform well on automated filling equipment. Bags are packed manually, and packing personnel must build the stack in a jigsaw-puzzle style manner so as to ensure the bags don’t wrinkle when compressed. Once the bags are stacked properly, the pallets are reinforced with angle brackets to prevent them from collapsing and damaging the bags. At the Anduro plant, we use hardwood pallets that hold up to 6,000 bags, so shipping is cost-efficient and the bags are afforded maximum protection.