Index

Our index is designed to get you familiar with some of the technical terms you will notice throughout your experience with REVO®.

Also known as MAP, AP, or gas flushing, this process changes the ambient atmosphere in the pack to extend shelf-life by slowing down spoilage and preserving the food packed.
Co-extruded film is a multilayer film produced by a technique that extrudes thermoplastic resin with multiple extruders and passes that through a single die to build up layers of melted resin both on the inside and outside of a film. A film can be produced on a blown film or cast film extrusion line. It can be made with one layer or multiple layers of material. When a film is made with one layer of material, it is called a mono-layer film. When it is made with multiple layers of material, it is called co-extruded film.
Cylinders are made for each colour layer in the artwork and design file. Each colour is etched into an aluminium cylinder. When used for printing the colours are printed one by one on top of each other to achieve the images needed on the packaging.
Digital printing is a method of printing from a digital-based image directly onto the substrate. Great for low-volume manufacturing, small-run jobs from digital sources are printed using large-format and/ or high-volume laser or inkjet printers. Digital printing has a higher cost per unit than more traditional printing methods.

A Fin Seal (also known as a "fold-over seam") is when both inside edges of the film are sealed together, and the fin is folded over to complete the seal. Flexible films can be made as ready-to-seal packaging or as a roll of roll stock to be used on a vertical or horizontal form fill and seal machine.
Is a method of printing that uses rotary in-line features. Therefore, you can print things on flexible materials, such as paper, plastic, cellophane, and metallic film. With flexo printing, you can have different repeat lengths, use various inks, and more.
Flexography was derived from rubber stamp printing, which became prevalent in the early 1900s. When the FDA deemed the inks being used for the process as unsafe for food packaging, its main use case at the time, changes were made to the inks being used and the process was renamed.
Although the original use of flexographic printing was almost entirely for food packaging, time and technological advancements have made it available for many other applications now. About 60 percent of the packaging industry uses flexographic printing in some way.
Also known as rotogravure printing, is primarily a long-run, high-speed, high-quality printing method. Like engraving, gravure is a form of intaglio printing that produces fine, detailed images. It works well for CMYK printing where each colour of ink is applied by its own cylinder and with drying steps in between.
Like flexography, gravure printing predominates in the high-volume printing of packaging, wallpaper, and gift wrap. Although less common, it also works for printing magazines, greeting cards, and high-volume advertising pieces.
Automatic machine process for high-volume production. Horizontal packing uses a single film coil with three seals: two cross-seals and one longitudinal seal. This type of machine is aimed at food and non-food markets.

Laminated film is a type of plastic film that is used to protect and preserve products. It is made of a base film, such as polyester or polyethylene, and is then coated with an adhesive. The adhesive can be activated either by thermal heat or by high pressure. The lamination process encloses and bonds printed pieces between two pieces of clear plastic film. This transparent film adds strength, rigidity, and protection, which extends the life of the printed pieces. Lamination also enhances the appearance of the printing by deepening and brightening the ink colours. There are different types of laminating films available in the market, such as roll laminating film, pouch laminating film, and self-adhesive laminating film.
Lap Seal also known as “Overlap Seam”, is where the exterior of the film is sealed onto the interior of the film. The choice of seal is determined by the packaging machine and or material type used. The packs can be produced in a number of different sizes and can be produced in a wide range of materials.
Laser scoring is a process in which a laser beam vaporizes portions of the film web. Scoring can be used to create an easy-open feature or a tear line on the finished package. Laser scoring can be performed down the length of the web or across the web.
Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a way of measuring the environmental, economic, and social impacts of a product or service throughout its life cycle, from beginning to end.

A micron (μm), also called a micrometer, is a unit of measurement that equals one millionth of a meter. It’s a pretty small amount- so small that you can’t see it with your naked eye. To put it into perspective, here are some everyday objects and their measurements in microns:
A strand of human hair: 70 microns.
The width of a human blood cell: 8 microns.
The diameter of a human red blood cell: 7 microns.
A grain of salt: 60- 100 microns.
Minimum order quantity refers to the minimum number or amount of packaging you need to order at one time.
Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) is the measurement of the amount of oxygen gas that passes through a substrate over a given period. It is mostly carried out on non-porous materials, where the mode of transport is diffusion, but there are a growing number of applications where the transmission rate also depends on flow through apertures of some description. It relates to the permeation of oxygen through packaging to sensitive foods and pharmaceuticals.
Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than 100 °C (212 °F), to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. The process is intended to destroy or deactivate microorganisms and enzymes that contribute to food spoilage or risk of disease, including vegetative bacteria, but most bacterial spores survive the process.

is the process of breaking down and reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash. The materials that are typically recycled include iron and steel scrap, aluminum cans, glass bottles, paper, wood, and plastics. Recycling helps reduce the quantities of solid waste deposited in landfills, which have become increasingly expensive. It also reduces the pollution of air, water, and land resulting from waste disposal.
In polymer chemistry and materials science, a resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds, in plastics these resins are used to melt into the required product.
Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a supermarket shelf (unfit for sale, but not yet unfit for use). It applies to cosmetics, foods and beverages, medical devices, medicines, explosives, pharmaceutical drugs, chemicals, tyres, batteries, and many other perishable items. In some regions, an advisory best before, mandatory use by or freshness date is required on packaged perishable foods.
Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or "film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in the thermoformer to a high enough temperature that permits it to be stretched into the pocket and cooled to a finished shape. Its simplified version is vacuum forming.

Vacuum packing is a method of packaging that removes air from the package prior to sealing. This method involves placing items in a plastic film package, removing air from inside and sealing the package. Shrink film are sometimes used to have a tight fit to the contents. The intent of vacuum packing is usually to remove oxygen from the container to extend the shelf life of foods and with flexible package forms, to reduce the volume of the contents and package.
The priority among coffee roasters is preserving the original, unimpaired qualities of roasted coffee – otherwise known as “freshness”. If coffee arrives to your consumers stale, it can have a considerable impact on the reputation of your business and its long-term success. One of the most effective ways to preserve the freshness and flavour of your coffee is to fit your coffee bags with a one-way degassing valve.
Moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), also water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), is a measure of the passage of water vapor through a substrate. It is a measure of the permeability of vapor barriers.
There are many industries where moisture control is critical. Moisture-sensitive foods and pharmaceuticals are put in packaging with controlled WVTR to achieve the required quality, safety, and shelf life.
WVTR generally decreases with increasing thickness of the film/ barrier and increases with rising temperature.
Vertical form fill and seal automatic packing machines use a single film roll to obtain a package with three weldings, two cross-weldings, and one longitudinal welding. Its main field of application includes loose products, granulated products, doughy products, or products difficult to handle. This type of machine is aimed at both food and non-food markets.

“Ziplock” is an adjective that describes a sealable plastic bag with a two-part strip along the opening that can be pressed together and readily reopened. The term “ziplock” is derived from the trademarked name of a plastic bag with such a seal Ziploc invented in the 1960s. In packaging, we now have various different types to suit different applications and material structures.