A skin package is made by sealing product in between a layer of heated plastic, and one of adhesive coated paper.
The plastic is held in a latchable frame that travels between the oven and the vacuum area. Once the plastic is secured and the frame raised out of the way, the paper and product is loaded into the table area and the product placed on top of the paper(seen at right as blue boxes). After the oven heats the plastic for a preset time, the frame lowers, the vacuum is activated, and the vacuum pulls the plastic down over the product against the paper. The hot plastic melts the adhesive, and the paper and plastic are bonded together.
After removal from the machine, the sheet is cut into individual cards and hanghole and rounded corners are added if needed.
Skin Pack Pros
1. Very versatile. The same roll of film can pack an infinite number of products.
2. Multiple items can be packed at the same time
3. Ideal for kits because of flexibility
4. by using a repeating logo, cards of different sizes can be cut from a larger sheet
5. Low startup quantities
Skin Pack Cons:
1. Special machinery needed for packaging
2. Because paper is porous, printing is not sharp.
3. Cutting the sheets apart after packaging can be time consuming if done by hand