Common Types And Options For Liquid Packaging Machines

The main packaging forms for liquids include the following:

Bottled	bottle or glass containers	water, juices, beverages, liquid medicines, shampoos, and conditioners.
Bagged	plastic bags, pouches, stand-up pouches, or flexible packaging bags	portable beverages, fruit juices, dairy products, soups, salad dressings
Boxed	paper boxes, cartons, or cardboard boxes	dairy products, juice concentrates, condiments, liquid cleaning products.
Canned	metal or plastic cans	beverages, edible oils, condiments, coffee, powdered milk
Barreled	large plastic or metal barrels	edible oils, chemicals, liquid cleaning agents, liquid fertilizers
Tubed	plastic or metal tubes	cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, adhesives
Ampoules/Vials	small glass vials or ampoules	pharmaceutical industry

Here we will share the main machine types for bagged, bottled, and canned liquids firstly:
For Bagged Liquids:
Vertical Form-Fill-Seal Machine(VFFS), is an automated device used for forming, filling, and sealing pouches. These pouches are typically made from multi-layer composite materials to ensure the freshness and sealing of liquid products. Key features include:
Bag Making: The machine can automatically form bags, typically cutting, positioning, and sealing them from rolled film to form pouches.
Filling: Liquid products are precisely filled into the bags using a measuring pump or other filling devices like piston pumps, ensuring consistency in each package.
Sealing: The machine is capable of sealing the bags, often using heat or pressure to ensure sealing integrity.
Multi-functionality: VFFS machines often perform multiple tasks on a single machine simultaneously, including weighing, filling, sealing, and cutting, enhancing production efficiency.
Applications: VFFS machines are used for packaging liquid products like beverages, juices, dairy products, soups, and salad dressings, particularly for products designed for portability.

Horizontal Form-Fill-Seal Machine: Similar to vertical form-fill-seal machines but work horizontally. They horizontally form the bag, then perform filling, sealing, and cutting.

Multilane Packing Machine: an upgraded version of VFFS, used for packaging multiple pouches simultaneously from a rolled film. They are typically used for packaging liquids, powders, granules, or other small products, splitting them into multiple lanes (usually 2 lanes, 4 lanes, 8 lanes, etc.) to enhance packaging efficiency. Multi-lane packaging machines for liquid|paste are especially suitable for small packaging, single-serving portions, or diversified product packaging.

Automatic Open-mouth Bagging Machine: These machines are used to automatically fill liquid products into pre-made bags, typically encompassing weighing, filling, sealing, and cutting functions.

Bag Sealing Machine: Used to seal already filled bags, typically without liquid filling functions.

For Bottled Liquids:
Bottle Filling Machine: These machines are used to accurately fill liquid products into various types of bottles.
Capping Machine: Used to automatically cap bottles, ensuring proper sealing. These machines can accommodate various types of bottle caps, including screw caps, press caps, and twist caps, among others.
Labeling Machine: Used to automatically apply labels or markings to bottles, providing product information such as name, ingredients, expiration date, and more.
Packaging Machine: Used for automatic packaging of filled bottles, including tasks such as bottle boxing, bottle wrapping, or cartoning and sealing.
Bottle Washing Machine: Used to clean bottles before filling to ensure product hygiene and quality.
The choice of these machine types depends on the nature of the product, packaging requirements, production scale, and the level of automation. Manufacturers typically select liquid packaging machines that suit their specific needs to improve production efficiency and product quality.

Here are some additional  considerations before purchasing the liquid packing machine.
#1. Budget

For example, if the budget is limited, you can choose a semi-automatic bottle-filling capping labeling machine. The full-automatic machine usually costs tens of thousands of USD, in combination with the production line, the connection uses the filling capping labeling machine with a conveyor. The semi-automatic machine costs thousands of USD, stand-alone use, and works independently.

#2. Packaging Requirements

Define your packaging requirements beforehand, this is a way to be more with less.
About filling machine
1. What material is filling?
2. Bottled or bagged?
3. What is the volume for each pack?
4. Size of bottle or bag?
5. Provide finished product pictures
6. How much speed(capacity) is required?
7. What is the inner diameter of the caliber?
8. Where is the bottle’s liquid level?

About capping machine
1. Cap diameter, height and material
2. Size of bottle
3. Provide product pictures
4.How much speed(capacity) is required?

About labeling machine
1. Square bottle and round bottle, with or without taper, better with product picture
2. A single label or double label, a roll of labels, or two rolls of labels
3. Whether there is a transparent label, whether to add a date printer
4. Size of bottle
5. Label size
6. Stand-alone use or connection use
7. Label output way

It is recommended to purchase the packaging machine that is most relevant to your packaging needs. While it is possible to customize the machine to meet a range of packaging requirements, frequent changeovers can waste valuable time and impact productivity.

#3. Plant Size
Evaluate the available floor space to determine if it is sufficient to accommodate the machines you intend to install.
Automated machinery is usually compact, but you should provide space for other packaging functions, such as storage of packaged products, raw materials waiting to be packaged, spare parts, and operator areas.

#4. Supplier reputation
Be careful to check the supplier’s reputation, certifications, and recognition. Check the clarity of the user manual and the available online support.