Smarter Resealable Packaging Starts Here: The Inno-Lok Advantage
Resealable packaging has become increasingly common across food, pet care, household, and other flexible packaging applications. For manufacturers using verticalform-fill-seal (VFFS) equipment, however, adding a zipper can introduce additionalequipment requirements, changeovers, setup time, and material considerations. Prezippered rollstock offers another approach.
What Is Inno-Lok?
Inno-Lok is a patented pre-zippered rollstock system in which a resealable zipper is applied to printed rollstock before the material reaches the packaging line.
The finished rollstock can then run through compatible existing VFFS equipment, where the package is formed, filled, and sealed in the same general process as conventional rollstock. Because the zipper is already incorporated into the web, manufacturers can add a resealable closure without installing a traditional inline zipper applicator.
For operations already built around VFFS production, this can provide a more straightforward way to introduce resealability while maintaining an existing packaging format.
No Equipment Investment Required
Traditionally, adding zipper capability to a VFFS line can require additional machinery, tooling, installation, and operator training. It may also introduce another variable into line setup and changeovers.
With pre-zippered rollstock, the zipper application takes place before the material arrives at the customer's facility. This can reduce the amount of additional equipment and process changes required at the packaging line.
For manufacturers evaluating resealable packaging, this is an important distinction: rather than redesigning the production line around the zipper, the zipper is incorporated into the rollstock itself.
Waste-Free and Production-Friendly
Because Inno-Lok is supplied as pre-zippered rollstock designed to run on VFFS equipment, it integrates into existing production processes with minimal disruption. Scrap and waste levels remain comparable to standard rollstock, while manufacturers can avoid some of the added material handling, setup, and changeover requirements associated with other resealable packaging formats.
The result is added package functionality while keeping the converting and filling process as close as possible to the manufacturer’s established workflow.
Customized to Your Product and Brand
The zipper is only one part of the package. The rollstock structure still needs to protect the product, perform correctly on the filling line, and present the brand effectively at retail.
Inno-Lok rollstock can be produced with up to three-ply laminated structures and a range of moisture- and oxygen-barrier films depending on product and shelf-life requirements.
Printing options include up to 10 colors, along with registered matte and gloss varnishes. Specialty coatings can also be incorporated for specific applications, including anti-fog coatings for products such as fresh produce and UV-resistant finishes for products exposed to sunlight or outdoor environments.
These options allow the package structure, graphics, and functional properties to be designed around the requirements of the product rather than the zipper alone.
A Natural Pairing: EZ-Stand Pouch
Resealability can also be combined with a stand-up format.
EZ-Stand is a rollstock system in which a bottom gusset is applied to the printed web before it reaches the filling line. The material can then be converted into a stand-up package on compatible VFFS equipment.
For manufacturers that want the shelf presence of a stand-up pouch but prefer to continue producing packages from rollstock, this provides another option beyond conventional pre-made pouches.
EZ-Stand and Inno-Lok can also be used together, combining a bottom gusset with a resealable zipper in a rollstock-based package.
