Film Width and Cutoff Length Are Your Cost per Sachet

The Cost Formula

Cost per sachet = web width × cutoff × film price per m². Worked example, 4-lane stick pack, 25 mm per stick (100 mm web), 95 mm cutoff, film at $0.032/m²... per m² equivalent pricing on a $2.6/kg laminate:

Both moves require only that the seal margins and fill head clearance still fit — which is a sachet-design question, not a machine purchase.

Lane Planning Sets Machine Class

• 1–2 lanes: economy machines, 60–150 sachets/min total — fine for regional volumes.
• 4–6 lanes: the workhorse class; 240–600/min with modest stroke rates.
• 8+ lanes: pharmacy/electrolyte scale; demands precision web steering and jaw zoning.

More lanes raise output but multiply registration risk — every lane multiplies the cost of a drifting eye-mark. Servo cutoff with print registration stops being optional above 4 lanes.

Field Data: A Thai Electrolyte Stick-Pack Line

A Bangkok pharma-adjacent maker ran 4-lane electrolyte stick packs (25 × 95 mm) at 240 sticks/min. The sachet had been dimensioned generously years ago; fill occupied only 60 mm of the 95 mm cutoff, and manual re-registration wasted 25 minutes per shift.

We re-cut the format to 88 mm cutoff (fill 60 mm, seal margins held), re-negotiated the web to 96 mm, and added servo eye-mark cutoff. Combined result over the next production year:

Design the sachet before buying the machine: Get your film supplier and filler maker in one meeting on seal margins, fill head clearance, and print repeat. A 5–10% material saving decided there outweighs most machine-price differences.

Where Buyers Mis-Specify

• Inheriting old sachet dimensions. Formats cut for hand-filling carry dead material — re-derive cutoff from fill volume plus margins.
• Lanes without registration. Above 4 lanes, a non-servo cutoff trims into print across a lane a dozen times a shift.
• Machine price over film price. You buy the machine once; you buy the film every day of the line's life.

Compliance by Region

European Union

EU food 10/2011 / pharma GMP as applicable, CE machinery, average net-weight rules, child-resistant considerations for pharma stick packs.

United States

FDA food or 21 CFR 111 for supplements, NIST net-content, UL electrical.

Southeast Asia

Halal for electrolyte/food variants; humidity drives seal design — wider margins in wet season to absorb film curl.

Middle East

GCC/SASO conformity, Arabic labeling; foil-based laminate common for pharmacy stick packs in the Gulf.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate film per sachet?

Web width × cutoff length, per lane — then multiply by lanes per web and compare to your film price per m².

How short can my cutoff go?

Fill height + top seal (8–10 mm) + bottom seal (8–10 mm) + 2–3 mm safety. Below that, fill splashes into the seal zone.

Servo cutoff — worth it?

Above 4 lanes or any printed laminate: yes. Registration stops are the hidden output tax on non-servo machines.

Stick pack or flat sachet?

Sticks for single-serve powders at volume (narrow, many lanes); flat sachets for larger doses or wet wipes-style products.

Written by Helen Xu | Chief Industrial Application Engineer

Helen Xu is a Chief Industrial Application Engineer with 9 years of specialized experience in packaging machinery and liquid filling machine design, equipment model selection, and full production line process optimization. He focuses on delivering customized packaging & filling solutions for pharmaceutical, food, and chemical manufacturing industries, with mature practical expertise in GMP compliance, ISO 9001 quality management standards, and turnkey large-scale filling & packaging production line integration.