The Manufacturing Process
The process is highly automated on a blister packaging machine:
Thermoforming: A continuous roll of plastic film is fed into a heating station where it is softened. It is then moved into a forming station where a mold and pressurized air (or a vacuum) shape it into multiple cavities.
Product Loading: The product is automatically or manually placed into the formed cavities.
Lidding & Sealing: A roll of pre-printed backing material (lidding) is fed over the top of the filled blister sheet. A heated platen applies pressure and heat to the lidding, activating the adhesive and sealing it to the flange of the blister sheet.
Die-Cutting & Perforation: The large, sealed sheet is then die-cut into individual blisters packs. Perforations are sometimes added for easy tearing or for multi-packs.
Slitting & Discharge: The waste web (the "skeleton" left over from die-cutting) is wound up for recycling, and the finished individual blister packs are discharged for cartoning.
Environmental Considerations & Trends
This is a major focus area for the packaging industry:
Material Shift: Moving away from PVC to more easily recycled materials like rPET (recycled PET), PET, and PP.
Paper-Based Blisters: Innovations are allowing for blisters made from recycled paper pulp, which are fully recyclable in paper streams.
Monomaterials: Designing the entire pack (blister and lidding) from the same type of plastic (e.g., all PP) to simplify recycling.
Reduced Plastic Use: Optimizing blister design to use the minimum amount of material necessary.
