Materials Testing

Before a product ever reaches the customer, product owners manage both the quality of their products and the packaging materials used to hold and protect them. If, for example, the packaged product’s materials allow harmful chemical leaks or endure transportation challenges during transit, product owners may be vulnerable to product recalls and even legal action. To mitigate risk and deter the dangers resulting from ill-designed or contaminated packaging materials, testing data is collected and analyzed to ensure containers are safe for transit before they make their way to the marketplace.

What Is Materials Testing?

Materials testing and analysis is critical to showing or confirming material properties when evaluating package integrity. The information dispelled from testing can then be used for quality assurance to guarantee the proper packaging system is in place prior to product shipment. There are many factors that can jeopardize the integrity of packaged products, whether in route or in the hands of the customer. Packaging materials must successfully endure conditions such as extreme temperatures, temperature variations, compression, vibration, impact, shock, drop, reduced pressure, and changes in altitude. Materials testing assesses the material components’ ability to not only endure these events, but to do so while keeping the integrity and performance of the product it houses.

How We Test The Materials Of Your Packaged Product

Adhesives Materials Testing

Packaging adhesives face a multitude of stressors over their lifespan and as such, are subjected to a wide range of forces. Adhesive substances used in packaged products for adherence or binding may commonly include pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes, epoxies, sealants, and thermosetting structural adhesives. Adhesive performance testing can be used to decide peel strength loads and calculate the adhesive strength per unit width of adhesive, which helps evaluate the long-term reliability and durability of adhesive products used.

Corrugated Materials Testing

Corrugated materials are often subjected to compressive forces and run the risk of damage when exposed to moisture or environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. Calculating the maximum compression forces that the material can endure is critical to mitigating potential damages that may occur during the distribution cycle or at any point of exposure to hazardous conditions. The data collected during testing of corrugated materials can be used to improve packaging systems, optimize shipping costs, and create more sustainable packaging solutions.

Cushioning Materials Testing

Regardless of a package’s shape or size, the product contained within will always receive help from having the proper packaging that has been evaluated for familiar challenges, including shock and vibration during transport. While a product’s weight, density, general size, and other attributes will help decide the right kind of cushioning to use, how much and which type(s) of cushioning to use requires expert understanding of the benefits of various kinds of cushioning. Cushion testing should include evaluations for packaging characteristics like density, flexibility, dimensional stability, and anti-static treatment, and more.

ASTM D1596 - Test Method for Dynamic Shock Cushioning Characteristics of Packaging Material
ASTM D2221 - Test Method for Creep Properties of Package Cushioning Materials
ASTM D3332 - Test Methods for Mechanical-Shock Fragility of Products, Using Shock Machines
ASTM D3576 - Test Method for Cell Size of Rigid Cellular Plastics

Tensile Materials Testing

Tensile testing is one of the most important packaging material evaluations for almost any product packaging. By deciding the force needed to stretch a certain material to its breaking point, specific material properties, like yield strength, can be determined to better inform packaging design and make predictions about material and product behaviors in different environments or conditions. Tensile testing may be used for packaging material types such as metals, alloys, composites, polymers, ceramics, plastics, wood, and more.

ASTM D412 - Test Methods for Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Elastomers – Tension
ASTM D638 - Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics
ASTM D1708 - Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics by Use of Microtensile Specimens
ASTM D3759/D3759M - Test Method for Breaking Strength and Elongation of Pressure-Sensitive Tape
TAPPI T494 - Tensile Properties of Paper and Paperboard (Using Constant Rate of Elongation Apparatus)

Why Purple Diamond?

At Purple Diamond, our expert engineers perform rigorous materials testing to better understand and improve on the properties that protect your packaged product. In our dedicated Materials Laboratory, Purple Diamond can evaluate the strength and fragility of products, including plastics or films, corrugated materials, labels or adhesives, and paper materials. We evaluate packaging materials to thoroughly evaluate what materials you are using, where they come from, and what they can withstand to support your product.

At Purple Diamond, we offer a free consultation or a guided tour of our facilities. Consultations can be done over the phone or on zoom, so choose what suits you best. To get in touch, go to our Contact Us page and fill out the form or book an appointment using the calendar below. Our goal is to assist you in any way possible, so please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thank you so much for reading down this far and thank you for considering Purple Diamond as your dedicated testing, engineering, and design facility for all of your packaging needs.

Purple Diamond follows the testing standards and protocols set forth by organizations such as ASTM and TAPPI when testing packaging materials. Our team is committed to delivering high-quality results as we develop a comprehensive solution to your specific materials testing needs. Thank you for reading this page!

Related Testing Standards

ASTM

ISTA

TAPPI

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Accreditations

Achieving ISO 17025

Achieving ISO 17025 Accreditation is the pinnacle in third-party laboratory testing accreditation. It confirms that the facility has management, quality, and technical systems in place to ensure accurate and reliable analyses.

International Safe Transit Association

ISTA is revered as the certification standard for package testing for distribution. ISTA’s Testing Protocol remains a series of testing methodologies and standards well recognized within the packaging community.

Un Certification for Packaging

A select few companies are authorized by PHMSA as an approved third-party packaging testing laboratory in accordance with Hazardous Materials Regulations, critical to ensuring safe transport of dangerous goods.

Affiliations

ASTM INTERNATIONAL

With over 12,000 standards globally, ASTM International’s fully transparent standards development enhances performance and confidence in consumer choices.

TAPPI

The Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry’s peer-reviewed standards improve production through operational methods and industry recognized best practices.

The APASS program was designed by Amazon to help support vendors, sellers, and manufacturers in obtaining certification of their products as Frustration Free Packaging (FFP), Ships in Own Container (SIOC), or Prep-Free Packaging (PFP).

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