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Contract Slitting 101: A Look at Film Slitting Services and PennPac’s Capabilities

blade

In the manufacturing world, there are lots of different processes that can be used to change a raw material before it becomes a finished product. In the flexible film market, one of the most commonly used processes is roll slitting.

Also referred to as film slitting, toll slitting, or contract slitting, roll slitting can be defined at a high level as a shearing operation that cuts large rolls of materials into smaller rolls.

(And fun fact: most rolls at PennPac are over 7’ wide and have over 10 miles of film on them, weighing close to a ton!)

Let’s take a look at how the roll slitting process works and what PennPac offers in terms of contract slitting services for laminating film and other types of flexible packaging films.

What Materials Can Be Roll Slit?

Many types of materials – both hard and soft – can undergo roll splitting:

  • Sheet metal
  • Foils
  • Textiles
  • Tapes
  • Paper and pulp products
  • Foam
  • Rubber
  • Flexible packaging films, such as those supplied by PennPac

The type of material that is being slit will determine what kind of machine will be used, along with its machine settings, and speed of throughput.

Contract Film Slitting Equipment

There are a number of different types of slitting processes, and typically one machine will not have the ability to cut all materials.

For laminate films and other types of flexible packaging films like BOPP and others, rewind slitting is the common slitting process. The machine that manages this kind of slitting operation is known as a slitter rewinder.

The slitter rewinder has three main sections– the unwind, the slitting zone, and the rewind. The large roll of film often called the master or parent roll, is uncoiled and then run through the slitting zone. The slit film is then recoiled/rewound creating narrower, and/or smaller rolls.

The slitting section is set up to cut the film to a specified width and length. This is accomplished by using strategically placed blades and cutting methods, which vary depending on the type of film being processed, its thickness, and the tolerance required for slitting.

The Benefits of Contract Slitting

Roll slitting services offer a number of benefits:

Versatile. Toll slitting supports many types of materials – from hard metals to soft materials such as cork, felt, paper, and film.

Accurate. Contract slitting offers a high level of accuracy and uniformity to the finished product. Film can be cut to precise tolerances to accommodate a wide range of customer specifications.

Fast. Once machines are set up, the slitting process if very fast. The automated process can deliver fast throughout for fulfilling customer orders.

Minimal Waste. Because of their accuracy, slitter rewinders minimize material waste and reduce the amount of fabrication needed per project.

About PennPac’s Contract Film Slitting Services

slitting machinePennPac offers slitting services for a variety of unprinted, printed, laminated, and monolayer film structures.

Our contract/toll slitting programs are ideal for customers that don’t have the time, facility storage, or resources to handle secondary slitting operations. Printers and laminators send us their WIP to convert to finished goods, warehouse, and ship direct to their customers.

With state-of-the-art slitting equipment in our PA and SC facilities and years of skilled operator experience, we can deliver exceptional roll quality along with competitive pricing and fast delivery.

For customers that handle food grade materials, the quality and integrity of products is maintained during the slitting process. Our Manheim, PA facility holds an SQF (Safe Quality Food) certification – recognized by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) as one of the highest standards in food safety.

11 things to know about PennPac’s roll slit service:

  • Industry-leading delivery times of 2 weeks or less – with next-day order releases for Inventory Stocking Program customers
  • 14 various slitters to reduce web width and diameter of master rolls
  • We can slit 1-1/2” – 91” web and up to 40” OD, both 3” and 6” core
  • Able to accommodate both small and large production quantities to tailor to a variety of toll slitting programs
  • We can resize aged or unusable inventory and also offer roll restoration and rewinding services for crushed or damaged cores
  • Facility and machine redundancy offer reliability and consistency of finished product
  • PennPac can operate within a customer’s ERP/MRP software platform to manage production and inventory
  • Our slitting assets all feature advanced BST CLS Pro 600 edge guiding and line registration equipment for high quality and accuracy
  • Ability to adjust or change roll unwind direction number for printed films
  • We ship direct to the customer upon completion of toll slitting
  • Lot control and traceability for incoming and outgoing materials – and warehousing/logistics management/distribution for scheduled release frequencies

Contact PennPac to Learn More

Make PennPac your choice for contract slitting services! Our team is here to answer your questions and get you started. Connect with us today.