Three grades, one logic: a vacuum-deposited layer on a base film, supplied as roll stock with the values, tolerances and documents that go with the lot. AlOx on BOPP, AlOx on PET, and metallized PE — each specified so a converter can qualify it without a phone call.
18 µm · transparent · PP stream
Full specification40 µm · sealant / barrier core · PE stream
Full specification12.0–12.5 µm · transparent · not mono-material
Full specificationSpecimen renders shown flat under a single light. Barrier values are stated as measured on the grade sheet: OTR at 23 °C / 0 % RH, WVTR at 38 °C / 90 % RH.
Every grade is a vacuum-deposited layer on a base film. What changes is the base — and with it the recycling stream the finished pack belongs to, the barrier ceiling, and the machine settings.
Aluminium-oxide coated BOPP, 18 µm. High barrier against oxygen and aroma while the pack stays clear, so the product is still visible on shelf. Microwaveable and metal-detectable — the two things a metallized layer cannot offer.
Two vacuum-metallized PE grades: a sealant grade (metal on one face, high seal strength on the other) and a high-barrier core grade for the middle layer of a three-layer PE structure. 40 µm standard, 50–80 µm made to order.
Aluminium-oxide coated PET — the same transparent barrier on a stiffer, heat-resistant base, for formats where a mono-material stream is not a requirement. Retort grades on request; thickness and barrier values follow the TDS for the grade quoted.
A laminate solves barrier with materials that cannot be separated again. A coated mono-material solves it with a layer thin enough to ignore at the sorting line.
Three polymers and a metal layer · no route back into a polymer stream.
One polymer · sorts, washes and reprocesses as PE. Thickness values are typical; the grade sheet carries the measured range.
A PET/Al/PE laminate has no route back into a polymer stream. A PE/PE structure with a metallized layer does: it is sorted as PE, washed as PE and reprocessed as PE. The barrier performance that made foil necessary is replaced by a coating thin enough that it does not change the polymer identity.
What it costs is discipline in the layer order. The coating is a surface, so it belongs inside the laminate with the print web on the outside of it — the drawing above is the specification, not a marketing picture.
AlOx on BOPP gives oxygen and aroma barrier in a clear film. A vacuum-metallized PE layer gives moisture and light barrier — and, as the core grade, oxygen barrier — without adding a metal layer the recycler has to separate. Neither changes the machines: print, laminate and seal on the equipment you run today.
Start from the market, not from the film: the structure a converter is already running decides which grade applies — and, just as often, which one to rule out.
| Market | Typical structure | Grade | What the film buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate & confectionery | PP / AlOx-BOPP / PP | ALOX BOPP | Transparent barrier without a metallized look; aroma retention |
| Biscuits, crackers, bakery | PP / AlOx-BOPP / PP | ALOX BOPP | Moisture and oxygen barrier with print on the outer web |
| Snacks, nuts, dried fruit | PE / metallized PE / PE | VMPE core | Light and moisture barrier at snack-line speeds |
| Retort pouches, dairy lids | PET / AlOx-PET / CPP or PE | ALOX PET | Transparent barrier where retort heat rules out BOPP |
| Coffee & tea | PE / metallized PE / PE | VMPE core | Aroma and moisture barrier in a full PE structure |
| Stand-up pouches, VFFS / HFFS | PE / metallized PE | VMPE sealant | Heat-sealable barrier web; two layers instead of three |
| Personal care, wipes | PP / AlOx-BOPP / PP | ALOX BOPP | Clear film with fragrance and moisture barrier |
| Thermal covers, insulation | Metallized PE, single web | VMPE sealant | Reflectivity and reduced heat transfer; supplied as film, not as finished goods |
Application notes: coffee packaging · snacks and confectionery · dry pet food · clear-window packaging · documentation and samples.
Short technical notes on AlOx, metallized film and the regulations moving around them — written for converters who have to defend a structure in front of their own customer. Published as new lots are run.
The recyclability requirement lands on the converter, but the decision starts at the film. Which documents to prepare now, and which claims to stop making.
2 November 2026 · 6 min read Technical · specificationTwo rolls can carry the same barrier claim and behave differently on your line. The four conditions that decide whether a number is comparable.
28 Sep 2026 · 8 min read Materials · AlOxThinner runs faster and converts worse; thicker costs resin for barrier you already have. Where the gauge settles, and what it does to seal and print.
09 Sep 2026 · 5 min readA film is qualified on a line, not in a brochure. The three steps below are the whole path from first roll to a running order.
A roll at your width with the lot data sheet — enough for print, lamination and seal trials, not for a production run.
You run it on the machine that will run production. Adhesion, seal window and print results are recorded against the grade.
The trial lot becomes the reference. Any change to base film, coating or additive goes through a new trial, never a silent substitution.
Thickness, width and the process you run are enough for a grade recommendation and a sample roll.