Bar heat sealer buying guide: Five things to consider when buying a bar heat sealer

Bar heat sealer buying guide: Bar heat sealers (also known as impulse heat sealers) are widely used outside hospital Sterile Service Departments.  They are a popular choice in the dentists, doctor’s surgeries and tattoo/piercing studios. They are also used widely used in the industrial and packaging sector.

However, the choice of different bar heat sealers can sometimes feel overwhelming. In this month’s blog, we take a look at five things you might want to consider before buying a bar heat sealer. Let’s take a closer look:

Consider what material you are sealing

Before you do anything, you should carefully consider what type of material you will be sealing. For example, are you sealing paper/film pouches and reels? Or perhaps you will be sealing foil to foil pouches? Depending on the type of material you are sealing will depend on which bar heat sealer is best.

Maximum sealing width

Unlike a rotary heat sealer, where the sealing width is unlimited, bar heat sealers do have a maximum width that can be sealed. This is because the pouch is laid flat on the surface and a jaw-like heater bar is pushed down onto the pouch. If the pouch is wider than the jaw, it won’t be sufficiently sealed. Therefore, always consider the maximum width of the pouch you are sealing.

Is connectivity important?

Ask yourself if you need any connectivity when choosing a bar heat sealer. For example, do you need to record any data such as number of seals and what temperature they were sealed at? If the answer is ‘yes’, then how would you like to get this data? Some bar heat sealers have a USB port or an RS 232 connection which you can connect to a PC and download the data.

ISO 11607-2 validation

ISO 11607 is the ISO standard which specifies the requirements for packaging terminally sterilised medical devices. Part 2 is the validation requirements for forming, sealing and assembly processes. Before you choose a bar heat sealer, ask if what you are sealing needs to comply with ISO 11607 and if the answer is ‘yes’, then ensure that your heat sealer is compliant to this standard.

Operating your sealer

You will need to decide how you want to operate your bar heat sealer. Most bar type heat sealers use a simple hand operated bar that the user pulls down. However, depending on what you are sealing, you might want to have both hands free when making the seal. For example, you might need two hands to pull the pouch tight so that when it seals, there are no creases in the seal. If this is the case, then you should consider a bar heat sealer that has a foot pedal to operate the sealing function.

How Henderson Biomedical can help

This bar heat sealer buying guide is not the only advice we can give. We are happy to help you with any questions you may have about heat sealers in general.

Furthermore, Henderson Biomedical is the UK distributor of Hawo bar heat sealers. Hawo is the world’s leading manufacturer of bar type heat sealers. You can see the complete range of bar heat sealers by visiting our dedicated webpage. For more information or if you would like a quotation, feel free to contact us on 020 8663 4610 or complete our online form and somebody from the team will get back to you as soon as possible.