Q. Tell us more about Bloom Seal ® ?
A : An important advantage of the Bloom process is that both the inside and the outside surfaces of containers are treated which yields a double layer of protection and potential for greater barrier. Unlike any other technology which has only been commercialized for extrusion blow moulding, any manufacturing process including stretch blow moulding, injection blow moulding and rotation moulding can make containers for Bloom treatment.
Furthermore, conventional moulds are routine equipment and procedures are perfectly suitable. In fact, in most cases, normal stock bottles produced at peak production economics can be run through the Bloom process when an application arises to package some of the more difficult permeating formulations. In many cases there are also important advantages to be found with fabricated assemblies. We usually find that post-mould Bloom Seal ® allows snapped together or fusion welded assemblies to be treated as one unit. Some examples of assemblies are pump sprayers, caps with snap lids and welded up Fuel tank assemblies, which incorporate welded on hose bibs, overflow tanks and hose retainers.

The treatment allows the exposed surfaces of all components to receive a uniform Bloom Seal ® barrier. This usually offers cost saving economics, and in fact, some complex welded items cannot be barrier treated any other way.

Q. What are DOT or UN regulations affecting permeation?
A : The DOT requires if a product is transported overseas that most chemicals and solvents loose less than 2% weight per year. This serves to protect warehouse and shipping personal from excessive fume exposure and to protect the consumer from underweight packaging. Bloom Seal ® can often boost HDPE container performance enough to help you meet these targets. Our customers have found the use of impact resistant HDPE packaging and avoid switching to less desirable glass or metal containers or to more expensive barrier resin or barrier coated containers. Our containers have passed UN certifications through Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) applied for by our customers.

Q. Are there any other benefits from Bloom Seal ® for packaging and containers?
A : Post-Mould Bloom Seal ® TREATMENT, as practiced by Bloom Packaging also provides other beneficial surface modification effects. We have, growing customer base that fluorinate polyethylene containers in order to boost adhesion of inks, coatings and structural adhesives. With proper adhesive selection, it is possible to achieve structural bonds, which in T-peel and lap joint testing, exceed the strength of the base polyethylene. Results from our own tests and reports from our customers indicate that Bloom Seal ® surface effects are much more long lived than alternative surface modification methods like flame, arc tunnel or corona treatment. This enables our customers to draw Bloom Seal ® product from storage over the course of several years and yet achieve consistent adhesion results. Unlike flame, arc and corona treatments, which are well known to fade with time, there is no reported known life time limit for surface Bloom Seal ®.

Q. How can I tell if the container has been Bloom Seal ®ED ?
A : Bloom Seal ® containers are much more water wettable than non-Bloom Seal ®. This can be detected by observing water beads or spread of dyne test fluids. Generally it is best to perform any test on the inside surface of the container as wettability and dyne tests cannot readily discriminate between Bloom Seal ® and flame treatment or corona/arc tunnel surface treatments. Bloom Seal ® containers generally have a detectable loss of subtle indicators, FTIR testing with a surface reflectance sampling accessory to qualify Bloom Seal ® IR absorbance bands are the most effective methods for determining if a container has been Bloom Seal ®ED.

Q. What is a dyne level test?
A : Dyne level is a measurement of the surface energy of a substrate. Both (PP) and (PE) are low energy plastics. Untreated PP and PE have a low dyne reading (usually 30 to 32 dyne). Using Bloom Packaging surface modification treatment will raise the surface energy level and allow adhesives to achieve maximum surface adhesion.

Q. Will treatment interfere with adhesive labels being applied?
A : Customers report few problems in applying labels to Bloom Seal ® containers. Bloom Packaging recommends the label and adhesion be part of the compatibility testing done to qualify the package before going into production.

Q. Can Bloom Packaging treat containers that have paper labels?
A : While some plastic labels are readily compatible with the Bloom Seal ® process, paper labels often present unacceptable technical problems. If labels are a consideration in your container system, it is mandatory to contact us to arrange test Bloom Seal ® TREATMENT of samples to insure compatibility and avoid costly mistakes and delays.

Q. Where can I get my bottles treated?
A : Bloom Packaging Pvt.Ltd., 4th Floor, Readymoney Terrace 167, Dr. A.B. Road, Worli, Mumbai - 400 018, Tel. : 022-24970561. For large volume customers, we could consider special contracted agreements.

Q. How should my containers/items be packed for shipping to you?
A : All containers should be packed in a way that ensures they stay clean and dry.
Customers use all manners of packaging, including reshippers, bulk boxes, tray packs and pallet stacked, depending on what best suits their product. Most utilise poly bag liners in carton.

Q. What are the numbers for permeation rates before and after Bloom Seal ® TREATMENT ?
A : Data does exist for weight loss of pure solvents in Bloom Seal ® containers and for many (but not all) there is a substantial reduction of product loss achieved by Bloom Seal ®. However, we do not advise utilising this data for package engineering. Most product formulations are a complex mixture of ingredients. Some may permeate some may not. Some may be important to efficacy, some may be inert fillers, extenders or carriers. Some may be important, to retain at the levels packaged, others may be inconsequential. Additionally, permeation rates are significantly altered by the presence of co-permeants. An example from the auto industry is that permeation of petroleum fuel through plastic gasoline tanks is increased by the presence of alcohols in the fuel. Traced quantities of fuel injector cleaner in the fuel mix also impact actual fuel permeation rates. Thus it is unreliable to use permeation data for single solvents to predict permeation of complex mixtures. The only valid approach is to perform tests with the actual formulation in each container application.