If you are sealing bags with a heat sealer for retail sale purposes, your probably want something that looks presentable an professional. For this purpose, there are heat sealers that don’t just “seal” the bag shut, but use a professional cross-hatch or honeycomb pattern as well has have a built in cutter. There are machines out there that can do both.

I would say that at least 70%+ people out there simply want something that is functional and that gets the job done quickly and effectively. The other group of people also wants something presentable as well as professional in the finished product.

Those who simply want the job completed usually want a sealer for preservation, protection or for bulk packaging purposes. They don’t need “pretty,” they simply need “functional.” In these situations, they customer usually doesn’t need a wide seal or a built in trimmer. Some people, however, do need these qualities in a machine.

I spoke with a person today who wanted a 8″ wide heat sealer. I thought to myself, “I’ve got a great selection of Tish and Traco handheld sealers that should work!” I then went on to direct the customer to a few pages. I was specifically showing them the AIE-200, the AIE-205 and the TISH-200. These particular models I was showing the customer did not impress. The customer went on to tell me that they already had an AIE handheld sealer and they did not like the solid sealing pattern that it had.

After pinpointing exactly what the customer wanted, I discovered they wanted a machine with a wider seal and a “professional” finish. In particular, they wanted a crosshatch sealing pattern rather than a solid seal. It just so happens that AIE makes a few impulse bag sealers that have a honeycomb pattern. When I pointed this out to the customer, they were pretty excited. Some models even include a built in cutter, designed to trim off excess plastic. This is ideal for products that are going to be presented in a retail setting.

One great model that I recommended to our customer is the AIE-210C. This medical impulse bag sealer has a 10mm wide seal and uses a honeycomb texture pattern. The end results look great. It can be used for medical packaging or for other bag sealing purposes. You can find the AIE-210C impulse bag sealer here.

I have found that heat sealers by AIE and Traco are the best out there. You can find our entire selection of impulse bag sealers here. Please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions. Also feel free to post a comment with any questions.

Heat sealers are great machines to have on hand. They can be used to package and seal most plastic bags. While heat sealers vary in sealing length, they also vary in sealing width. So which sealing width is best for packaging your products?

As should probably come as no surprise, the thicker the sealing width, the more durable the seal. I have found that as the sealing length goes up, the sealing width increases to compensate for the added pressure from the larger contents of the bag. This isn’t, however, always the case.

If you have found a heat sealer of equal length, but of varying sealing widths, there are a few things you will want to take into consideration.

If you are sealing liquids, powders or other fluidic products, you may want to use a wider sealing width. This is because liquids, powders and other pliable products can quickly produce added pressure in a single area during shipping and transport. More pressure could create a rupture if the sealing width is too small.

If you are packaging solid products, food, parts and other materials, you may be fine with a thinner sealing width. Remember, the smaller the sealing width the less film and bag you will end up using. Sealers with smaller sealing widths also typically cost less money.

If in doubt, a thicker sealing width will certainly not hurt anything and will provide you with added protection.

Common sealing widths include:

1. 2mm (most common)
2. 5mm
3. 10mm
4. 15mm (typically the largest)

A few additional features you may find in a heat sealer includes a magnetic lockdown (for convenience) and a built-in cutter for slicing off excess plastic.

You can find our entire selection of heat sealers here. Feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any heat sealer related questions.

Do you need to quickly seal up balloons, small gift bags or other novelties? One great way to do this is by using a handheld bag sealer. One model you may want to consider is the 6″ Traco THC-150 handheld crimp-style bag sealer. This is my review.

Traco is one of the largest manufactures of shrink wrap equipment, supplies, heat sealers and bag sealers in the United States. Their products have developed a great reputation and are considered to be an affordable alternative to other more expensive products on the market.

The THC-150 is designed to seal bags up to 6″ wide. As mentioned earlier, this may include balloons, gift bags, small retail bags and more. It can be used with materials like polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, foil, surlyn, Mylar and bubble packaging. It is a very versatile sealer.

Sealing is done via a constant-heat Teflon sealing surface. This means that it can be used for repeat sealing and is great for keeping up with a wide variety of projects. I would rate this sealer as a light to medium-volume sealer.

The THC-150 only weighs in at 1 pound, so it is extremely portable. It is also fairly compact, which means it can be placed in most drawers and cupboards for storage purposes.

The housing of the THC-150 is made out of plastic. Once plugged in, it takes about 10-15 minutes before it is fully warmed up and ready to use. Sealing only takes a few seconds. It can seal bags up to 0.010″ thick.

While the THC-150 isn’t the best bag sealer Traco has to offer (no slitter or impulse sealing), it is an affordable alternative that is capable of keeping up with most jobs. The build quality is great for what it is and it should hold up well.

You can find the Traco THC-150 handheld crimp-style bag sealer here. You can find our entire selection of heat and bag sealers here.

Bag sealers are a very important tool in the retail and packaging market. Bag sealers (aka heat sealers) can be used to seal a wide variety of PVC, poly, foil, mylar and other bags. They can also be used to seal bubble pack bags and padded mailers. If you need a good solid bag sealer, you may want to consider our Traco TISH impulse bag sealers. I have used these and this is my review.

One of the most popular bag sealers we sell is the AIE line of handheld sealers. The Traco TISH line the second most popular line we offer and it is quickly rising in popularity. This is due in part to the excellent pricing and the fact that TISH sealers are made from the same parts as the AIE sealers. This means the TISH sealers equal the quality of AIE sealers, usually at a much better price.

Traco has been making shrink wrap equipment and machines for years. Manufacturing impulse bag sealers fit right in with their existing product line.

The TISH line of impulse heat sealers comes in a variety of different designs. These include the TISH-100, TISH-200, TISH-200C, TISH-300 and the TISH-300C. These sealers are all very similar in make and construction. The biggest difference is the cutting width. Models ending in “C” include a built-in cutter.

These sealers use impulses of electricity to quickly seal bags shut. This is a huge advantage over traditional heat sealers as impulse sealers produce less smoke and less odor.

The TISH line of bag sealers can be used to seal polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, foil and surlyn, mylar or bubble pack / padded mailers. This makes the TISH sealers extremely versatile.

Very little training is needed to get one of these bag sealers up and running. Once the time duration has been set, simply plug in the machine, insert a bag and pull down the arm. In just seconds a bag will be completely sealed shut.

The TISH line of sealers weigh in at 6-12 pounds shipped, depending on the model. This makes them very light and very portable. This is great, especially for packaging operations that require a portable machine.

We have been selling TISH bag sealers for several years now and I am not aware of any quality issues. The build quality seems to be right where it should be. Traco claims, and I agree, that the TISH bag sealers are designed to hold up for years.

You can find our Traco TISH bag sealers here. You can find our entire selection of heat sealers and bag sealers here.

So you need to seal products in a bag and need a reliable impulse hand sealer to get the job done. Which model should you go with? One model that you may want to consider using is the AIE impulse bag and hand sealer. This is my review.

To begin with, AIE has been making hand sealers and shrink wrap machines for years. AIE stands for American International Electric. AIE is especially known for their exceptional build quality and reliability.  AIE tests all their sealers in their West Coast facility and provides a warranty that guarantees dependability and durability.

We carry a wide variety of AIE impulse hand sealers. The biggest difference between models is the sealing length and the sealing width. Models range from four-inches long to 20 plus inches long.

The sealing width ranges from 2 mm to 10 mm. The bag thickness these sealers can handle ranges from 5 mil to 8 mil (on select models). The “C” version of our impulse hand sealers include a sliding cutter. Some of these sealers even include a holding magnet for convenience.

Models include: AIE-100, AIE-200, AIE-200C, AIE-205, AIE-205C, AIE-300, AIE-300C, AIE-305, AIE-305C, AIE-400, AIE-400C, AIE-405, AIE-500.

Our sealers can be used to seal most plastic bags without any issue. AIE hand sealers provide exceptional air and watertight seals on most plastic materials up to about 6 mil. This includes  poly bags, mylar bags and much more. This may be to package food, protect products or for display purposes.

Customer satisfaction with AIE impulse hand sealers is exceptionally high. I very rarely hear about any customer service issues with these machines.

You can find our standard AIE impulse hand sealers here. You can find our AIE impulse hand sealers with cutters here. You can find our entire selection of impulse hand sealers here.