Used Band Sealers

A Used Band Sealer Is One of the Easiest Adds to a Packaging Line

Most packaging equipment demands floor space, three phase power, and an integration project. A band sealer usually asks for none of that. Many run on standard 115 volt single phase power, sit on casters, and start closing bags the afternoon they arrive. So if you are hand-sealing today, or nursing a machine that has stopped giving you consistent seals, this is the cheapest meaningful upgrade on the line.

Band sealers also turn over quickly on the used market, which means what is listed here today may not be here next month. Whatever happens to be on the floor, the sourcing side of our business works the same way. Tell us your bag material, your bag size, and the speed you need, and we will go find the machine. We track the plant closures, line changes, and auctions where this equipment surfaces, and we look at machines in person before we buy. Call CWR Resources at 630-262-9595 and we will start looking.

What is a band sealer and how does a continuous band sealing machine work?

A band sealer closes a filled bag by gripping its open top between two opposing belts, usually PTFE coated, and carrying it through the machine without stopping. That is where the name comes from. The bands hold the film under steady pressure while it passes a heated section that melts the inner layers together, then a cooling section that sets the seal before the bag is released.

Most machines finish with knurled wheels that press a decorative pattern into the seal, and many carry a coder that prints a date or lot number in the same pass. Speed is rated in inches per minute, and a continuous band sealing machine will typically run anywhere from a couple hundred up to a thousand IPM depending on film and bag size.

Seal quality comes down to three variables working together: temperature, pressure between the bands, and dwell time. Dwell is set by belt speed, so running faster gives the film less time in the heat. That is why a machine with a wide speed range is worth more than one with a narrow one. It lets you slow down for a heavy foil laminate and open up for a light poly bag without changing anything else.

Vertical band sealer or horizontal band sealer?

This is the first question to settle, because it is determined by your product rather than your preference.

A vertical band sealer carries the bag upright, with the seal head standing vertical alongside it. Contents stay down in the bottom of the bag where they belong, so this is the standard choice for powders, granules, liquids, snacks, and anything loose that would spill or shift. Most food plants run vertical.

A horizontal band sealer lays the bag on its side and conveys it flat. That suits bags too heavy or too floppy to stand on their own, flat pouches, and product that will not slump when tipped. Medical and device packaging often runs horizontal because the pouches are flat to begin with. Some machines convert between the two orientations, though many are built one way and stay that way.

There is a second orientation question that catches buyers out. Band sealers feed either left to right or right to left, and the machine has to match the direction your line already runs. Check it before you buy, the same way you would check case hand on an erector.

Continuous band heat sealer or impulse sealer?

An impulse sealer clamps the bag between jaws, sends current through a wire for a fraction of a second, then holds the bag while the seal cools. One bag at a time, no standing heat, and very little money. For a few dozen bags a day in straight polyethylene, it is the right tool.

A continuous band heat sealer keeps its heaters at temperature all day and lets bags flow through one after another. You get far more throughput, more consistent seals because nothing has to reheat between cycles, and the ability to handle foil laminates and thicker films that an impulse wire struggles with. The rough dividing line is a few hundred bags a shift. Above that, or on any laminate, a used continuous band sealer pays for itself quickly.

How to spec a used band sealer

The more precisely you describe your bag and your line, the faster we can put the right band sealer machine in front of you.

• Bag material and film gauge. Polyethylene, polypropylene, foil laminate, mylar, or paper backed film. Heavier laminates need more heat and more dwell, so this drives the machine.
• Bag size and weight. Filled weight matters as much as dimensions, because a heavy bag hanging from the seal area needs support underneath it.
• Orientation. Vertical or horizontal, determined by whether your product stays put when the bag is tipped.
• Feed direction. Left to right or right to left, matched to your existing line.
• Speed. Inches per minute, and ideally a range rather than a single number so you have room to tune.
• Coding. Whether you need a date or lot coder, and whether an embosser is fitted.
• Conveyor. Heavier bags want a powered support conveyor running in step with the bands.
• Construction. Stainless and washdown rating if you are in food, dairy, or medical.
• Power. Many band sealers run on 115 volt single phase, which is part of why they install so easily.
• Condition. Bands, heater blocks, cooling blocks, and drive. We will tell you exactly where a machine stands before you commit.

Brands we source

• Doboy. Doboy built the first continuous band sealer in 1946 in New Richmond, Wisconsin, and the name has been the North American benchmark ever since. The line passed through SIG and Bosch and now sits with Syntegon, still built in New Richmond. Retired models like the B550 have current successors in the CBS-D range, so parts and service have a live path.
• Emplex. A long-running North American band sealer line, common in food and consumer goods plants and well represented on the used market.
• Audion and Clamco. European and domestic builders respectively, both regular sights in packaging and light industrial operations.
• PAC Machinery and AIE. Broad ranges covering tabletop through production duty, including budget machines that suit lower volume work.

Because band sealers are compact and inexpensive relative to the rest of a line, they tend to move fast when a plant closes or changes format. Every used band sealer for sale on our floor has been looked at by us in person first. Tell us what you need and we will let you know when the right one turns up.

Building out the rest of your line?

A sealer rarely arrives alone. Our used packaging inventory regularly includes bagging machines, form fill seal machines, checkweighers, metal detectors, conveyors, labeling machines, and complete lines. So if you are assembling or upgrading a bagging operation, there is a good chance we can help with more than the sealing step.

Band sealer FAQ

How does a continuous band sealer work?

Two opposing belts grip the open top of a filled bag and carry it through the machine without stopping. The bag passes a heated section that melts the film layers together, then a cooling section that sets the seal under continued pressure. Most machines emboss a pattern into the finished seal, and many print a date or lot code in the same pass.

What is the difference between a vertical and a horizontal band sealer?

A vertical band sealer carries the bag upright so loose contents stay in the bottom, which suits powders, granules, liquids, and snacks. A horizontal band sealer lays the bag flat on a conveyor, which suits heavy bags, floppy bags that will not stand, and flat pouches. Your product decides which one you need.

What is the difference between a band sealer and an impulse sealer?

An impulse sealer heats a wire briefly each time the jaws close, sealing one bag per cycle. A band sealer holds its heaters at temperature continuously and runs bags through in a steady stream. Band sealers handle far more volume and cope with foil laminates and heavier films that an impulse wire struggles with.

What materials can a band sealer seal?

Most heat sealable films, including polyethylene, polypropylene, foil laminates, mylar, cellophane, and paper backed films. Heavier and multi-layer materials need higher temperatures and slower belt speeds, so confirm the machine has the heat and the speed range for your specific film.

What wears out on a used band sealer?

The bands themselves, first and foremost, because they run against heater blocks all day and eventually glaze, stretch, or fray. They are an inexpensive consumable and quick to change on most machines. Beyond that, look at heater and cooling block surfaces, the drive, and the condition of any coder.

Does a band sealer need a conveyor?

Not always. A light bag can hang from the bands and seal fine. But once a filled bag gets heavy, its weight pulls on the seal area and distorts the seal, so a powered conveyor running in step with the bands keeps the bag supported and square through the heat.

What if you don’t have the band sealer I need?

Then we go find it, and this is the situation we are built for. Give us your bag material, bag size, orientation, and target speed, and we will source one.

Do you sell used band sealers nationwide?

Yes. We serve buyers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with equipment staged in every region of the country.

Tell us what you are sealing

If you are shopping for a used band sealer, start with our current inventory at the top of this page, because the machine you need may already be here. If nothing listed fits your bags, don’t wait for a listing to appear. Send us your film, your bag size, and the speed you are after, and we will go find it. Email our machinery experts or call 630-262-9595, and we will put the word out on your behalf.