Metallized PE
Vacuum-metallized polyethylene in two grades. VMCPE is the heat-seal grade: metal on one face, high seal strength on the other, so a three-layer laminate becomes a two-layer recyclable structure. VMNCPE is the high-barrier core grade: it sits in the middle of a three-layer PE structure and carries no heat seal. VMCPE ships at 40 µm standard with 50–80 µm made to order; VMNCPE is quoted across 40–100 µm.
- Stream
- PE
- VMCPE (sealant)
- 40 µm
- VMNCPE (core)
- 40–100 µm
- MOQ
- 1 pallet
Specification
Two grades, one base film and one metallized face. What separates them is the other face: VMCPE seals on it, VMNCPE leaves it to the lamination. Every figure below is read off the current TDS; the lot certificate is what binds the roll that ships.
Sealant grade or core grade
VMCPE is the heat-seal grade. It is metallized on one face and carries a high seal strength on the other, so a reverse-printed PE web, an adhesive and this film make a two-layer recyclable structure: the replacement for the traditional reverse-printed / adhesive / barrier / adhesive / sealant stack. It is the grade for VFFS and HFFS lines, and for stand-up and peg-display pouches.
VMNCPE is the high-barrier core grade, and it does not seal. It goes in as the middle layer of a three-layer mono-material PE structure — printed PE / adhesive / VMNCPE / adhesive / PE sealant — and it can be run through dry or solvent-free lamination. Its place is the inside of the laminate, where the barrier has to be, not the surface that closes the bag.
The numbers follow the two jobs. VMCPE gives 2.1 g/(m²·24h) WVTR and ≤ 80 cm³/(m²·0.1MPa·24h) OTR — enough for a web that seals and carries the barrier at the same time. VMNCPE is the tighter of the two: WVTR and OTR both at or below 1, measured on the film; after lamination its oxygen barrier is better than the original single film.
| Property | Method · unit | VMCPE (sealant grade) | VMNCPE (barrier core grade) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thickness | ASTM D374 · µm | 40 | 40 |
| Thickness tolerance | ASTM D374 · % | ±5 | ±5 |
| Tensile strength, MD | ASTM D882 · MPa | 44 | 36 |
| Tensile strength, TD | ASTM D882 · MPa | 31 | 22 |
| Elongation at break, MD | ASTM D882 · % | 557 | 840 |
| Elongation at break, TD | ASTM D882 · % | 779 | 178 |
| Coefficient of friction | ASTM D1894 · — | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Aluminium layer thickness (O.D) | X-rite 361 · O.D | 2.3 | 1.88 |
| Aluminium adhesion (3M tape) | 3M tape · % | 0 | 0 |
| Water vapour transmission (WVTR) | ASTM F1249 · g/(m²·24h) | 2.1 | ≤ 1 |
| Oxygen transmission (OTR) | ASTM D3985 · cm³/(m²·0.1MPa·24h) | ≤ 80 | ≤ 1 |
Supply
- VMCPE gauge
- 40 µm standard · 50–80 µm made to order
- VMNCPE gauge
- 40–100 µm quoted per order
- Roll width
- Up to 3,000 mm slit to requested width
- Outside diameter
- 440 mm max
- Standard roll length
- 3,700 m
- Core
- Ø76 / Ø152 mm
- Minimum order
- 1 pallet
- Lead time
- 10–15 days by width
How it runs
The grade decides the process: VMCPE goes onto a filling line as a sealant web, VMNCPE goes into a laminator as the barrier core. The points below are the ones that decide the trial.
- Sealant grade
- VMCPE VFFS, HFFS
- Core grade
- VMNCPE dry or solvent-free lamination
- Metallized face
- Product side
- Seal face
- High seal strength, VMCPE
- Storage
- Dry, out of direct light
Which face goes where
The metallized face carries the barrier and belongs on the product side. The seal is made on the high-seal-strength face of VMCPE; on VMNCPE the free face takes the lamination adhesive. Both faces are marked on the roll label — reversing them is the most common way a trial loses its barrier or its seal.
Two-layer and three-layer builds
On a two-layer job the VMCPE web is the inner web: reverse-print the PE, laminate it, and the pack closes on the high-seal-strength face. On a three-layer job VMNCPE sits between the printed PE and the PE sealant, and the dry or solvent-free lamination the TDS lists is what puts it there. Stand-up and peg-display pouches run on the same two structures; VFFS and HFFS are the listed converting routes for both grades.
What the trial has to prove
The seal window on your machine for VMCPE, the adhesion and finished-laminate barrier for VMNCPE, and the WVTR of the finished pack rather than of the film alone on both. The TDS calls its figures typical product information and not a guarantee, which is why the roll that ships carries its own certificate.
Where Metallized PE is the right call
Structures that are already PE, and builds where the film's job is to reflect rather than to print. SEALANT is VMCPE; CORE is VMNCPE.
| Market | Typical structure | Grade | What the film buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snacks, nuts, dried fruit | PE / VMNCPE / PE sealant | CORE | Light and moisture barrier inside a full-PE structure |
| Coffee & tea | PE / VMNCPE / PE sealant | CORE | Aroma and moisture barrier held in the middle layer |
| Pharmaceutical sachets | PE / VMNCPE / PE sealant | CORE | Light protection with the barrier buried in the laminate |
| Stand-up & peg-display pouches | Reverse-printed PE / adhesive / VMCPE | SEALANT | Two-layer recyclable pouch with a high-strength seal |
| VFFS and HFFS bags | Reverse-printed PE / adhesive / VMCPE | SEALANT | Sealant web that carries the barrier at line speed |
| Thermal covers, insulation | VMCPE, single web | SEALANT | Reflectivity and reduced heat transfer |
| Protective covers, blankets | VMCPE, laminated | SEALANT | Reflective barrier for covers and liners |
Documentation
Issued per grade and per lot. Ask for the full pack with the sample roll rather than later, once the claim is already in a customer's hands.
Technical data sheet
Every value on this page with its method, for VMCPE and for VMNCPE.
Certificate of analysis
Measured thickness, width, length and barrier for the delivered roll.
Food-contact documentation
FDA compliance; EU 10/2011 migration test report supplied with the sample.
Recyclability statement
PE stream, density and label conditions for a converter's own claim.
Questions we get before the trial
If the answer you need is not here, ask it directly — technical questions get an engineer's reply, not a brochure.
Sealant grade or core grade — which one?
Look at the structure. A two-layer pack — reverse-printed PE, adhesive, then one metallized PE web that also seals — takes VMCPE: metallized on one face, sealing on the other. A three-layer pack — printed PE, adhesive, a barrier web, adhesive, PE sealant — takes VMNCPE in the middle, where it carries the barrier and never has to seal. Replacing a traditional three-layer laminate with a two-layer recyclable one is what VMCPE is for.
Is VMCPE heat-sealable?
Yes. The TDS describes it as metal on one side and high seal strength on the other. The metallized face carries the barrier; the other face is the seal, and it is the face that closes the pack. The seal window is set on your machine in the trial.
Can VMNCPE be used as the sealant?
No. It is specified as the high-barrier middle layer of a three-layer mono-material PE structure, and the seal comes from the PE web on the inside. Its job is the barrier — WVTR and OTR at or below 1 — and after lamination its oxygen barrier is better than the original single film.
Can we run a two-layer structure?
Yes, and that is the point of VMCPE: reverse-printed PE / adhesive / metallized PE replaces the traditional reverse-printed / adhesive / barrier / adhesive / sealant stack. It is listed for VFFS and HFFS and for stand-up and peg-display pouches. Seal strength and the finished-structure barrier still have to be confirmed on your line.
Does the metallized layer affect recyclability?
It is a vacuum deposit measured in nanometres on a PE base. The structure still sorts, washes and reprocesses as PE; the recyclability statement names the density and the label conditions that keep it that way. The mono-material claim is about the whole structure, not about the film on its own.
What thickness do you supply?
40 µm is the standard gauge for both grades; 50–80 µm is made to order. Tell us the gauge you need and we confirm it against the order; width is slit to the requested size.
Trial Metallized PE on your line
Send the structure you are building — two-layer with VMCPE, or three-layer with VMNCPE in the middle — plus the width and gauge. The sample roll ships with its lot data; A4 sheets are free. Minimum order is one pallet.
- Sales
- [email protected]
- Phone
- +86 532 6776 6956
- Works
- Qingdao, Shandong, China