Learning Center

Whether you’re looking for solutions to specific challenges or wanting to deepen your overall knowledge of secondary packaging, our Learning Center is designed to give you the resources to make confident decisions about your secondary packaging systems.

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Problems / Challenges

Packaging Equipment Project Timelines: Why They Range from 4 to 18 Months

Understand which dependencies are on the critical path and the cost/benefits of timeline compression so you can negotiate timelines that protect both schedules and production success.

Secondary Packaging 101

URS, FDS, and FRS: A Buyer’s Guide to Packaging Project Specifications

Understand the roles of these three core specification documents and when each one is required so that you can save your project from FAT failures and costly rework.

Equipment Validation Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) FDS FRS Site Acceptance Test (SAT) Specifications System Integration URS

Maintenance process timeline with repair highlighted

Secondary Packaging 101

What Is Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and What Drives It Up or Down?

Understand MTTR along with its components and drivers so you can identify where downtime actually happens and where to focus improvement effort for the fastest payback.

Delays Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) Reliability Repairs

Douglas representative sitting at desk with laptop and headphones on a video call

Comparisons

Remote Service vs Remote Monitoring: What Your OEM Actually Delivers

Understand the difference between remote monitoring and remote service and how these things affect how you budget, manage security, and partner with your OEM.

Cybersecurity Diagnostics Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Remote Monitoring Remote Service

Group of people standing and having a conversation by a packaging machine

Comparisons

OEM vs. System Integrator: Which One Should You Hire?

One company builds the machines. The other ties the line together. Here’s how to tell which is right for your project — and why “both” is often the real answer.

Commissioning Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) Line Integration Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) System Integrator (SI)

Operator working on a machine's HMI, with a large checklist icon overlay

Secondary Packaging 101

What Is a Machine Risk Assessment and Who’s Responsible for It?

Machinery risk assessment is a multi-stage process where OEMs, integrators, and end users each assess different hazards. Understanding who is responsible for what, prevents safety gaps.

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Risks Safety System Integrator (SI)

Spray bottles upright on conveyor and spray bottles upright inside case

Secondary Packaging 101

What Is Product Orientation in Secondary Packaging and Why Does It Matter?

Understand what product orientation is, how it impacts your equipment, and what decisions need to be considered when choosing your packaging equipment.

Across Machine (AM) Direction of Travel (DOT) Display-Ready Loading Product Orientation

Bags of croutons on conveyor, arrow pointing down conveyor labeled DOT and arrow pointing across conveyor labeled AM

Secondary Packaging 101

What Is DOT and AM (Direction of Travel and Across Machine) and Why Do They Matter?

Learn the definitions of DOT and AM, how they affect your product and equipment, and what questions to ask before you spec a new machine.

Across Machine (AM) Direction of Travel (DOT)

Secondary Packaging 101

What Is an SAT in Packaging Equipment?

Learn how Site Acceptance Testing differs from FAT, what SAT is meant to verify onsite, and why real production conditions can change the outcome.

Site Acceptance Test (SAT)

1 2 3 4 5 6 … 8

Beverage cans and paperboard cartons running through lanes on a multipacker machine

Cost & Price

Beverage Multipacker Cost: Pricing, Specifications, and Buying Considerations

Beverage multipackers have their own unique set of budgetary conditions. Learn how to scope pricing tiers, account for your SKUs, and prepare for vendor conversations.

Beverage Can Packaging Bottle Packaging Cartoner Cartons Multi-Serve Products

Boxed food products packed into cartons with automated equipment

Cost & Price

How Much Does a Cartoner Cost?

Cartoner price is based on many factors including type, product, and customization. Learn about the main cost tiers of cartoners, as well as what affects their price and lead-time.

Cartoner Cost Tiers Cartoner Price Cartoner Types Cartons

Side load case packer packing cartons of pizza into corrugate case

Cost & Price

How Much Does a Side Load Case Packer Cost?

Budgeting for a side load case packer all depends on what you want and how much you’re willing to pay for it. Learn about pricing tiers, cost drivers, add-ons, and value-adders, so you can take control of your buying process.

Budget Cost Factors Horizontal Load Value-Adders

A business person going over a service agreement document

Secondary Packaging 101

Packaging Equipment Service Agreements: What to Look For

Packaging equipment service agreements are more than contracts: they’re commitments to trusted partners. We’ll outline what to look for and help you know if you’ve found a provider you can trust.

Agreements Commitments Contracts Provider

Illustration of various secondary packaging formats, including bags in display trays, shrink wrapped bottles, and beverage cans in paperboard sleeves

How-To

How to Choose the Right Secondary Packaging Format for My Product?

Before exploring automated secondary packaging options, you need to select a packaging format: case, tray, carton, shrink film, multipack or variety pack. We’ll explain these formats, as well as the four factors that make your decision.

Corrugated Cases Multipacks Pack Pattern Paperboard Cartons Paperboard Sleeves Shrink Film Trays Variety Packs

Beverage bottles, snack pouches, yogurt tubs, and candy bags in retail-ready packaging

Secondary Packaging 101

Retail-Ready Packaging: What It Is and What It Means for You

Retail-ready packaging (RRP) means that a single case must protect the product, and present and sell to retailers and customers. We’ll explain RRP and “The Five Easies,” and what they mean for your line.

Display-Ready RRP Shelf-Ready The Five Easies

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HORIZONTAL LOAD

TOP LOAD

SHRINK WRAPPERS

SHRINK PACKERS

MULTIWRAPPERS

CARTONERS

SLEEVERS

MULTIPACKERS

Learning Center

Whether you’re looking for solutions to specific challenges or wanting to deepen your overall knowledge of secondary packaging, our Learning Center is designed to give you the resources to make confident decisions about your secondary packaging systems.

Filter by Category

Filter by Topic

Filter by Type

Packaging Equipment Project Timelines: Why They Range from 4 to 18 Months

URS, FDS, and FRS: A Buyer’s Guide to Packaging Project Specifications

What Is Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and What Drives It Up or Down?

Remote Service vs Remote Monitoring: What Your OEM Actually Delivers

OEM vs. System Integrator: Which One Should You Hire?

What Is a Machine Risk Assessment and Who’s Responsible for It?

What Is Product Orientation in Secondary Packaging and Why Does It Matter?

What Is DOT and AM (Direction of Travel and Across Machine) and Why Do They Matter?

What Is an SAT in Packaging Equipment?

Beverage Multipacker Cost: Pricing, Specifications, and Buying Considerations

How Much Does a Cartoner Cost?

How Much Does a Side Load Case Packer Cost?

Packaging Equipment Service Agreements: What to Look For

How to Choose the Right Secondary Packaging Format for My Product?

Retail-Ready Packaging: What It Is and What It Means for You

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