AlOx or metallized: choose by the pack.
A selection guide, not a product page. Two transparent oxide films on BOPP and PET, two silver metallized PE films — and four questions that decide between them before any barrier number matters.
The decision in four questions
Answer them in order. Each one takes grades off the list before the numbers have to be read.
Transparent, or silver?
A metallized layer reflects light, so the pack reads silver and the product disappears behind it. An oxide layer stays clear. If the pack has to show what is inside, or pass a metal detector, the answer is ALOX BOPP or ALOX PET.
PP stream, or PE stream?
The base film decides where the pack sorts. ALOX BOPP is a PP structure; ALOX PET is a PET film and not a mono-material structure; both VMPE grades are PE. Pick the stream first — the rest of the list follows from it.
Does the film have to seal?
Only VMCPE does: metallized on one face, high seal strength on the other, which is what makes a two-layer PE structure possible. Neither oxide grade seals — both are laminated to a sealant web — and VMNCPE is a middle layer with no heat seal. See Metallized PE.
Does it have to survive a retort?
Then it is ALOX PET: 7 of its 10 models are rated for 121 °C. BOPP and both PE grades carry no retort rating on their TDS, so a retorted pack does not start with them.
Side by side
Four grades, one table. Read it down a column; the columns are not a ranking.
| Attribute | ALOX BOPP | ALOX PET | VMCPE | VMNCPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transparency | Clear — the product stays visible | Clear — the product stays visible | Silver — metallized, opaque | Silver — metallized, opaque |
| Recycling stream | PP | PET — not a mono-material structure | PE | PE |
| OTR · standard / typical |
A ≤ 1 · typ. 0.63 B ≤ 2 · typ. 1.29 23 °C / 0 % RH cm³/(m²·24h) |
typ. 0.11–1.55 by model 23 °C / 0 % RH cm³/(m²·24h) |
≤ 80 cm³/(m²·0.1MPa·24h) ASTM D3985 |
≤ 1 cm³/(m²·0.1MPa·24h) ASTM D3985 |
| WVTR · standard / typical |
A ≤ 1 · typ. 0.89 B ≤ 2 · typ. 1.32 38 °C / 90 % RH g/(m²·24h) |
typ. 0.18–1.25 by model 38 °C / 90 % RH g/(m²·24h) |
2.1 g/(m²·24h) ASTM F1249 |
≤ 1 g/(m²·24h) ASTM F1249 |
| Thickness | 18 µm, one gauge | 12.0–12.5 µm, ten models | 40 µm standard 50–80 µm made to order | 40–100 µm, quoted per order |
| Heat seal | No — laminated to a sealant web | No — laminated to CPP or PE | Yes — high seal strength on the reverse face | No — middle layer, no seal |
| Retort at 121 °C | Not rated on the TDS | 7 of 10 models rated | Not rated on the TDS | Not rated on the TDS |
| Best structure | PP / AlOx-BOPP / PP | PET / AlOx-PET / CPP or PE | Reverse-printed PE / adhesive / VMCPE | PE / VMNCPE / PE sealant |
Read the table down a column. Transparency, the recycling stream, heat seal and retort are the four things a barrier figure cannot answer — and they are the four questions above. The two families only meet in this table, not in a test method.
Where each one wins, and where it loses
Four grades, four honest limits. The limits are the reason the list is not one film.
ALOX BOPP
Wins. A clear, print-and-laminate film in the PP stream, microwaveable and metal-detectable because there is no metal layer. Grade A carries the protective coating and the tighter standard — OTR ≤ 1 and WVTR ≤ 1 against ≤ 2 on grade B.
Loses. One gauge, 18 µm, and one polymer: no retort rating, and no PE option. A pack that has to be PE cannot start here.
ALOX PET
Wins. The heat-resistant oxide film: ten models at 12.0–12.5 µm, seven of them rated for 121 °C retort, with typical OTR down to 0.11 on the tightest model. Where BOPP softens, this base survives the process.
Loses. PET is not a mono-material structure — the PET base, the oxide and the protective coating do not sort as one material — and no PET model seals, so it is laminated to CPP or PE.
VMCPE
Wins. Seal and barrier in one web: metal on one face, high seal strength on the other, so a three-layer laminate becomes a two-layer PE structure (reverse-printed PE / adhesive / VMCPE) on VFFS, HFFS and stand-up pouches.
Loses. It is the looser barrier of the two PE grades in the same unit — ≤ 80 against ≤ 1 OTR — it is silver rather than clear, and the seal window is set on your machine, not by the TDS.
VMNCPE
Wins. The tight PE grade: WVTR and OTR at or below 1 in the same unit as VMCPE, for the middle layer of a three-layer mono-material PE structure. After lamination its oxygen barrier is better than the original single film.
Loses. No heat seal, so it cannot close a pack on its own; it must be laminated, and it is silver — unusable where the product has to stay visible.
One comparison this page does not make
“Is AlOx tighter than metallized?” The two TDS print OTR in different units and state different test conditions, and a metallized layer's measured barrier depends on the laminate it is buried in. A ranking across the two families would compare test methods, not films. So each family is quoted as its TDS prints it, and the number that decides a job is the finished-structure figure from the qualification trial.
What to send us
Four lines are enough for a grade recommendation, the grade sheet and an A4 sample.
Structure. The layers you plan, and where the barrier has to sit in them.
Width. The finished slit width; rolls are slit to order up to 3,000 mm.
Gauge. The thickness you want, or the pack performance you are trying to hit.
Process. Print, lamination, VFFS or HFFS, and whether the pack is retorted or boiled.
- Sales
- [email protected]
- Phone
- +86 532 6776 6956
- Works
- Qingdao, Shandong, China
Supply at a glance
- ALOX minimum order
- 1 roll
- VMPE minimum order
- 1 pallet
- Lead time
- 10–15 days by width
- Samples
- A4 free
- Max width
- 3,000 mm slit to order
- Roll length · BOPP
- 6,000 m
- Roll length · PET
- 8,000 m
- Roll length · VMPE
- 3,700 m
- Documents
- FDA · EU 10/2011 migration report on request
Full specifications
ALOX BOPP
18 µm in two grades, the full parameter table and the supply terms.
ALOX PET
Ten models with their own barrier values, retort ratings and processing notes.
Metallized PE
VMCPE and VMNCPE in one table, with the two-layer and three-layer structures.
High-barrier PE guide
The PE-only route through the same decision, with the structures that use it.