A side sealer is an automatic shrink wrap machine that seals the film along one side while the product moves, then cuts each package off with a cross seal. No seal bar runs along the side, so it wraps products of almost any length. Rated speeds in our research run from over 35 to 200 packages per minute. The two new machines with a published price listed at $48,828 and $63,980 without a tunnel.
A side sealer only seals. A shrink tunnel after it shrinks the film.
What a side sealer does
Texwrap says side seal machines “encapsulate products in a continuous tube of film, sealing along one side of the package and separating them into individual units downstream using a cross seal.”
That design removes the length limit of an L-bar sealer. An L-bar seals the side and the end in one stroke, so the package must fit inside the bar. A side sealer keeps sealing the side for as long as the product keeps coming. PAC Machinery says this “eliminates the constraints of a fixed-length side seal, allowing for packaging of almost infinite length.”
Conflex calls the side sealer “the next step up in production from the automatic L bar sealer.” For a head-to-head comparison, see L-bar sealer vs. side sealer.
How a side sealer works
- Infeed. A conveyor carries each product into the machine. Photo eyes find the front and back of the product.
- Film. The machine runs centerfold film, which is folded in half along its length. Conflex says the machine uses “a center-folded roll of shrink film and an inverting head to automatically place the product between the layers of film.”
- Side seal. The side seal unit seals and trims the open edge while the film and product move. Conflex says this encloses the product in “a tube of shrink film.”
- Cross seal. A seal bar closes across the tube between products. It seals the back of one package and the front of the next, and it cuts them apart.
- Trim. The strip cut from the side is scrap. Conflex calls it “a waste tail of shrink film which is wound up for periodic disposal.”
- Shrink. The loose sealed package rides into the tunnel.
Makers build the side seal unit in different ways:
| Side seal method | Example | What the maker says |
|---|---|---|
| Heated wheel | US Packaging & Wrapping TL-INT-20 | “As products pass the cross sealing bar, the side sealing wheel simultaneously begins sealing.” |
| Belts | Conflex AdvantEDGE | “A patented Micro-V belt side sealer holds film better to provide stronger seals” |
| Seal and trim knife | Clamco 6800CS | The machine “combines a hot knife end seal with an adjustable seal and trim knife.” |
Types of side sealers
Side sealers differ in how the cross seal is made. Conflex says there are “two main types of side sealers, Intermittent motion side sealers and Continuous motion side sealers.”
| Type | Cross seal | Example and rating |
|---|---|---|
| Intermittent motion | The product stops while the bar closes. | Texwrap ISS: film and conveyor speeds of 100 feet per minute |
| Continuous, box motion | The bar travels with the product while it seals. | Clamco 6800CS-HS: up to 120 cycles per minute |
| Continuous, orbital or rotary | The seal head moves in a loop and meets each product as it passes. | Conflex AdvantEDGE Rotary: up to 200 packages per minute |
Intermittent motion. This is the entry level. Texwrap sells its ISS for “the wrapping of products at moderate speed where product length or height exceeds the capacity of an L-sealer.”
Box motion. Texwrap describes its CSS machines as a ““box-motion” style wrapper in which the device making the end seal moves horizontally with the product as the seal is being made.” The product does not stop.
Orbital or rotary. Texwrap says its OSS orbital head uses “an elliptical motion of the sealing head” that cuts down how far the head must move for each seal. Conflex credits “the rotary seal head” for the speed of its AdvantEDGE Rotary.
Conflex says continuous machines “will typically run faster as your product will never stop during the sealing process.”
Speeds
Makers rate side sealers in two ways. Some give packages or cycles per minute. Others give film or conveyor speed in feet per minute. A feet-per-minute rating turns into fewer packages per minute as products get longer.
| Machine | Motion | Rated speed |
|---|---|---|
| US Packaging & Wrapping TL-INT-20 | Intermittent | Over 35 products per minute |
| Conflex FUSION XL | Intermittent | 100 film feet per minute |
| Texwrap ISS | Intermittent | 100 feet per minute |
| Clamco 6800CS | Not stated | Up to 70 cycles per minute, conveyor up to 100 feet per minute |
| Shanklin Triumph and FAC series | Not stated | Up to 75 packs per minute, belt up to 90 feet per minute |
| Conflex SYNC 2 | Continuous | 100 feet of film per minute |
| Clamco 6800CS-HS | Continuous, box motion | Up to 120 cycles per minute, conveyor up to 130 feet per minute |
| Texwrap CSS-1407 | Continuous, box motion | 140 feet per minute |
| Shanklin HySpeed Servo | Not stated | Up to 180 packs per minute, belt up to 250 feet per minute |
| Texwrap OSS | Continuous, orbital | 200 feet per minute |
| Conflex AdvantEDGE Rotary | Continuous, rotary | 170 feet per minute, up to 200 packages per minute |
These are maker ratings. Several are marked product dependent. Your rate depends on product length, spacing, film, and the tunnel. Ask for a timed trial on your product.
Package size and film
A side sealer has no maximum length, but it has a maximum width and height. It also has a minimum length.
| Machine | Package width | Package height | Package length | Maximum film width |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conflex AdvantEDGE | 2 to 13.5 in. | Up to 7.5 in. | 3 in. and up | 18 in. |
| Clamco 6800CS | Up to 16 in. | Up to 8 in. | Unlimited | 23.5 in. |
| US Packaging & Wrapping TL-INT-20 | Up to 18 in. | Not stated | “Infinite” | Not stated |
| Conflex FUSION | 1 to 22 in. | Up to 10 in. | 2 in. and up | 32 in. |
| Clamco 6800CS-XL | Up to 23 in. | Up to 11 in. | Unlimited | 33.5 in. |
| Conflex FUSION XL | 2 to 30 in. | Up to 14 in. | 2 in. and up | 40 in. |
Width and height share the film. A wide product leaves less film for height, and a tall product leaves less for width. Conflex marks its widths “product dependent.” On the Clamco 6800CS-HS, product width plus height must be less than 17.75 in. Send samples of your largest and smallest products to the supplier. Texwrap builds larger machines too. Its ISS-3618 has a capacity of 36 in. wide and 18 in. tall.
Film. Most side sealers run centerfold film. The TL-INT-20 is “made to be used with polyolefin centerfold shrink film.” PAC Machinery says the Clamco 6800CS is “perfect for polyolefin or polyethylene center folded shrink film.” It lists a separate cross seal bar as an option for polyethylene film. To work out a film width, see how to size centerfold film.
Changeover. Conflex says a side sealer changes “from one product to another with only machine adjustments and no change parts.” PAC Machinery says the 6800CS stores 50 programs and allows “product setup in less than five minutes.”
Power, air, and floor space
Every model we checked runs on 220 V. Continuous-motion models more often need three-phase power. Some need compressed air and some do not.
| Machine | Motion | Power | Air | Size (L × W × H) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Packaging & Wrapping TL-INT-20 | Intermittent | 220 V 1-phase 20 A | 3 CFM at 80 psi | 69 × 51 × 67 in. |
| Clamco 6800CS | Not stated | 220 V 1-phase 15 A | None | 75 × 58 × 60 in. |
| Conflex FUSION | Intermittent | 220 V 1-phase 20 A | 1 CFM at 80 psi | 79 × 57.5 × 59.5 in. |
| Clamco 6800CS-HS | Continuous | 220 V 3-phase 23 A | None | 110 × 75 × 65 in. |
| Conflex SYNC 2 | Continuous | 220 V 3-phase 20 A | 3 CFM at 80 psi | 120 × 57.5 × 59.5 in. |
| Conflex AdvantEDGE Rotary | Continuous | 220 V 3-phase 25 A | 80 psi | 125.5 × 72 × 57 in. |
These figures cover the sealer only. The tunnel has its own power needs and adds length to the line. Check your building’s service before you buy. See electrical service.
Prices
Few sellers publish a side sealer price. We found two for new machines on October 1, 2026.
| Machine | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US Packaging & Wrapping TL-INT-20 | $48,828 | Intermittent, over 35 products per minute. Tunnel extra. |
| Maripak IMPACK Pro 20 | $63,980 on sale | Rated at 60 cycles per minute. Tunnel extra. |
| Used Shanklin HS-1 | $12,500 asking | eBay listing with best offer |
| Used Conflex FUSION | $8,500 asking | eBay listing with best offer |
Prices are in US dollars, without freight or installation. Conflex, Clamco, Shanklin, and Texwrap quote on request. PAC Machinery advertises financing on the Clamco 6800CS “from $810/month.”
For comparison, automatic L-bar sealers listed from $30,091 to $46,280. See the cost guide for every machine type and used shrink wrap machines before you bid on a used one.
When to choose a side sealer
Choose a side sealer when one of these is true:
- Your products are longer than an L-bar’s seal area. Texwrap says side seal machines “can handle random products of infinite length.” It says its ISS wraps “anything from a deck of cards to a bundle of wood flooring.”
- You run many sizes on one line. Texwrap calls side sealers “the most flexible of the various wrapper styles” and says contract packagers often choose them.
- You need more speed than an automatic L-bar gives. Look at continuous-motion models. Intermittent side sealers are rated in the same range as automatic L-bars.
An automatic L-bar sealer costs less in our price sample. It is the simpler choice when every product fits its seal area and its speed is enough.
Two other machines cover nearby jobs:
- Lap sealer. Conflex says lap sealing “produces no scrap or waste in the shrink wrapping process” but needs a forming plow for each product size.
- Sleeve wrapper. For multipacks of cans or bottles with open ends, see sleeve wrappers and bundlers.
Questions for the supplier
- Is the cross seal intermittent, box motion, or orbital?
- What rate will it hold on my longest and shortest products, with my film?
- What are the width, height, and minimum length limits with my product, not the nominal ones?
- Which films and gauges does the side seal run?
- What power and air does the sealer need, and what does the matching tunnel need?
- What infeed do I need to space products?
- Which parts wear on the side seal and cross seal, and what do they cost?
Take the buyer checklist to every supplier.
Common questions
A side sealer is an automatic shrink wrap machine that seals the film along one side while the product moves. A cross seal then cuts each package from the next. No fixed seal bar runs along the side, so the machine can wrap products of almost any length. It needs a shrink tunnel after it to shrink the film.
The product rides a conveyor into centerfold film that an inverting head opens around it. A side seal unit seals and trims the open edge nonstop, which makes a tube of film. Sensors find each product, and a cross seal closes and cuts the tube between products. A winder takes up the trim.
Rated speeds in our research run from over 35 packages per minute on the intermittent TL-INT-20 to 200 packages per minute on the Conflex AdvantEDGE Rotary. Some makers rate conveyor speed in feet per minute, so packages per minute depend on product length and spacing.
Two new side sealers had published prices on October 1, 2026: $48,828 for the US Packaging & Wrapping TL-INT-20 and $63,980 on sale for the Maripak IMPACK Pro 20. Both exclude the tunnel. Most makers quote on request. Used machines on eBay asked $8,500 to $12,500.
Most use centerfold shrink film, usually polyolefin. Some models also run polyethylene, and some take flat film with a folder. Check the maximum film width and the film types listed for the exact model.
An L-bar sealer seals the side and the end in one stroke, so a package can't be longer than the bar. A side sealer seals the side nonstop and has no bar limit on length. Compare L-bar sealers and side sealers.