| Parameter | Tablets in blisters at HYPERPHARM |
|---|---|
| Product | Tablets, on a ready-made formula (white label) or your own (private label) |
| Tablet size made | Tablets up to 25 mm (for blisters, see the tooling sizes below) |
| Minimum run | From 2,000 cartons printed for your brand, at least 4,000 blisters; the full table of minimums is on minimum order quantity |
| Production time | 6 to 10 weeks; shipping time is added separately (lead times) |
| Oval tablets with blister tooling in place | 22 × 10, 20 × 9.5 and 16 × 8 mm |
| Round tablets with blister tooling in place | 13, 12 and 11 mm |
| Your own blister or tablet size | From 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, terms agreed per project |
| Blisters per carton | 1 to 4 |
| One blister holds | One kind of tablet |
| Lidding foil | Printed for your brand |
| Delayed-release tablets | On request |
| Blister machine | Uhlmann B 1240: forms, fills, seals and cuts the blisters in one pass; rated output up to 250 blisters a minute |
| Forming area | Up to 128 × 156.5 mm per cycle |
| Forming depth | Up to 24 mm for PVC (thermoforming); cold-formed aluminium is shallower |
| Cartoner | IMA IC 150: cartons from 28 × 12 × 55 mm to 92 × 60 × 190 mm (width × height × length) |
| Batch number and expiry date | On the carton, not on the blister |
| With every batch | Certificate of Analysis and specification |
| Site certification | ISO 22000, GMP and HACCP certified; registered with the US FDA as a food facility. Copies of the certificates with their numbers on request |
| Shelf life | 24 months standard |
| Delivery | Worldwide; EXW by default, FCA or DAP on request |
| Reply to an enquiry | Within 24 hours, Monday to Friday |
Which tablet sizes fit your blister tooling?
Six: three oval and three round. A tablet in one of these sizes goes onto blister tooling the plant already has.
- Oval tablets: 22 × 10 mm, 20 × 9.5 mm and 16 × 8 mm.
- Round tablets: 13 mm, 12 mm and 11 mm.
The tooling decides the cavity, and the cavity has to take the finished tablet. With a ready-made formula the tablet already exists; with a formula of your own, its size is known once the first sample exists, and the sample shows the real size of the tablet and with it whether the tooling in place fits.
What if my tablet is a different size?
It needs tooling of its own, which starts from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project. The same applies to a blister of your own design.
Tell us the tablet size at the enquiry if you know it. If you have a formula of your own and the size is not fixed, say that you want a blister, and it is one of the questions for the sample stage.
How many blisters go into one carton?
From 1 to 4. Each carton is printed for your brand and filled on an IMA IC 150, which takes cartons from 28 × 12 × 55 mm to 92 × 60 × 190 mm (width × height × length).
Each blister holds one kind of tablet. Tablets of different sizes or colours are not put into one blister, and mixed blisters are not made.
How many tablets fit on one blister depends on the tablet size and on the forming area of the machine, which is up to 128 × 156.5 mm per cycle.
How does a tablet end up sealed in a printed carton?
On two machines in sequence: an Uhlmann B 1240 makes and seals the blister, and the IMA IC 150 puts the blisters into the carton.
The B 1240 is built by Uhlmann Pac-Systeme. In one pass it shapes the forming film into cavities, fills them with tablets, seals the lidding foil printed for your brand over them and cuts out the finished blisters. According to the machine documentation:
- rated output is up to 250 blisters a minute, a figure Uhlmann also gives on its own product page, and the ceiling of the machine rather than the pace promised for your run;
- cavities are formed up to 24 mm deep in PVC (thermoforming); cold-formed aluminium is shallower;
- the lidding foil is sealed by a flat plate at low temperature;
- the machine is run from a TouchControl panel with password login and audit trails of production and parameters, so the settings used for a run can be traced afterwards.
The IC 150 is an intermittent-motion cartoner built by IMA in Italy. The batch number and the expiry date go on the carton; the expiry date is printed with the carton or applied as the blisters are cartoned.
The full machine data, including the films the machine is built to run: equipment.
What are the minimum order and the production time for tablets in blisters?
A blister run starts from 2,000 cartons (at least 4,000 blisters), with production in 6 to 10 weeks. The run is counted in cartons and blisters, and the minimum is the same on a ready-made formula and on your own. Shipping time is added to production time.
The minimums of every other format are on minimum order quantity, and the production times on lead times. A size or a blister of your own starts from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project. Prices are not published; each enquiry gets its own quote. The steps of an order, from enquiry and sample to approval of the artwork and delivery, are on manufacturing.
Who designs the carton and the lidding foil?
We lay out and print the carton to the label rules of your market, which your importer confirms, and print the lidding foil with your brand. Artwork you already have can be used instead. Only the artwork version you have approved is printed.
The batch number and the expiry date are on the carton, not on the blister and not as a sticker added later. The standard shelf life is 24 months. The artwork steps are in the blister artwork guide.
What does your product decide?
The tablet settles more of the blister than the brief does. Below, what each kind of tablet changes and what that costs you in run size, time or risk.
| Your tablet | What changes | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| An oval or round tablet in one of the six sizes | It goes onto the blister tooling the plant already has | Run: from 2,000 cartons, at least 4,000 blisters. Time: 6 to 10 weeks of production |
| A tablet in another size | The blister needs tooling of its own | Run: from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project |
| A delayed-release tablet | Available on request; give the tablet details with the enquiry | Risk: size and terms settled per request |
| A formula of your own, size not yet fixed | The tablet size is known once the sample exists | Time: sample development comes before production. Risk: the sample may show a size without tooling in place |
| Two kinds of tablet you want in one blister | One blister holds one kind of tablet | Risk: the plan has to change, because mixed blisters are not made |
| An effervescent tablet | Effervescent tablets are packed in tubes of 20 tablets; see effervescent tablets | Minimum and time: see effervescent tablets |
| A first order to test the market | A bottle has a minimum and a time of its own, set out on minimum order quantity and lead times | Time: a later blister needs carton and foil artwork approved before print |
Questions buyers ask about tablets in blisters
Can you put my private label tablets into blister packs?
Yes. Tablets go into blisters under foil printed for your brand and into a printed carton, on a ready-made formula or on your own. The size of the tablet decides whether it fits the tooling in place.
Which tablet sizes fit your blister tooling?
Oval tablets of 22 × 10, 20 × 9.5 and 16 × 8 mm, and round tablets of 13, 12 and 11 mm. Another size, or a blister of your own design, starts from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project.
What is the minimum order for tablets in blisters?
From 2,000 cartons printed for your brand, at least 4,000 blisters, on a ready-made formula or your own. The minimums of other formats are on minimum order quantity.
How long does a blister run take?
Production takes 6 to 10 weeks. The sample and your approval of the artwork come before it, and shipping time is added separately; other production times are on lead times.
How many blisters go into one carton?
From 1 to 4. Each carton is printed for your brand and filled on an IMA IC 150, which takes cartons from 28 × 12 × 55 mm to 92 × 60 × 190 mm (width × height × length).
Can one blister hold two kinds of tablet?
No. One blister holds one kind of tablet; tablets of different sizes or colours are not put into one blister.
Can the lidding foil carry my brand?
Yes. We print the lidding foil with your brand and lay out and print the carton to the label rules of your market, which your importer confirms. Artwork you already have can be used instead. Only the artwork version you have approved is printed.
Where do the batch number and the expiry date go?
On the carton, printed with it or applied as the blisters are cartoned. The standard shelf life is 24 months.
How are effervescent tablets packed?
Into tubes of 20 tablets of 4 g; see effervescent tablets.
Can I see a sample before the run?
Yes. For a ready-made formula you receive a sample of the existing product; for a formula of your own, a sample is developed first. The sample shows the real size of the tablet, and with it whether the blister tooling in place fits.
Read more
Blister packing · Minimum order quantity · Lead times · Blister artwork guide · Equipment · Effervescent tablets · White label supplements · Private label supplements · Manufacturing · Quality and batch documents
Ask for a quote
Tell us the tablet size if you know it, whether the formula is ready-made or your own, how many blisters you want in each carton, how many cartons you plan, and the country of sale. We reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
Request a quote → Email sales@hyperpharm.eu