Flexible packaging running meter calculator
Turn a piece quantity into running meters of film, including number-up and a realistic waste allowance.
Most flexible packaging planning problems start with the same question: the customer wants a number of pouches, so how much film has to run through the press?
The arithmetic is simple, but it goes wrong when number-up is forgotten or waste is applied to the wrong figure. This calculator keeps the two separate so you can see the theoretical requirement and the allowance on top of it.
Calculator
How to use it
- Enter Quantity required in pieces
- Enter Repeat length in mm. Print repeat of one piece along the web
- Enter Number up in across. Pieces across the web
- Enter Running waste in %
- Enter Setup waste in m. Fixed make-ready length, if you allow for it separately
Formula
Worked example
100,000 pouches, 250 mm repeat, 2 up, 5% waste:
- Pieces per meter = (1000 ÷ 250) × 2 =
8 pcs/m - Theoretical = 100,000 × 250 ÷ (1000 × 2) =
12,500 m - Waste = 12,500 × 0.05 =
625 m - Total =
13,125 m
Assumptions
- Repeat length is the printed repeat along the web, not the finished pouch height after forming.
- Number-up counts pieces across the web. If your layout also repeats around the cylinder, that is already contained in the repeat length.
- Running waste is applied as a percentage of the theoretical length. Setup waste is added as a fixed length so make-ready is not scaled by order size.
Limitations
Every calculator on this site gives a planning figure, not a production guarantee. Check the result against your own records before committing material or money to it.
- This is a planning figure, not a guarantee. Actual waste depends on the job, the substrate, how many colour changes are involved and the condition of the press.
- It does not account for splices, roll changes or laminating and slitting losses downstream.
Common mistakes
- Using finished pouch length instead of print repeat. On a three side seal pouch these are rarely the same.
- Forgetting number-up, which overstates film requirement by exactly that factor.
- Applying a single waste percentage to every job regardless of colour count or run length. Short runs carry proportionally far more make-ready.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate running meters for flexible packaging?
Multiply the quantity by the repeat length in millimetres, then divide by 1000 times the number up. That gives theoretical meters. Add a waste percentage and any fixed setup length to get the length you should actually plan to run.
What waste percentage should I use?
Use your own historical figure if you have one. Waste is driven by colour changes, substrate, run length and press condition, so a number that fits one plant can be badly wrong in another. Short runs need a far higher percentage than long runs.
Does this give meters or kilograms?
Meters. To convert to weight you also need width, thickness and density, which the kg to meter calculator handles.