Cartridges have been the popular way to dispense sealants and adhesives for many years. So given that most of us are already familiar with them, you won’t be surprised to learn they are still the most common type of packaging. However, foil sealant sausages have many advantages that you may not have discovered yet.

What is the Best Sealant and Adhesive Packaging?

When it comes to choosing your type of sealant or adhesive packaging, for many of the products in our store, you will be presented with a choice between buying a cartridge or sausage. Previously you may not have put much thought into which one is best, perhaps simply choosing something familiar. But we think you should take a moment to consider which packaging might be your best option, because there are considerable differences.

This guide looks at both types of packaging and will help you to assess whether you should stick with traditional cartridges or switch to using foil sausages.

Below is everything you need to know about cartridge and sausage packaging. Both types have their benefits and drawbacks, but by the end of this article you’ll be able to make an informed decision about what suits you best.

Plastic Cartridges For Sealants and Adhesives

A cartridge is simply a cylinder that contains the product, in most cases this is a sealant, an adhesive, or both. Each cartridge has a plastic bung inside which keeps the product in place after it has been filled by the manufacturer.

Every cartridge includes a plastic cap located at the top, which needs to be cut off before you can use it. After which a nozzle can be fitted by screwing it onto the thread, then it’s ready to put it into a skeleton gun.

When you apply pressure to the bung using an applicator gun, the product will begin to come out from the top of the cartridge.

About Thick and Thin Wall Cartridges

Generally there are two types of cartridges for sealants and adhesives; thick-wall and thin-wall. As the name suggests, they just have different thicknesses of plastic. Standard sized thick-wall cartridges typically contain about 290ml of the sealant or adhesive, whereas thin-wall cartridges often contain a bit more.

Higher quality products generally come in thick-wall cartridges. This is because they are better at preserving the contents inside, ensuring a prolonged shelf live.

The Pros and Cons of Using Cartridges

The standard form factor size for sealant and adhesive cartridges is 310ml. Almost always the amount of product available inside a cartridge is less than this, because of the bung. Some products like decorators caulk often come in 380ml cartridges, however these require bigger applicator guns.

Advantages of Plastic Cartridges

• Applicator guns are widely available: Cartridges have been the go-to packaging type for years. This means you will have no difficulty in finding an appropriate applicator gun. However beware of cheap plastic skeleton guns, because these can easily buckle when used to dispense high performance products.
• Good protection: The outer shell of cartridges is most often made of durable plastic, so you will struggle to puncture and damage a cartridge. However, you can puncture foil packs relatively easily.

Disadvantages of Plastic Cartridges

• Less inside: Cartridges generally contain less than sausages. Normally a standard 310ml cartridge only contains about 290ml of product. On top of that the internal bung makes it difficult to get every last bit out. Contrary to this a standard 400ml sausage contains 400ml of product, which can all be extracted. So cartridges are less efficient and you will have to replace them more frequently.
• Plastic tax: Not only will you find there are more cartridges to dispose of, but nearly all cartridges are made from what is essentially single use plastic. As you might expect governments worldwide have started to clamp down on these types of plastic through taxation. Subsequently this means plastic cartridge packaging is becoming more and more expensive as time goes on.
• More space and waste: Before an empty cartridge is filled with product and after it’s been used, it stays exactly the same size. This means it occupies the same amount of space throughout its entire life. As a result, as well as producing more waste, supply chains are less efficient and produce more carbon. Both of which negatively impact prices and the environment.
• Bung malfunctions: In certain situations and depending on the type of product, if you apply too much pressure, it can sometimes squeeze out behind the cartridge bung. This can result in undesired waste and mess.
• Difficult to recycle: The types of plastic used in cartridges can often be recycled. But before this can happen the recycling process requires that they are clean. Unfortunately dried waste sealants and adhesives can not be easily removed. So cartridges nearly always end up in landfill.

Foil Adhesive and Sealant Sausages

In some ways a foil sealant or adhesive sausage pack is very similar to an edible sausage. They both have a skin that surrounds the contents, which is sealed off at both ends during manufacturing. That’s why we typically refer to this type of packaging as sausages.

To get the product out, you just need to snip off the seal on one end of the sausage and place it into the applicator. There is no thread to screw a nozzle on, instead the nozzle is fitted to the end of the applicator gun.

The Pros and Cons of Using Sausages

For first time users choosing a sausage can at first appear more complicated. This is because the applicator gun is normally different. However setting up an enclosed applicator gun is fast and easy. Here’s a link to a quick guide about How to prepare a sausage gun.

Just like cartridges you can get varying sizes of foil sausages. The most common size is 400ml, however many other sizes also exist, with another common size being 600ml.

Advantages of Foil Sealant Sausages

• Less space and waste: Space savings should also be taken into account when considering sausage packaging. One relatively small roll of sausage film can take the place of over 2,000 pre-formed cartridges (about two pallets). This results in substantial space savings, reduced shipment costs and lower carbon emissions.
• Less environmental impact: Since an empty sausage container is basically a small, compressed, foil disc that is only 10% the size of a typical empty cartridge. Sausages result in at least 90% less waste. For example you can fit more than 10 compressed 400ml foil packs into just one standard 310ml cartridge. All of which is a key component in environmental sustainability.

• Improved shelf-life: Sausage packaging consists of a flat film that is formed into a sausage, then clipped at each end with the product inside. As a result, no air is introduced during the manufacturing process. Plus multi-layered aluminum films help provide an excellent moisture barrier. All of which can result in extended shelf life.
• Increased efficiency: Foil packs have the upper hand when it comes to how much adhesive or sealant you can get from them. The most popular size is 400ml This means you don’t need to stop and replace the foil pack as often as you would have to with cartridges.
• Easier to discharge: There is no internal plastic bung that you will have to worry about when using sausage packs. So there is little that can go wrong. In fact, because there are less moving parts, lower resistence generally makes the contents of a sausage much easier to gun out.
• Easier to recycle:When disposed of correctly as waste metal, aluminium foil sealant and adhesive sausages can be fully recycled.

Disadvantages of Foil Sealant Sausages

• Easier to damage: Generally foil packs are not as durable as cartridges, as they can be pierced more easily. However it is still very difficult to damage them accidentally and impossible once they are inside an applicator gun.
• No resealabe nozzle: Unlike cartridges, the nozzles that come with most sausages do not have a resealable cap. So storing them between jobs can be a little more complicated. However once opened, if you keep your sausage inside an applicator gun, using something to completely cover and cap the nozzle will prevent the product from curing.
• Application devices not as common: In the UK cartridges have been around for decades. Foil sausages haven’t. This means the enclosed applicator guns that you need for foil packs are not as commonplace as cartridge skeleton guns. However many enclosed applicator guns can be used to apply both sausage and cartridge products. So once you’ve invested in a good quality dual applicator gun, you’ll be set.

Conclusion – Which Should You Choose?

Now you know a bit about what makes each type of packaging so different, you will understand the key benefits and drawbacks of each. So you can now make an informed decision about which packaging system is best for you.

At Totality Store we supply sealants and adhesives in both cartridge and sausage packaging. When customers ask us to recommend the best type of packaging, we always suggest foils. This is because foil sausages are more sustainable, more economical, and generally a lot cheaper pro-rata.

Additionally we guarantee that when you buy sealants and adhesives from us, we will always charge less for products that come in foil sausage packs.