What's the difference between OPP and BOPP?
2025-03-04
The differences between OPP and BOPP are as follows:
Production Process
- OPP: OPP (Oriented Polypropylene) is usually produced by the multi-layer extrusion process, which is called co-extruded oriented polypropylene film.
- BOPP: BOPP (Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene) is made through biaxial stretching of polypropylene in both longitudinal and transverse directions after the extrusion process.
Physical Properties
Strength:
- OPP: It has a certain tensile strength, but is generally inferior to BOPP.
- BOPP: It has high tensile strength, impact strength, rigidity and toughness.
Transparency:
- OPP: Has good transparency.
- BOPP: Exhibits excellent transparency and gloss.
Electrostatic Property:
- OPP: It is less prone to accumulate static electricity than BOPP.
- BOPP: Tends to accumulate static electricity easily, which requires the installation of static eliminators in high-speed production lines.
Heat Sealing Property:
- OPP: Heat sealing property is not mentioned as a significant drawback, and some OPP products have heat sealing performance.
- BOPP: Generally has no heat sealing property and needs to be coated with heat-sealable resin adhesive or produced by co-extrusion to obtain heat sealing performance.
Applications
OPP:
- OPP Tape: It is widely used in express delivery box sealing and general packaging binding.
- OPP Bottles: Suitable for hot filling with advantages like light weight, low cost and good transparency.
- OPP Labels: Due to their transparency, high strength, moisture resistance and good adhesion, they are suitable for labeling in humid environments.
BOPP:
- Printing and Packaging: It is a common material for printing due to its excellent printing adaptability after corona treatment, such as cigarette packaging, food packaging, book cover packaging.
- Composite Materials: It is often used as the surface material of composite films and can be compounded with many materials to improve the comprehensive performance of the packaging.
- BOPP Films: There are various types like bopp heat-sealing film, bopp pearlescent film, bopp metallized film and so on, which are used in different packaging fields.
Cost and Price
- OPP: The production process is relatively simple, so the cost is relatively low, and the price is relatively affordable in the market.
- BOPP: The production process is more complex due to the biaxial stretching process, and the production cost is higher. Therefore, the price is generally higher than that of OPP.
OPP and BOPP, though both polypropylene-based, have distinct characteristics shaped by their production and properties. OPP is produced via multi-layer co-extrusion, a simpler process that keeps costs low. It offers decent tensile strength, good transparency, and lower static buildup, with some variants boasting heat-sealing capabilities. This makes it ideal for applications like packaging tapes, hot-fill bottles, and labels for humid environments, where affordability and basic performance suffice.
BOPP, by contrast, undergoes biaxial stretching (longitudinal and transverse) after extrusion, a more complex process that raises production costs. This stretching enhances its tensile strength, impact resistance, rigidity, and gloss, along with excellent transparency. However, it easily accumulates static—requiring static eliminators in production—and lacks inherent heat-sealing properties, needing coatings or co-extrusion for such functionality. Its superior performance makes it a staple in high-demand areas like printing (cigarette and food packaging, book covers) and composite materials, with specialized films (heat-sealing, pearlescent, metallized) catering to diverse packaging needs. These differences ensure each finds its niche, balancing performance and cost for specific applications.
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