Stick Pack vs Sachet: Seals, Size and How to Choose

What is the difference between a stick pack and a sachet?

The difference is the seal layout, and the rest follows from it. A stick pack is formed around a tube, so its film edges meet along a back seam and two end seals close it. A flat sachet is made from a folded web (three-side seal) or two plies (four-side seal) and is sealed along its edges.

Neither name fixes a fill weight, a film structure or a machine. Builders and suppliers also use the words loosely. Several pages describe a stick pack as “sealed on three sides”, a different use of the term from a flat pouch folded on one edge and sealed on the other three, and one builder's flat-sachet machine page quotes output in “stickpacks per minute”. If a quotation says “three-side”, ask for a sketch or a sample that shows which edges are sealed. The sachet definition guide sets out the flat-pack terms used here, and the stick pack definition guide covers the stick format on its own.

Seal layouts of three packs compared: a stick pack with a back seam and two end seals, a three-side seal sachet with a fold edge and three sealed edges, and a four-side seal sachet with four sealed edges.

How do they differ in look, print area and opening?

A stick is narrow and pours from one end, with its seam on the back. A flat sachet gives a wider panel. LINEVO's published guidance is to choose from the product, the dose and how the pack is used: sticks for narrow pour-out portions, flat sachets for pastes, lotions and larger print areas. Both formats can carry a tear notch, so the notch alone does not choose the format.

On print area, one builder says its four-side pack allows full-surface graphics on both panels, and another describes the fold side of a three-side pack as a clean, uninterrupted surface. Our reading is that a stick's back seam also leaves its front face unbroken, but a narrow pack leaves less room for artwork. Check the artwork at the real finished width before you fix the format.

Catalog photograph of small condiment sachets in several seal layouts, sizes and printed designs.

LINEVO lists straight, zigzag or rounded cuts with a tear notch, and date coding, as options on individual configurations. Ask whether each one applies to the series and lane count you are quoted; the powder stick pack and sachet page shows where those options are listed.

Which finished sizes and fill does each format cover?

In LINEVO's published powder series, back-seal sticks list widths of 20–105 mm and lengths of 50–150 mm. Three-side sachets list 25–110 × 50–150 mm and four-side sachets 50–125 × 45–160 mm. These are series ranges for the largest models, not trial results, and grams alone do not give a pack size: the same dose can need different pack interiors.

• Powder series, width 20–24 mm: only the stick series lists it.
• Width 25–49 mm: stick or three-side sachet.
• Width 50–105 mm: all three list it. Decide by pack style first, then compare length range, machine size and weight.
• Width 106–110 mm: three-side or four-side sachet. Width 111–125 mm: four-side only.
• Length 45–49 mm or 151–160 mm: only the four-side series lists it.

Bar chart of finished pack width listed for the three multi-lane powder series: back-seal stick 20–105 mm, three-side seal 25–110 mm and four-side seal 50–125 mm.

Example, assumed inputs: 5 g of a powder at an assumed bulk density of 0.5 g/ml occupies about 10 ml; the same 5 g at 0.25 g/ml occupies about 20 ml, before any headspace or seal margin. Record the dose, the bulk density and the finished width and length, then check that the dose fits, instead of choosing a pack from grams.

Listed fill ranges belong to configurations, not to formats. The LV-400BF stick configuration lists a 1–30 g fill range with customizable dosing screw tooling, and the sachet family's reference configurations together span about 1–100 ml for liquids and 1–50 g for granules, with no single configuration listing the whole span. They are different products on different configurations, so read them as scale indicators. No fill-accuracy figure is published; it is established by a trial with your product.

Do the two formats need different film and seals?

Not by name. Both are formed from roll film, and the film structure follows what the product needs from the pack. What differs is the geometry the seal has to cope with: a stick has a back seam and two end seals, a three-side sachet three sealed edges and a fold, a four-side sachet four sealed edges.

LINEVO's stick pack page notes that stick seals are narrow, so a small amount of powder or liquid on the seal area matters, and that dust control around the jaws and a clean cut-off at the nozzle matter as much as the sealing settings. Our reading is that the same caution applies to a flat sachet: count the edges the product must stay out of, and have them inspected on the sample.

On film use, one builder says a lap seam uses less material than a fin seam. At the same finished width and length, a stick wraps the product in about two layers of film, much as a folded-web or two-ply flat sachet does, so film use differs through seam and seal allowances and through the size you choose, not through the format name. That is our reading from the geometry, not a measurement. Some suppliers claim a stick saves a third or more of the film (one says 33% less than a sachet) without stating the pack sizes, seal widths or film thickness compared. Treat such figures as a request for the film layout drawing, not as a result.

None of the builder material reviewed here compares the formats on seal strength, barrier or shelf life, and this page makes no such claim. Confirm film and seal performance with your own product in a sample test.

Do they need different machines, and what changes at changeover?

Often yes, but confirm it in writing. LINEVO lists the three pack styles as separate series with different frames, and other builders also list stick and flat-sachet machines as separate products. One builder's page says its sachet machine supports stick packs and flat three- or four-side packs and is easily adjustable. Treat any multi-format claim as a question for the quotation.

The four-side models are listed heavier and longer than the stick and three-side models with the same lane range, so check the room as well as the pack. Dosing follows the product in every format: auger for powders, pump for liquids and sauces. A powder auger cannot be turned into a liquid pump by changing settings, and a frame that takes both is confirmed in writing, not assumed. The stick pack machine family and the sachet packing family list the published series for each route.

On changeover, one builder's stick pack machines set film slitters and forming tubes per bag size and offer changeover kits with a storage cart, while another says changing the sachet length on its four-side machine is done on the touch screen. Those are statements about those builders' machines. LINEVO publishes neither a changeover procedure nor a changeover time for its stick or sachet series, and says sachet width follows the film width and the lane layout. The table is therefore a list of questions, not a promise.

Also settle what follows the machine. LINEVO lists stick pack cartoning configurations in its cartoning family, while sachets are usually counted into cartons, display boxes or outer bags, so the counting scope is a project item for either format.

Which should you choose? A conditional guide

Start with the finished width and the use. If you want a narrow pour-out portion, or a powder pack under 25 mm wide (only the powder stick series lists it), start with a stick. If a powder pack is wider than 110 mm, only the four-side series lists it. Sauce, paste and liquid series list their own widths, so read those from the liquid and sauce page. In between, decide by product, seal risk, printable area and how many sizes you will run, then confirm with a sample.

• Check 1, fix the finished pack: width, length and how it should open. The width bands above show which formats can list it.
• Check 2, fix the product and dose: powders are dosed by auger, free-flowing liquids on the BY stick series, and sauces and pastes on the Y or SY sachet series. Record bulk density, or viscosity at the filling temperature.
• Check 3, fix the machine scope: the sizes you run, how often you change, and what happens after the machine.

The powder and liquid and sauce application pages carry the full series tables for each product group. For the machine-side checks, use how to choose a stick pack machine, and compare quotations on the same scope with the stick pack cost guide.

Send the finished pack, the product and dose, and your list of sizes, and we use them to discuss which format and series to review and whether a sample test is needed. We reply within 24 hours.

Which other single-dose formats should you rule out first?

Rule out neighbouring routes by what the pack must do. A zipper, spout or stand-up shelf presence points to premade pouches, a rigid portion with a foil lid to cup filling, and an individually wrapped solid to flow wrapping. Sticks and flat sachets stay the route for single powder, granule, liquid or paste portions formed from roll film.

When this comparison does not apply

• The ranges are LINEVO series listings for the powder series. The sauce series differ (the three-side sauce series list widths from 17 mm), and individual configurations list their own narrower figures.
• No source used here measures the two formats against each other, so the page does not rank them by price, film use or leak rate. Confirm with a sample evaluation.
• Every listed LINEVO stick and sachet series is multi-lane, from two lanes; only the tea bag machines in the sachet family are an exception. Manual and benchtop filling is outside LINEVO supply.
• A pharmaceutical or other regulated product needs its own process and film review; a format name does not settle it.
• Shelf life, barrier and recyclability depend on the film structure and the product. This page makes no claim for either format.

Questions buyers ask about stick packs and sachets

What is the difference between a pack and a packet?

A pack is the general word for any package, while a packet is a small sealed portion pack, such as a sugar or ketchup packet in US foodservice. A sachet is the same small flat portion pack under its packaging name, and the sachet definition guide linked in the first section covers the terms.

What does “1 sachet” mean?

One packet, not a fixed weight or volume. Read the net contents on the product label; in a machinery brief, give the portion size and the finished packet dimensions as separate items.

Is a stick pack always narrower than a sachet?

No. The format is defined by its seals, and the listed widths overlap: sticks 20–105 mm, three-side sachets 25–110 mm, four-side sachets 50–125 mm in LINEVO's powder series. A 60 mm wide pack can be any of the three, so shape and seams, not width alone, name the format.

Is a stick pack cheaper than a sachet?

Neither is cheaper by default, and no price is published here. Pack cost follows the film layout and seal allowances on your drawing; machine cost follows the quoted scope. Ask each supplier for both on the same finished pack, and use the cost guide linked in the choice section.

What material is sachet packaging made of?

Laminated roll film, with the layers chosen for the product. LINEVO's granule sachet configuration lists OPP/CPP, PT/PE, paper/PE, KOP/CPP and aluminum foil, and a personal care configuration lists multi-layer high-barrier laminates. Those are configuration listings, so confirm the film with your own data sheet and a sample.

Which format suits honey or a gel?

Neither wins by format alone. LINEVO lists honey, gels, sauces and pastes on its three-side and four-side sachet series, and energy gel on a pump-dosed stick configuration. Decide from viscosity at the filling temperature and from stringing or dripping after the nozzle closes, and confirm both on a sample.

Method and sources

Updated October 2026. This comparison is compiled from public sources, not from a LINEVO trial. Seal geometry, print and opening options come from builder pages for stick packs and flat pouches, read in full and re-read on 10 October 2026. They are the builders' own statements (publication dates, where shown, run from 2017 to 2025), and none is independent testing. LINEVO sizes, series, weights and dosing statements come from the catalog and application pages published on the site and are listings, not results for your product.

LINEVO makes both stick and sachet machines, so check each point against your own sample and drawing. Where the page says “our reading”, it is a conclusion drawn from geometry or from the listings, not a measurement. The sources contain no cost, film-use or seal-performance comparison between the formats.

Send the details for your format check

Send the product and how it behaves, the dose, the finished pack with its sealed edges marked, the opening and print needs, the film specification, every size you run and how often you change, and your target good output with what follows the machine. Use WhatsApp for a format discussion, or add the site details with the project brief checklist. Mark anything still open. We use the brief to discuss which series fits, what each size change would need and whether a sample test is needed. We reply within 24 hours.

Related reading

• Stick pack machines — Review the published stick pack series, lanes and product branches.
• Sachet packing machines — Review the three-side and four-side seal series and the tea bag route.
• What is a sachet? — Check the definition, seal styles and the boundary with premade pouches.
• What is a stick pack? — Check the stick format, its seals and the details to record on a drawing.
• How to choose a stick pack machine — Turn the product and pack records into an equipment brief.