Drop Testing for Transit Packaging
📦 The drop tester machine is designed to test packages weighing under 150 pounds against external forces experienced during parcel transit.
🧪 Drop testing is a mandatory component of any ISTA testing sequence to evaluate packaging performance under stress.
🔨 Standard testing involves performing 10 to 20 drops sequentially, targeting different faces, edges, and sides of the package.
📉 Documentation of external damage, such as burst sides, broken tape, or damaged corners, is crucial for analyzing test failures.

Flexible Packaging Testing
✉️ For flexible packaging like mailers, testing focuses on the four edges and the two sides (front and back) during the drop sequence.
🛡️ The primary goal after completing all drops is to open the packages and assess the integrity of the inner product to ensure it remains usable after transit shocks.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ ISTA testing protocols require specific drop sequences to simulate real-world parcel handling stresses.
➡️ Maintaining product usability after testing is the ultimate metric for successful packaging design under shock.
➡️ Thoroughly recording all external packaging failures (e.g., corner damage, tape failure) informs necessary package improvements.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 16, 2025, 13:14 UTC