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ISTA® 6 Testing and Certification Services

Ensure Product Protection Through the Last Mile

In the marketplace, we help our customers WIN by providing GREAT SOLUTIONS and GREAT RELIABILITY.  We understand that it’s not just your products we are protecting, it’s also the reputation of your brand and the potential for future purchases.

Our in-house certified ISTA® (International Safe Transit Association) technicians can test and certify packages and fully-loaded pallets in our state-of-the-art ISTA 6 test lab to pre-determine if packages are optimally designed and if design modifications are needed.

Great Northern is also a member of Amazon’s APASS network (Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network).

Benefits of Testing Your Packaging 

Certified labs provide testing services to manufacturers, vendors and sellers. Amazon packaging testing at Great Northern delivers a comprehensive exam to ensure all designs match the standard requirements before shipping. Testers assess materials, components, shipping containers, unit loads and associated processes during this process.

Testing benefits your company in many ways:

  • Damage-free deliveries: Ensure your products arrive safely.
  • Reduces returns: Quality matches product descriptions when shipped to customers.
  • Boosts brand reputation: Build a reliable company brand and boost better reviews.
  • Saves money: Decrease shipping costs with lighter and smaller packaging.
  • Gauges life span: Understand how long your package materials last.
  • Informs correctly: Write warranties and user instructions accurately.
  • Matches competition: Offer better or the same top-level testing as other brands.

ISTA 6 Test Lab Capabilities

The ISTA 6 tests expose packages to anticipated conditions and potential hazards that could be encountered throughout the supply chain and distribution channels. The ISTA 6 test protocols include:

  • Vibration Testing
  • Incline Testing
  • Material Handling
  • Free-fall Drop Testing
  • Compression Testing
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Stages of Testing

Testing packaging for shipping involves measuring characteristics and properties involved with transportation and distribution processes. Various machines test strength and durability, and passing grades on performance and development tests ensure packages will survive normal shipping conditions. These test stages provide the safest and best shipping standards for your company’s product.

INTRODUCTION

COMPRESSION TEST

Crushing loads under applied pressure determines a material’s reaction to force and verifies the resistance of load units, shipping containers and pallets.

VIBRATION TEST

Simulations mimic vibrations occurring to packages during the transportation, shipping and handling stages to demonstrate resistance in dynamic loads and retain structural integrity.

INCLINE TEST

A machine simulates the effects of a load during handling and shipping due to horizontal shocks occurring in the distribution cycle.

 

FREE-FALL DROP TEST

Dropping a package from a specified height in various specified orientations will show how the package reacts when it comes in contact with a solid surface.

MATERIAL HANDLING TEST

Loading and unloading packaged goods tests design performance when pallets equipment moves and lifts them for storage and transportation.

Your Single Resource for Efficient Package Design & Product Protection

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OPTIMIZED PACKAGE DESIGN

Designs optimize packaging for protecting materials and communicating product information while transporting to stores, warehouses and manufacturers.

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CUSTOM MOLDED PULP PRODUCT PROTECTION

Sustainable materials provide eco-friendly packing methods with paper, natural fibers and cardboard recycled into a molded pulp in three-dimensional shapes for protecting and securing your products.

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VBOARD EDGE PROTECTION

Secure any covers and tarps for sheltering materials and protect cargo straps, box corners, straight edges and chains with durable boards of various sizes and designs.

Testing Procedures and Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about testing procedures and see frequently asked questions here.

Great Expectations

Great Expectations is more than a tagline, it is an attitude. At Great Northern, customer challenges are met by an undying spirit to doing what others can’t or won’t. It’s in our DNA. And it is what our customers have come to expect with Great Northern.

How can we exceed your expectations?

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