Tamper-Evident Packaging Calculator

This calculator compares five tamper-evident (TE) methods on total cost per unit, factoring in both the recurring material cost and the upfront equipment investment. Each method carries its own built-in cost profile: shrink bands run about $0.02/unit with $15,000 equipment and 100 units/minute line speed; induction seals about $0.03/unit with $25,000 equipment at 80 UPM; breakable caps $0.05/unit but only $5,000 equipment (the cheapest capital outlay, at the cost of higher per-unit material) and 60 UPM; blister packs are the most expensive per unit at $0.08 with $50,000 equipment and the slowest line speed at 40 UPM; and shrink wrap is a middle-ground $0.04/unit, $20,000 equipment, but the fastest application speed at 120 UPM. The calculator amortizes each method's equipment cost over a 5-year assumed useful life divided across your annual volume, then adds that per-unit equipment share to the material cost to produce a true total-cost-per-unit figure — a method with cheap materials but expensive equipment can lose its apparent advantage at low annual volumes, and vice versa at high volumes. It also reports the run-hours needed to apply TE features to your full annual volume at that method's line speed, useful for production scheduling.

If you flag the product as an OTC drug, the tool notes that FDA 21 CFR 211.132 mandates tamper-evident packaging with a visible indicator of tampering — note this flag only records the regulatory trigger and does not itself validate that a specific method meets FDA's substantive requirements. This calculator deliberately reports no compliance verdict: nothing you enter here (method, volume, container diameter, OTC flag) can establish that a finished package satisfies the regulation, which turns on validation testing of your actual package. Shrink-band-specific dimensional outputs (circumference, band height as a fraction of container diameter) only apply when the shrink band method is selected.