The question our testing laboratory receives most often before an ISTA 1A or 1B test is simple: what do we need to prepare. These two procedures are a screening step, usually chosen when a company wants a quick check on how robust a package is before investing in a full simulation. The short answer is the five groups of information below.
1. Information about the package
- Outer dimensions: length, width and height, including any pallet or skid.
- Total weight, weighed as shipped, goods plus packaging.
- Whether the package is light or heavy. This is what decides between procedure 1A and 1B.
- Whether the package sits on a pallet or skid, or has castors or lifting points.
- Outer packaging: carton, wooden crate, drum, or several layers.
- Whether the contents include fragile parts, or parts protruding beyond the box surface.
2. Purpose of the test and the journey
- Whether the test is for internal screening, for comparing two packaging options, or for presenting to a customer or retailer.
- Whether the goods travel by road, by sea, or by parcel carrier. Procedures 1A and 1B do not simulate one specific channel, so the context matters for how the result is used.
- Whether climate conditioning is required. If it is, a different procedure is needed rather than 1A or 1B.
- Whether the result has to be compared with an earlier test.
3. Information about samples
- Number of packages submitted. Three to five are recommended for one evaluation.
- Whether the samples are packed in the retail configuration.
- Whether a control sample, untested, is needed for comparison afterwards.
- Whether samples have to be kept after the test, and for how long.
4. Pass and fail criteria
- The acceptable level of product damage, described as specific symptoms.
- The acceptable level of packaging damage.
- How the package is examined after the test: visual inspection, function check, or measurement of technical parameters.
- If two packaging options are being compared, what the comparison is based on: material cost, robustness, or both.
5. Report and timing
- Report in Vietnamese, English or bilingual.
- Photos and video of each test step, or only before and after photos.
- Test report only, or an additional association certification.
- The date the results are needed.
6. Why the purpose has to be stated first
For the same package, a screening test and a test meant to satisfy a retailer are judged differently. Screening only has to answer whether the packaging survives the basic mechanical sequence. A test for a business partner also has to follow the procedure that partner requires, with the right number of samples and the right paperwork. Stating the purpose at the start lets the lab choose the right procedure, and avoids the situation where the test is finished before anyone discovers the result cannot be used for the real purpose.
Three links worth reading before you send samples: what ISTA 1A is, what ISTA 1B is, and how to choose the right ISTA procedure.
You can send the five groups above through the form below, together with photos of the package. The lab will reply with the test items and an expected schedule.
This article reflects our testing laboratory’s experience in collecting information. It does not quote the content of the ISTA standard and does not replace reading the original standard before implementation.
