Both "Film Laminated Nonwoven" and "Extrusion Coated Nonwoven" combine nonwoven fabric with polymer materials such as polyethylene (PE) to improve the waterproof, liquid-proof and barrier properties of the material, but their production processes, film-forming methods and product characteristics are not exactly the same.
1. Different Production Processes
Laminated nonwoven fabric typically involves first producing a PE film, then bonding it to the nonwoven fabric through a lamination process. Depending on the lamination method, hot pressing, adhesive bonding, or extrusion lamination can be used. Its advantage is that it allows for the selection of ready-made films with different thicknesses, colors, and functions according to customer requirements.
Coated nonwoven fabric, on the other hand, involves heating and melting resins such as PE, LDPE, and LLDPE, then directly coating them onto the surface of the nonwoven fabric through a die. After cooling, a continuous polymer film layer is formed. Therefore, the film layer is formed directly during the production process.
2. Differences in Product Appearance and Feel
Laminated products use pre-formed films for lamination, typically resulting in a smoother, flatter surface. Film thickness and appearance are also easier to control.
Coated products involve directly coating molten resin onto the nonwoven fabric. The film layer bonds more tightly to the substrate, and product performance can be controlled by adjusting parameters such as resin, temperature, and coating amount.
3. How to Choose?
If the customer has specified the PE film, color, film thickness, or special functional films, such as breathable or waterproof films, lamination should be given priority.
If the customer is more concerned with production efficiency, seamless integration of the film layer with the nonwoven fabric, and cost control, extrusion coating is often more advantageous.
For medical, protective, hygiene, packaging, and industrial products, it's not a matter of simply judging which process is "better." Instead, the appropriate nonwoven fabric basis weight, PE film thickness, peel strength, waterproof rating, breathability, and heat-sealing performance should be selected based on the end application. Both lamination and extrusion coating nonwoven fabrics are currently widely used in medical, hygiene, protective, packaging, and industrial fields.
Simply put: lamination is "first creating a film, then laminating"; coating is "forming a film directly on the nonwoven fabric after the resin has melted".