So the useful question is not whether vacuum helps your product. It usually does. The question is which of these two frames matches the bag you actually ship, and what the slower cycle costs you in return. A VFFS vacuum packaging machine only pays back when the frame and the bag agree, and that is what the rest of this page is built to settle.
Quick Answer: Match the Bag, Not the Budget
What you pack Bag it needs Machine Rated output Rice, beans, sugar, small grains Pillow or gusseted UMEO-420D 1,200 to 1,500 packs/h Chia, quinoa, nuts, coffee at 2 kg Quad seal brick UMEO-520D 60 to 150 packs/h
If your product is not in that table, neither of the two frames on this page is the right buy. Here is where to look instead.
Product type Use instead Flour, spice, milk powder A VFFS with an auger filler, sealed against dust Sauce, paste, cooking oil A sachet VFFS, four-side sealed for liquid Biscuits and crushable pieces An inclined VFFS or a horizontal machine Bags wider than 250 mm or well above 2 kg Ask us about a larger frame
A VFFS vacuum packaging machine is built for dry, free-flowing product that holds a shape once the air leaves. Powder moves differently under vacuum than a grain does, and liquid has no business near the vacuum line at all.
The Two Frames Side by Side
Every specification we publish for both machines, in one place.
Dimension UMEO-420D UMEO-520D Positioning Small bags at high output 2 kg bags in brick form Bag length 50 to 300 mm 80 to 350 mm Bag width 50 to 200 mm 80 to 250 mm Max film width 420 mm 520 mm Rated output 1,200 to 1,500 packs/h 60 to 150 packs/h Bag type Pillow, gusseted Pillow, quad seal Air consumption 0.8 m³/min 0.8 m³/min Working pressure 0.8 MPa 0.8 MPa Power 8.5 kW 5.5 kW Voltage 220V or 380V, 50/60Hz, 1P or 3P 220V or 380V, 50/60Hz, 1P or 3P Film roll OD 320 mm or less, ID 76 mm or more OD 340 mm or less, ID 76 mm or more Film structures OPP/CPP, OPP/CE, PET/PE, aluminium foil OPP/CPP, PET/PE, BOPP/ALU/LDPE, NYLON/PE Net weight 765 kg 1,050 kg
Where Each Machine Sits
The 420D is the small-bag machine, and in our range it is the one that covers rice, beans and similar grains in pillow or gusseted form. The 520D is the brick machine. It adds a quad seal, which is what lets a 2 kg pack of chia or quinoa hold a rectangle instead of a rounded pillow. Neither frame is an upgrade of the other, and no VFFS vacuum packaging machine does both jobs equally well. They are aimed at different bags.
Bag Length, Width, and Film Width
Length runs 50 to 300 mm on the 420D against 80 to 350 mm on the 520D. Width runs 50 to 200 mm against 80 to 250 mm, and the film widths follow the same order at 420 mm against 520 mm. Width is the number that usually decides it, because a bag wider than 200 mm is outside what the 420D can form, whatever the length figure says.
Rated Output
The widest gap in the comparison. The 420D is rated at 1,200 to 1,500 packs/h, which is 20 to 25 a minute. The 520D is rated at 60 to 150 packs/h, which is 1 to 2.5 a minute. Read both as manufacturer ratings and then ask for the figure at your own bag size and fill weight, since that is the number your shift plan depends on.
Air Supply
Identical on both: 0.8 m³/min at a working pressure of 0.8 MPa. Neither frame asks for more air than the other, so this line will not help you choose. It will decide whether the line performs, because a compressor that cannot hold the pressure shows up as inconsistent packs rather than as a fault on the panel.
Power and Phase
The 420D draws 8.5 kW and the 520D draws 5.5 kW, and both are offered at 220V or 380V, 50 or 60Hz, single or three phase. The voltage options match, so this one comes down to your site. Note that 8.5 kW on a single phase 220V supply is a heavy load, and it is cheaper to settle the question before the machine ships than after it lands.
Film Roll Dimensions
Both frames take a core of 76 mm or more. The 420D accepts a roll up to 320 mm in outer diameter and the 520D up to 340 mm. That 20 mm matters more than it looks, because film suppliers work to their own standard roll sizes, and a roll that will not load is a problem that only appears on delivery day. Check the outer diameter before you place the film order.
Film Structures
The two lists differ, and the difference is barrier. The 420D is specified for OPP/CPP, OPP/CE, PET/PE and aluminium foil. The 520D is specified for OPP/CPP, PET/PE, BOPP/ALU/LDPE and NYLON/PE. The aluminium and nylon layers are what stop air working its way back in. A single layer film will pull down and look correct on day one, then lose the shape it was given.
Weight and Floor Load
765 kg against 1,050 kg. On a ground floor slab, neither figure is a difficulty. On a mezzanine, a raised platform, or an older warehouse floor, the 520D number is worth raising before delivery, along with the route the frame takes from the truck to where it will stand. Ask also about the space the filler above and the conveyor beside will need, since neither is covered by the frame weight.
Who Each One Is For
The 420D suits you if you pack rice, beans, sugar or similar small grains in a pillow or gusseted bag 200 mm wide or less, and daily volume is the pressure you feel most. This is the vacuum rice packaging machine in our line.
The 520D suits you if you pack chia, quinoa, nuts or coffee at 2 kg in a quad seal brick up to 250 mm wide, and the pack needs to stand on a shelf and stack square on a pallet.
For the wider equipment picture, our range covers the same technology without the vacuum stage, and it is worth seeing what the vacuum option is actually adding before you pay for it.
Why the Output Numbers Sit So Far Apart
Two reasons, and both come down to time in the cycle. A vacuum pump needs a certain period to bring a given volume down to pressure, and a 2 kg bag holds more air than a small pillow bag does. A quad seal also closes four edges where a pillow bag closes one back seam plus two cross seals, and each of those takes time.
That is how you get 20 to 25 packs a minute on one frame and 1 to 2.5 on the other.
So when a quote offers 20 bags a minute on a 2 kg brick, ask to see it running with your film and your product. A number that ignores dwell time was written by someone who will not be at commissioning. That said, the slower machine is not the weaker one. A VFFS vacuum packaging machine built for brick packs is doing a different job from one built for volume, and the two are not substitutes for each other.
What the Vacuum Step Changes About the Pack
Film unwinds from the roll and passes over a forming collar that turns it into a tube. A vertical seal closes the back seam, the filler drops product down the tube, and the machine draws the air out before the top jaw closes. That last stage is the entire difference between a VFFS vacuum packaging machine and a standard vertical one.
Why the Pack Comes Out Hard
With the air gone, the film collapses onto the product and the two faces hold each other in place. A rice pack stops behaving like a pillow and starts behaving like a block. The effect is strongest on the 520D, since a quad seal pouch is closed on all four corners and holds a rectangle rather than a rounded shape. Product that crushes easily needs a gentler dwell setting, and your operator should be shown how to set it.
What You Get, and What You Do Not
Less oxygen in the pack. For oily products like chia, nuts and coffee, that is the point, because oxidation is what turns them stale and then rancid. For rice and beans the gain is more about geometry: packs stack square, pallets sit flat, and the bag does not slump on a shelf.
What you do not get is shelf life for free. Vacuum slows the chemistry rather than stopping it, and the barrier in your film decides how much of the benefit survives storage.
What Moves the Quote
Both frames are priced against configuration rather than off a flat list, so ask for a figure built on your bag instead of a headline number. The total moves with the frame size, the filler you pair it with, the bag tooling, the voltage and phase, and the destination market. Options such as a date printer or a gas flushing system are specified separately on this range.
What you want in writing is the rated output at your fill weight, the film structure named rather than described as laminated, and the changeover time between your two most common bag sizes. Those three tell you more than the price on its own.
Specs to Confirm Before You Sign
Bag length and width at your real size, not the widest the machine can form
Rated output at your fill weight, written into the contract
Compressed air supply of 0.8 m³/min at 0.8 MPa, checked against your compressor
Voltage and phase at your site: 220V single phase or 380V three phase
Film structure named on the order, not just laminated
Roll outer diameter and core ID matched to the unwind
Floor loading for a 765 kg or a 1,050 kg frame
Changeover time between your two most common bag sizes
Vacuum dwell setting, and who shows your operator how to adjust it
Filler type and head count, matched to your product rather than to the bag
Bag tooling for every bag style you plan to run, not just the first one
Where Lines Go Wrong in Month Two
Most of these are not machine faults. They are decisions made months earlier, and a VFFS vacuum packaging machine will keep running for a long time before the wrong ones surface.
The compressor cannot hold 0.8 MPa. Vacuum depth drifts, seals look sound to the eye, and packs reach the customer soft.
The film roll is too big to load. Ordered before anyone checked the 320 mm or 340 mm outer diameter limit.
Barrier was specified by thickness rather than structure. The pack holds shape, then gradually relaxes.
The rate was booked at the pillow bag number. Production planning built a shift around 20 bags a minute on a frame rated for 2.5.
Single phase power was assumed. 8.5 kW is not a light circuit.
The product changed after commissioning. An oilier nut blend or a stickier grain behaves differently in both the filler and the vacuum stage.
Which One Should You Buy
Two frames, one decision, and it starts from the bag rather than the budget. A VFFS vacuum packaging machine that matches your bag will earn its keep; one chosen for the wrong reason will run for years and never quite pay back.
Pick the UMEO-420D if your bag is 200 mm wide or less, you run rice, beans, sugar or small grains in pillow or gusseted form, and output per shift is the number you are judged on.
Pick the UMEO-520D if your bag runs 200 mm to 250 mm wide, you pack chia, quinoa, nuts or coffee at 2 kg, and the pack needs to stand on a shelf and stack square on a pallet.
Look at different equipment if you run powder, liquid, or anything fragile enough to break on the drop.
Your situation Choose The number that decides it Small grains in pillow or gusseted bags, volume matters most UMEO-420D 1,200 to 1,500 packs/h 2 kg chia, quinoa, nuts or coffee in a brick pack UMEO-520D Quad seal up to 250 mm wide Bag is wider than 200 mm UMEO-520D The 420D stops at 200 mm Bag is under 200 mm and speed matters UMEO-420D The 520D is rated far slower Powder, liquid, or fragile product Neither Different filler and frame
If you are still torn, let the bag width settle it. Under 200 mm is 420D territory. Above 200 mm you need the 520D frame. Speed follows from that decision rather than leading it.
FAQs
What Is a VFFS Vacuum Packaging Machine?
A VFFS vacuum packaging machine is a vertical form fill seal machine with an air removal stage added before the final seal. Film forms a tube, product drops in, air is drawn out, and the top jaw closes on a tight pack. The result is a rigid, stackable bag rather than a loose pillow.
How Fast Is a VFFS Vacuum Packaging Machine?
It depends on the bag. Our UMEO-420D runs 1,200 to 1,500 packs/h on small pillow and gusseted bags. The UMEO-520D, set up for a 2 kg quad seal brick, runs 60 to 150 packs/h, because the vacuum dwell and the extra seals take longer in each cycle.
How Do the UMEO-420D and 520D Differ?
The 420D makes pillow and gusseted bags up to 200 mm wide at 1,200 to 1,500 packs/h. The 520D makes pillow and quad seal bags up to 250 mm wide at 60 to 150 packs/h, and it is the one specified for BOPP/ALU/LDPE and NYLON/PE film. Air demand and voltage options are the same on both.
Can One Machine Cover Both Bag Sizes?
Their bag ranges overlap, so a small bag sits within what either frame can form. The dwell setting and film width that suit a 2 kg brick are wrong for a small bag though, so you would be running the fast frame at a slow rate. Price two machines before you buy one if both sizes are core to your output.
How Much Compressed Air Does It Need?
Both the 420D and the 520D are rated at 0.8 m³/min at a working pressure of 0.8 MPa. Check that against your existing compressor before delivery, because an undersized supply is a common cause of inconsistent vacuum depth on a new line.
What Film Works With Vacuum VFFS?
Laminated film with a barrier layer, and the two frames are not specified for the same list. The 420D runs OPP/CPP, OPP/CE, PET/PE and aluminium foil. The 520D runs OPP/CPP, PET/PE, BOPP/ALU/LDPE and NYLON/PE. Single layer film will vacuum down and look right on the day, then let air back through over time.
Can It Pack Powder or Liquid?
Not on these two. Powder needs an auger filler and dust control, and liquid needs a pump filler. A vacuum stage on either one pulls product into the vacuum line rather than only removing air, which turns into a cleaning problem rather than a packaging one.
Conclusion
Spec sheets get you to a shortlist. They do not tell you how your particular rice, quinoa or nut blend will behave on a frame day after day, and that is what decides whether the line earns its keep.
Send us a sample and your target bag size. We will run it on the frame we think fits, record the cycle at your fill weight, and send the numbers back with the settings we used. We will also say plainly whether a VFFS vacuum packaging machine is the right frame at all, because one you do not need is one you will not recover the cost of.
and tell us what you are packing, at what bag size, and how many bags a day.