Abstract: Bag making apparatus and method for forming a handle opening in a thermoplastic food packaging shrink bag includes both cold cutting and hot cut cutting operations to form a handle which, on heat shrinking the bag, is strong and has an enhanced appearance.

Abstract: A heat shrinkable bag having a slit cut through two plies of a skirt portion so that the skirt forms a handle upon heat shrinking. The slit is cold cut through both plies of the skirt for most of the slit length except the opposite ends of the slit are burnt through the skirt to weld the plies together at the slit ends.

Abstract: The heat sealing wire of an impulse heat sealer is held against an operating face of a support bar by an insulating fabric which is draped over the wire and secured in a slot formed in the support bar. The securing drape of fabric allows unrestricted expansion and contraction of the hot wire. Also if the slot lies in a curved plane which extends perpendicular to the plane of the support bar operating face, the drape of insulating fabric and consequently the sealing wire follow the same curve so the heat sealer can make seals of a non-linear configuration.

Abstract: Viable fluids such as blood components are rapidly frozen in plastic or the like pouches for transportation and/or storage by placing a flat pouch slack filled with fluid between two substantially planar parallel restraining surfaces such as metal plates of greater perimeter than the flattened slack filled pouch which are rigid enough to prevent sagging of the pouch when it is vertically disposed and flexible enough to accommodate expansion of the pouch flat sides during the freezing operation. The restraining surfaces are retained against separation by retaining means applied against at least a portion of the outer surfaces of each pouch restraining means and the entire assembly is immersed in a cryogenic medium to rapidly freeze the fluid.

Abstract: Viable fluids such as blood components are rapidly frozen in plastic or the like pouches for transportation and/or storage by placing a flat pouch slack filled with fluid between two substantially planar parallel restraining surfaces such as metal plates of greater perimeter than the flattened slack filled pouch which are rigid enough to prevent sagging of the pouch when it is vertically disposed and flexible enough to accommodate expansion of the pouch flat sides during the freezing operation. The restraining surfaces are retained against separation by retaining means applied against at least a portion of the outer surfaces of each pouch restraining means and the entire assembly is immersed in a cryogenic medium to rapidly freeze the fluid.

Abstract: Viable fluids such as blood components are rapidly frozen in plastic or the like pouches for transportation and/or storage by placing a flat pouch slack filled with fluid between two substantially planar parallel restraining surfaces such as metal plates of greater perimeter than the flattened slack filled pouch which are rigid enough to prevent sagging of the pouch when it is vertically disposed and flexible enough to accommodate expansion of the pouch flat sides during the freezing operation. The restraining surfaces are retained against separation by retaining means applied against at least a portion of the outer surfaces of each pouch restraining means and the entire assembly is immersed in a cryogenic medium to rapidly freeze the fluid.