ISTA 1C

Extended Testing for Packaged Products Weighing 150 lbs (68 kg) or Less

ISTA 1C Testing | Micom LaboratoriesISTA 1C is an extended test for packaged products weighing 150 LB (68 KG) or less. It is a basic test sequence of all of the ISTA test procedures and is to be looked at as a screening test. Micom offers ISTA 1C testing as part of its Package testing services. If you need to qualify your package for courier shipping, the ISTA 3A test should be used instead.

ISTA 1C Uses and Factors to Consider

ISTA 1C is an integrity test for individually packaged products weighing less than 150 lbs (68 kg). It can be used to evaluate the performance of a packaged product and compare the relative performance of package and product design alternatives. The package and product are considered together and not separately. They both need to be tested together.  Furthermore, it does not cover specific conditions of transit such as moisture, pressure or unusual handling.

As the other ISTA tests, it requires a minimum of 1 sample to be tested. For final packaging design purposes a higher number of samples, ideally 5 or more, is recommended.  However, only testing one sample is mandatory. Alternatively, the ASTM D4169 test can be used to test your packages.

Packages that have already been subjected to the rigors of transportation prior to the test cannot be assumed to represent standard conditions. In order to ensure testing in optimal condition, products and packages shipped to accredited laboratories for testing must be over-packaged for shipment to the laboratory or repackaged in new packaging at the laboratory.

ISTA 1C test sequence

To comply to ISTA 1C, the tests need to be performed on each test sample in the sequence indicated in the following table:

Sequence No.

Test Category

Test Type

Test Level

For ISTA Certification

1

Compression
Conditioning

Machine
or Static

Calculated
Test Load or Force

Required

2

Vibration

(Alternative
methods allowed – select one test type)

Fixed
Displacement

1 in (25
mm) peak to peak at a frequency to be determined

Required

Random

Overall
Grms level of 1.15

3

Shock

(Alternative
methods allowed – select one test type)

Drop

Height
varies with packaged-product weight

Required

Incline
Impact (Conbur)

Impact
Velocity varies with packaged-product weight

Horizontal
Impact

Impact
Velocity varies with packaged product weight

Typical Experimental Parameters

  • Number of specimens/product: 1 (min.)
  • Maximum sample weight: 150 lbs

Other Related Test Methods

For additional related test methods, we invite you to explore ISTA Testing, Package Testing and ASTM Packaging.

In addition, for testing packaging components  you can view these resources: Tappi Testing and Material Testing.

If you have any questions about ISTA 1C test, we invite you to contact our material testing laboratory. It will be our pleasure to review your custom testing requirements and answer your questions.

We also invite you to learn more about our package testing services by consulting our brochure below: