ISTA 1A

Packaged Products Weighing 150 lbs (68 kg) or Less

ISTA 1A tests packaged products weighing 150 LB (68 KG) or less. It can be considered as one of the most basic test sequences of all of the ISTA test procedures. It can also be considered as a screening test. If you need to qualify your package for selling to the .com retailers, ISTA 3A should be used instead. Micom offers ISTA 1A testing as part of its Package testing services.

ISTA 1A Uses and Factors to Be Considered

ISTA 1A is used to evaluate the performance of a packaged-product and compare the relative performance of package and product design alternatives.  While testing to this standard, the package and product are considered together and not separately. Both product and package need to be tested together.  ISTA 1A does not cover specific conditions of transit such as moisture, pressure or unusual handling. If these distribution hazards are of concern to you, we recommend using the ISTA 2A package testing standard instead.

ISTA 1A calls for the use of a fixed displacement vibration test. Random vibration testing is a much more realistic test. If you need to use random vibration instead of fixed displacement vibration, we recommend using either ISTA 1G or ISTA 2A package testing standards instead.

ISTA standards require a minimum of 1 sample to be tested. For final packaging design purposes, a higher number of samples is recommended. You should ideally test 5 or more samples.  However,  only one testing sample is mandatory. Alternatively, the ASTM D4169 can also be used as a test method.

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.

Test Sequence Under the ISTA 1A Standard

The tests shall 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	Vibration	Fixed Displacement	1 in (25 mm) peak to peak at a frequency to be determined	Required
2	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 please see, we invite you to see ISTA Testing,  Package Testing or ASTM Packaging.

If you have any questions about ISTA 1A, we invite you to contact our material testing lab. It will be our pleasure to answer your questions and help you with your unique package testing requirements.

We invite you to download your own PDF copy of the ISTA 1A Packaging Test.

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