ISTA Test Procedure 1G is a test for individually packaged products. Developed by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), it is designed to evaluate and compare the performance of packaged products under specific conditions.
This method assesses the packaged product as a unit, without isolating the performance of the packaging or the product. It may not cover certain transit conditions such as humidity, pressure, or unusual handling, for which other ISTA procedures may be more appropriate. Test Procedure 1G is primarily intended for individually packaged products weighing 150 lb (68 kg) or less when prepared for shipment.
Depending on specific needs, different ISTA test procedures can be used:
1. To use fixed displacement vibration instead of random vibration, ISTA Test Procedure 1A is recommended.
2. For products where a minimum compression value needs to be tested, ISTA Test Procedure 1C is suitable.
3. For packaged products intended for international distribution, consider ISTA Test Procedure 2A, which provides partial simulation performance testing.
4. For products that may be transported in a small parcel delivery system, consider ISTA Test Procedure 3A, which provides general simulation performance testing.
Prior to testing, the shipper must establish the acceptable level of damage tolerance, the methodology for determining the product's condition at the conclusion of the test, and the acceptable condition of the package at the end of the test.
An exception exists for individually packaged products on a visible pallet or cart weighing over 100 lb (45 kg). These can be tested using ISTA Test Procedure 1E or ISTA Test Procedure 1H instead.
For testing, actual, untested package and product are required. However, if these are not available, substitutes that are as identical as possible to the actual items must be used.
While ISTA specifies the procedure to be performed once, they recommend replicating the test five times or more using new samples each time to ensure representative performance of the packaged product.
The tests must be conducted on each test sample following a specific sequence:
- Climate preconditioning (ambient)
- Random vibration
- Shock/drop