Why Are So Many Pre-Rolls Bad These Days? It’s the Manufacturing

Why Are So Many Pre-Rolls Bad These Days? It’s the Manufacturing

It’s no secret that a good pre-roll is hard to find these days. We’ve spoken with cannabis brand owners who won’t even smoke their own pre-rolls because they know the product quality is unreliable. Crazy, right?

Especially in a market where pre-rolls dominate, now making up 50% of sales, with half of these being infused. The top suspect is the inconsistent quality that leads to clogging, uneven burning, or “canoeing.”

Our customers deserve better, and frankly, we all deserve better from our cannabis. As manufacturers, it’s on us to deliver pre-rolls that perform consistently, and this all starts with the equipment.

Much of the problem lies in how the flower is packed and processed, with many machines today just not up to the job. Quality pre-rolls aren’t just about what’s inside – they’re about how it’s packed, and we’re here to fix that with our industry-leading automation solutions.

The Root Cause of Poorly Manufactured Pre-Rolls

Many pre-rolls today are made with outdated packing techniques that simply don’t respect the unique structure of cannabis flower. Cheap equipment commonly used in pre-roll production relies on a shaking mechanism to pack flower into cones. However, this method causes the flower to separate into layers, creating an uneven density that leads to poor combustion, clogging, and “canoeing” burns.

How Shaking Mechanisms Impact Pre-Roll Quality

The vibrating mechanisms used by many pre-roll machines may seem convenient and hands-free, but they cause significant issues due to separation by flower size. When cannabis flower is shaken to pack a pre-roll, the finer and coarser particles begin to separate into layers, leading to dense sections and air pockets within the cone. This layering disrupts consistency and airflow, making it difficult for the pre-roll to burn evenly.

The funnel shape of pre-roll cones makes this worse, causing denser sections at the bottom that are harder to burn. Uneven packing density restricts airflow, leading to clogs, and when airflow is limited, combustion suffers – resulting in “canoeing,” where only one side burns, and dark ash, a sign of inefficient oxygen flow and incomplete combustion.

All of these issues can drastically impact the quality of the pre-roll, making it far from the smooth experience customers expect.

Try it at Home

To see why inconsistent pre-rolls happen, try this simple at-home experiment! All you need are two types of ground spices: one finely ground (like cinnamon powder) and one coarsely ground (like crushed peppercorns or coarse salt).

1. Create a Cone: Either use a clear pre-roll cone or roll up some parchment paper into a cone shape – just like a pre-roll!
2. Add the Spices: Mix a bit of both spices together in a small bowl and then spoon the mixture into your cone, replicating how flower is packed into pre-rolls.
3. Shake It Up: Gently shake or tap the cone as pre-roll machines often do during packing.
4. Observe the Layers: After a few minutes of shaking, look at the cone. You’ll notice that the finer particles start to sink to the bottom while the larger, coarse pieces rise to the top, forming layers.

Just like this spice mix, cannabis flower in different grinds separate inside the cone when packed by shaking, leading to uneven burning and clogs in pre-rolls. This simple experiment reveals why advanced pre-roll equipment, like PreRoll-Er’s, uses weight-based packing methods to ensure consistent, smooth-burning pre-rolls.

The PreRoll-ER Difference: Precision Packing Without Shaking

PreRoll-Er’s industry-leading cannabis automation equipment addresses the common issues with pre-roll quality. Take the Hummingbird, for instance, a desktop centrifuge machine that packs 120 cones in just 15 seconds.

Unlike traditional machines that use shaking, the Hummingbird uses centrifugal force to optimize compaction, maintaining the flower’s natural density and composition.

The Hummingbird achieves the ideal density profile to improve pre-roll performance. Instead of layering unevenly, this method compacts the flower uniformly, ensuring a smoother airflow and more consistent burn.

PreRoll-Er’s advanced approach reduces clogging and eliminates canoeing, resulting in a premium, reliable pre-roll every time. The Hummingbird is not just an efficient machine; it’s a commitment to providing consumers with a superior cannabis experience.

Respect the Flower with PreRoll-ER Automation Equipment

In the cannabis industry, respecting the flower’s natural composition during manufacturing is crucial to retaining its quality and delivering a product consumers genuinely enjoy.

No one should have to feel uncertainty while shopping for pre-rolls, dreading that they will smoke so poorly. PreRoll-Er’s machinery is designed with this respect in mind, prioritizing even packing that minimizes disruption to the flower’s unique grind structure.

With our specialized equipment, we can directly address these issues by producing high-quality, evenly-packed pre-rolls that uphold the flower’s integrity.

Ready to improve your product’s quality and boost customer satisfaction? Contact us today for a consultation on which of our machines best fits your needs.