Exploring Automated Pre-Roll Infusion Machines
Posted by Custom Cones USA on May 12th 2025
The fastest growing – and most profitable – segment of the pre-roll category is easily the infused pre-roll.
Consumers love the higher potency and more flavorful experience they deliver, while producers love the higher price point they hit because of the addition of a concentrate. It’s a win-win and the segment continues to grow each year.
But producing quality infused pre-rolls at scale by hand can be a complicated and time-intensive process, which is why if you are looking to start or broaden your infused pre-roll line, adding an infused pre-roll machine or even an automated infused pre-roll machine to your facility might be the right move.
But automated infusion machines are not an investment one makes on a whim and deciding which machine best suits your needs is an important decision any pre-roll manufacturer has to make.
So let’s take a look at infused pre-rolls, pre-roll infusion machines and automated infusion machines to see which one will work best in your facility and for your production line.
Table of Contents
- What are Infused Pre-Rolls?
- Why Should You Infuse Your Pre-Rolls?
- Methods of Automated Pre-Roll Infusion
- What Type of Joint Infusion Method Should You Use?
- Where Inside the Joint Can You Infuse Pre-Rolls?
- Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machines
- Designer Infused Pre-Roll Cones
- Final Thoughts on Automated Pre-Roll Infusion
What are Infused Pre-Rolls?
An infused pre-roll, also known as an infused joint, is a pre-made cannabis cigarette elevated with the addition of a concentrate like hash, live rosin, wax, kief or others.
The addition of a concentrate introduces a dynamic element to the pre-roll experience and enhances the potency. Options like bubble hash or wax offer versatility in potency and contribute nuanced flavors and unique experiences, contributing to the overall sensory journey.
And while traditional, flower-only pre-rolls often have their potencies top-out around 30%, adding a concentrate can send potency soaring above 70%, and even higher.
Why Should You Infuse Your Pre-Rolls?
As we noted, infused pre-rolls are the top-selling pre-roll segment in the country.
According to cannabis analytics firm Headset, infused pre-rolls accounted for about $1.4 billion in sales, or just under 46% of all pre-roll revenue, in the 12 U.S. markets they track. More than 100 million infused pre-roll units were sold in 2024 in those 12 states alone.
Infused pre-roll sales grew in every quarter of 2024, from about $303 million in Q1 to about $385 million by Q4, an increase of 27%. In unit numbers, sales jumped from 21.8 million units in Q1 to about 31.4 million in Q4; that's about 44% growth in just one year.
Meanwhile, the average item price for infused pre-rolls was $12.73, behind just the cannagar/blunt segment ($12.75, but only accounts for 0.7% of category sales) and the mixed strain segment ($13.36, 2.3% of sales). The mixed strain segment, however, appears to be more multi-pack sales.
In Canada, infused pre-rolls are the no. 2 top-selling category behind Hybrid – Single Strain, bringing in $467 million in sales in 2024 in the four provinces tracked by Headset. That’s a 36.2% market share in the pre-roll category. Canadian consumers bought 19.3 million infused pre-roll units at an average item price of $24.22.
Like the trend in the U.S., the infused segment saw growth in every quarter, going from $99 million in sales in Q1 to $128.1 million in Q4. That’s growth of 29.4%. Unit sales also increased, going from 4.1 million units sold in Q1 to 5.3 million in Q4, or 29.2% more.
Simply stated, if you make pre-rolls, you should have an infused line because people like them and they make money.
Methods of Automated Pre-Roll Infusion
There are a handful of different ways to infuse pre-rolls, but they all fall into two categories: internal and external. Some pre-rolls do, however, utilize both methods for additional punch and flavor.
Internal Infusion
Internal infusion simply means the concentrate is contained entirely inside the cone.
It can be done by mixing the flower and concentrate together before packing or by placing strips or chunks of the concentrate into the pre-roll during the packing process, either by hand or with a machine, like the Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machine.
The downside of internal infusion comes often in the mix or more specifically, in the mixing. Special attention needs to be paid to the viscosity and malleability of whatever concentrate you are using to ensure that your mix is homogenized or at least evenly distributed. Some concentrate, like kief and shatter, are easier to manipulate when it is cold and crumbly. Other concentrates, like distillate, will be easier to mix with flower when warmed up.
Thankfully, there’s a machine for that too: the Infused Flower Mixer.
External Infusion
Conversely, external infusion means the concentrate – or more likely concentrates – are applied to the outside of the pre-rolled cone.
Generally, this is done by painting a completed pre-roll with a distillate and then rolling it in – or spraying it with - kief. Again, it can be done by hand or with the use of infusion machinery.
Though visually exciting because of the visible kief dust blasted onto the outside of the preroll, the downside of external infusion is side smoke – the concentrate being burned off or vaporized before you can smoke it – which can affect potency and flavor, and a hotter-burning experience, which can lead to a harsher smoke.
However, it is a very popular method that consumers flock to. In fact, both Jeeter and STIIIZY – the top 2 pre-roll makers in the country – use external infusion as part of their infusion methods.
And yes, there's a machine for that as well: The Automated Kief Coating Machine.
What Type of Joint Infusion Method Should You Use?
The choice of which concentrate to use and how to apply it when infusing pre-rolled joints is entirely up to the producer, and each method and concentrate has its own fans and detractors.
There are no stats on consumer preference though, so for manufacturers it comes down to a matter of preference, availability of concentrate and ease of application.
CBD Infused Pre-Rolls: Infused CBD pre-rolls are crafted with high-CBD, low-THC flower and concentrates. Primarily for medical use because of its lack of psychoactive effects, CBD, or cannabidiol, has been found to reduce anxiety, help alleviate PTSD symptoms and help ease pain, among other effects.
THC Infused Pre-Rolls: Comprised of both flower and high-THC concentrate, these are the pre-rolls most associated with the phrase “infused,” adding a heightened potency to a traditional joint. Some ways of adding additional THC to a pre-roll include the highly potent distillate or even THCa powder, which converts to THC when combusted, or “decarboxylated.”
Hash Infused Pre-Rolls: Adding hash, an extract made from pressed trichomes collected from flower, contributes to heightened potency and flavor. This infusion technique is usually utilized inside the pre-roll by mixing hash with the flower prior to packing your pre-roll cone.
Bubble Hash Infused Pre-Rolls: Bubble hash is hash created by separating the trichomes from the flower using a blend of cold water and ice. The subsequent steps include meticulous filtration and thorough drying. Again, this is usually mixed with flower prior to packing.
Wax Infused Pre-Rolls: Cannabis wax is a sticky, golden concentrate usually made with solvents to separate the THC from the flower and then either mixed with flower or via pre-roll dipping. There are a variety of different “waxes,” including budder, crumble, resin and rosin, all with varying degrees of stickiness, potency and flavor. They are added to the pre-roll through either painting, mixing or including a large roll of through the center.
Kief Infused Pre-Rolls: Kief, the golden dust made from loose trichomes collected from drying and grinding marijuana buds, can also be added for enhanced potency. Kief infused pre-rolls are among the most commonly infused pre-rolls as they are relatively easy to produce and because kief is common and easy to come by. Kief infused pre-rolls can either be internal, with the kief mixed in with the flower or external, with it dusted onto the outside of a pre-roll.
Terpene Infused Pre-Rolls: Infusing pre-rolls with terpenes, the chemicals that give plants – including cannabis – their distinctive smells and flavors, can intensify flavors and aromas. The terpenes added to pre-rolls can be cannabis-derived, but are usually botanical in nature, sourced from other plants. They help brighten the flavor of a pre-roll, usually adding fruity overtones, as opposed to a more authentic cannabis taste. By virtue of the entourage effect, terpenes can also amplify the impact of your pre-roll.
Terp Sauce Infused Pre-Rolls: Terp sauce is an aromatic concentrate made from fresh-frozen buds that adds an elevated flavor and taste profile. Terp Sauce, as the name implies, contains a higher level of terpenes than other concentrates, which gives it its enhanced flavor, though it usually does not add much additional potency to the pre-roll.
Moon Rocks Infused Pre-Rolls: Moon rocks are created when the flower and concentrate are rolled together as one, then dipped in kief and added to the pre-rolls ground flower.
THCa Diamond infused Pre-Rolls: THCa Diamonds are a crystalline concentrate that is created by taking another concentrate – sauce – and adding heat and pressure to create the diamonds, which have a potency of 75-90% when decarboxylated. The diamonds are then added into a pre-roll or joint to boost the pre-roll's potency and flavor.
Shatter Infused Pre-Roll: Shatter is a translucent, glass-like concentrate made through a specific process involving solvents like butane or hydrocarbons. Shatter-infused pre-rolls typically boast visual appeal with the translucent appearance of shatter.
Where Inside the Joint Can You Infuse Pre-Rolls?
When using an internal infusion method, the concentrate can be either be mixed in with the flower or placed in the center as the pre-roll is being packed or rolled.
The easiest and best way to mix flower and a concentrate is with the Infused Flower Mixer, which uses physics to fully homogenize – or perfectly coat – the flower and concentrate, no matter how sticky the concentrate is.
Some concentrates, like resin and rosin, can be rolled into thin snakes and placed in the middle.
Concentrates can also be injected directly into the pre-roll by an automated pre-roll infusion machine.
Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machines
For companies looking to produce infused pre-rolls at scale, an automated machine may be the way to go. But different machines infuse in different ways, so it is important to invest in the one that best works for your company’s infusion method, no matter what it is.
Let’s walk through the best machines we’ve found to handle the various methods of pre-roll infusion.
The Infused Flower Mixer
The Infused Flower Mixer is the best way we have ever seen to combine flower and a concentrate prior to packing it into your cone. It uses the power of physics to perfectly homogenize the two, no matter which concentrate you use.
The machine’s dual asymmetric centrifuge technology ensures your flower is completely coated or encapsulated in whatever concentrate you choose, whether its liquid or solid. The main arm spins like a typical centrifuge, but there is also a counterspin on the holder so the machine can do things a normal centrifuge doesn’t. Instead of separating particles out, like a normal centrifuge, the planetary motion accelerates them toward each other, smashing the particles together.
Think of it like a tilt-a-whirl, spinning in two different directions at once to smash the particles together evenly.
The powerful motor can combine any two substances in less than a minute and still leaves your infused flower compatible with most pre-roll filling machines, though we recommend capping your concentrate percentage at around 10-20% to ensure flowability, unless you are hand-rolling your pre-rolls. Then, feel free to bump the ratio as high as 50%.
You can literally add any concentrate directly on top of your flower, including oils such as rosin, live resin, batter and high terpene full spectrum extract. Plus, there is no change in the chemistry of the products because the machine only uses physical manipulation to create the homogenized mixture. There is also less heat exposure, preserving your terpenes and cannabinoids.
Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machine
The Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machine can take any type of oil that can be liquefied with gentle heat, including distillate, live resin, sugar, wax, butter, shatter, and even hash rosin, and inject it into finished pre-rolls at a rate of up to 800 pre-rolls per hour.
This machine automates the process by injecting a preset measured rod of oil into the center of your pre-rolls. All you need to do is load your finished pre-rolls into the wheel cartridge and set the measurement for the concentrate using the machine’s touchscreen. For example, you can choose to infuse a 30mm rod of oil 10mm above the filter tip and the machine gets to work.
And because the concentrate is infused into the center of the pre-roll, the oil starts to get vaporized by the approaching cherry before burning, creating a smoother, less harsh smoke AND the popular “donut joint” or “hash hole” look.
The Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machine has a warmed concentrate reservoir to keep the oil flowing smoothly and a heated stainless steel injection needle that helps prevent clogging. The machine also has a temperature probe to ensure the oil is perfectly heated for ideal viscosity and never overheated or burned. The uniform temperature also helps prevent clogging.
Filled pre-rolls are loaded into specially designed cartridges, made from solid teflon, a non-stick, easy-to-clean and food-grade surface. Each machine comes with two cartridges, so while this one is filling, the same operator can start loading the next cartridge, keeping production moving smoothly.
Automated Kief Coating Machine (Stardust)
Whether you are also using an internal infusion method or not, external infusion, or kief-dusting can be a slow, messy process in its own right. Thankfully, there’s a modern pre-roll machine created to solve exactly that problem.
The Automated Kief Coating Machine is a specially designed machine that can produce 10 kief-coated pre-rolls of any size in just 30 seconds, or up to 1,200 per hour with just a single operator.
The operator places 10 finished pre-rolls in one of the machine’s drums, uses the touchscreen to create or call up a “coating profile” and then the Automated Kief Coating Machine takes over, with a robot arm lifting the pod and then lowering it first into a drum where the pre-rolls are sprayed with a concentrate or water-based adhesive and then into a second drum where they are coated with kief.
That’s it; externally infused pre-rolls ready for packaging in just 30 seconds.
The machine is compatible with pre-rolled cones, pre-rolled tubes and pre-rolled blunts of any size. It supports a range of adhesives, including distillate, fully decarbed concentrates like live resin or rosin or even Arabic gum, cigar glue, and water-based solutions.
For the external coating, users can apply Dry Sift Kief, Bubble Hash, crushed THCa Diamonds, or even ground/powdered cannabis, ensuring precise and consistent coating.
PRO TIP – Not all “kief” is created equally. It may sound obvious, but make sure the kief you are using is actually kief. Kief is the collection of trichomes that have been sifted off cannabis flower—not the flower itself. It typically has an amber color. Ground flower is not the same thing, though it is sometimes sold as kief. Though it works in the machine, budtenders and customers will be able to see and taste the difference, so save the ground flower for the inside of the joint.
Other Pre-Roll Infusion Machines
The PreRoll-Er is another automated pre-roll machine that will make infused pre-rolls. While primarily a cone-filling machine, makers of the PerRoll-Er state that it works with infused cannabis, meaning that it can be used to create infused pre-rolls if the flower has been properly infused ahead of time, potentially with something like the Infused Flower Mixer.
The Xylem X1 uses ceramic pumps and an injection needle to infuse finished pre-rolls with resin, rosin or any other liquid extract. It is designed to work with any shape and size pre-roll and is said to produce up to 500 infused pre-rolls per hour, all with the concentrate injected into the center of the pre-roll to create a donut joint style finish.
The Astro Infuser is an automated pre-roll infusion machine that can inject 72 pre-rolls with a concentrate in 90 seconds, or a manufacturer-estimated 2,880 pre-rolls per hour. With a touchscreen and 4-way temperature control, the machine promises precise delivery of a liquid concentrate into the pre-roll
Designer Infused Pre-Roll Cones
Finally, what’s the point in producing high-quality infused pre-rolls if your customers can’t tell them apart from a non-infused pre-roll?
Consider using a designer filter tip to label your cones as “infused” so that there’s no confusing your premium product for a standard pre-roll cone. Made with the same ultra-fine, European-sourced rolling papers as all of our cones, these designer cones feature a black filter tip emblazoned with the word “Infused” and are guaranteed to stand out from the crowd.
Available in all sizes, from the 70mm, 0.3 gram “dogwalkers” to the 84mm half gram, 98mm 0.75-gram and 109mm full gram variety, and in your choice of refined white or natural brown paper, branding your joints as “infused” will not only cut down on confusion but brand your infused pre-roll joints as the ones to look for! Plus, they’re also perfect for multipacks!
Final Thoughts on Automated Pre-Roll Infusion
With the Infused Pre-Roll market showing no signs of slowing down on either side of the border, any pre-roll manufacturer without an infused product line is leaving money on the table.
And while infusing pre-rolls at scale by hand can be an arduous and time-consuming task, the addition of automated pre-roll machines can ultimately save time and money, despite the initial investment.
However, automating your pre-roll line is an expensive decision that should not be taken lightly, so make sure you choose the machine that is right for you, whether you are mixing your concentrate and flower ahead of time or looking to inject in into your pre-rolls to create a “hash hole” effect.
Contact the Pre-Roll Experts today to find out what machine is right for YOUR production line and to schedule a demo.
The fastest growing – and most profitable – segment of the pre-roll category is easily the infused pre-roll.