It's important to identify some specifics about your product to be packaged before diving into the details of the films available to you. Without question, a packaging supplier is key to selecting the appropriate film for your needs. Their industry experience and ability to understand your needs gives them the expertise to ascertain which types of films will and won&#;t work for your product.
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Some of the packaging considerations you&#;ll need to be aware of include:
What type of product you are packaging
The product&#;s weight, shape, and dimensions
Your objectives for color and labeling
Whether the film can be printed to meet your needs
How the product will be packaged into the flexible film (manually or via machine, and what type of machine
The product&#;s journey from creation to shipment to the shelf and beyond
Whether it will be handled often and/or subject to rough handling
The types of climates/environments it will experience
Whether it requires specific film additives to keep it fresh (e.g., oxygen or moisture barrier)
Requirements for anti-tampering and security of the finished good
With so many types of flexible packaging film available, you are sure to find the right packaging for your product. Whether you need an option with a high melting point, one that emphasizes durability, or one that prioritizes recyclability and sustainability, there is a shrink film product available to suit your needs. With all of the opportunities for a custom finish to any product, it&#;s always important to do your research and consider your specific needs to determine the best options.
Also, you&#;ll need to do some homework regarding equipment. If you have an automatic shrink wrapper or are planning to purchase one in the future, it&#;s important to keep an eye on your bag length and running speeds. Sometimes operators adjust the bag length from the original specs to make running the line easier. This is particularly more noticeable on older pneumatic shrink wrap equipment. Running your film at just 1" larger than necessary can equate to 2,000 extra feet of film used per day. That&#;s approximately 118 wasted rolls of film.
Be sure to think about how capable your internal maintenance technicians are. Adding a shrink film wrapper to your packaging line will require technical support on a regular and as-needed basis. Assess your internal maintenance team&#;s comfort level with working on the new machine(s), and make sure you have a backup technician for when service is needed and your internal team can&#;t handle the repair.
Before purchasing and storing shrink film, make sure you know its storage requirements. You don&#;t want to try to work with climate-compromised packaging. Your supplier should have this information available if you&#;re unsure what your material requires. Overall, shrink packaging is best stored in temperatures between 30 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally, summer and winter are the seasons that require you to be most attentive to your storage environment.
Your facility will likely be subject to high heat in the summer, if not during springtime. If shrink sleeves are kept in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, they may prematurely shrink and compromise their ability to protect your goods. During these hot months, keep your shrink materials stored in the coolest areas of your facility without subjecting them to refrigeration.
They should be kept cool, but not too cold. The coolest spots in your warehouse are typically close to the floors &#; on the lowest part of your pallet racks &#; and away from windows or places that are subject to a lot of sunlight. You&#;ll also want to keep your shrink films away from high-traffic doors because the temperatures in these areas tend to fluctuate greatly.
Additionally, try to schedule your shrink film deliveries early in the day. That way, the materials won&#;t sit in the back of a hot trailer when traveling from warehouse to warehouse. Not only will you avoid the harshest hours of the sun, but you&#;ll also give yourself more time to store them before the temperature reaches its peak.
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As mentioned, packaging films tend to become especially brittle in cold temperatures, which greatly reduces their stretching and shrinking properties. While the PVC may crack, it can even shatter like glass if left in extremely cold conditions for too long.
As in the summer, store your rolls away from doors to avoid temperature fluctuations. You also want to ensure rain or snow won&#;t create unwanted moisture in the rolls. If you&#;ve been using PVC shrink film to package frozen foods or other products that spend time in a freezer truck or refrigerator, consider switching to a polyolefin film. This is a more durable, food-safe, and recyclable material that will keep your package intact during transit and packaging.
When you take shrink film out of storage, you may not know how to tell if it&#;s been compromised. One key sign is sticky rolls. If PVC rolls stick together, they were likely exposed to too much heat. Don't risk downtime on the packaging line by trying to use them anyway. Skip over the rolls that are stuck together. Bagging and sagging are also signs of overheated film. The rolls may begin to sag on the edges or show bagging within their layers. Using these rolls can interfere with the tracking on your machines, so avoid using these compromised rolls as well.
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Remember, even the highest-quality shrink film and packaging materials are apt to deteriorate when subject to these environmental factors. No matter what quality film rolls you&#;re purchasing, take the time to assess how you&#;ll store them to ensure they protect and present your product exactly as you&#;ve planned.
Finally, keep your target audience at the forefront of your packaging design. The type of material you choose is a part of your brand, so any disconnect between that and your brand&#;s message will confuse consumers and make them lose trust. To appeal to your customers, you have to research and understand them enough before you make these key marketing and branding decisions. Market research is a great way to learn what your target audience values and decide how to pair those details with your budget, transportation, and sustainability needs and goals. Always listen to your key demographic and cater to their needs specifically.
For a quick look at some additional considerations regarding your use of shrink wrap film, check out this free shrink film cheat sheet.
Shrink film is a type of polymer plastic film used in packaging. It shrinks tightly over whatever it's covering when heated. Shrink wrap and shrink film are extremely adaptable packaging materials that may be utilized in a wide range of applications. Shrink wrap is commonly used to wrap food, gift baskets, cartons, toys, books, soaps, and other items.
You may wish to use shrink film for your product packaging for a variety of reasons. It is lightweight and robust, and it protects your items from the weather, extends shelf life and tamper-proofing, and makes them sparkle!
Believe it or not, there's a lot more to shrink film than you may think. Shrink films offer a variety of operational qualities in addition to clarity, which we all know is significant.
When choosing shrink film for your packaging, keep these eight factors in mind.
Related: 8 Packaging Options For Your Products
This is usually expressed in PSI and indicates how much force the shrink film will exert on your goods. Understanding your shrink force is important when packing a multi-pack that has to be firmly confined without being damaged, especially when modifying your shrink gear.
This won't matter if the shrink force is high and you are packaging something sturdy like wood or metal.
This may be important if you're packing a tiny stack of paper or light chipboard boxes. Polyolefin films had a high shrink force in the past. Films made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have a low shrinkage force. Shrink force is minimized using new polyolefin compositions.
Bi-axially or preferentially oriented shrink films are available. Films that are bi-axially orientated shrink equally in both machine and cross directions.
Film that is preferentially orientated shrinks differently in both directions. A preferentially orientated film has the advantage of utilizing less film and reducing product deformation.
The jury is out about which film provides the best optical properties. But bi-axially oriented shrink films are providing better performance than preferentially orientated shrink films.
You may change your shrink percentages by using preferentially oriented film, or you can keep it the same by using bi-axially orientated film, such as 40/40, 30/30, or 20/20.
The shrink percentage of your film is especially important when you package products with different ends, corners, and angles.
The amount of shrink-ability in a film before it comes into contact with your product is known as Free Shrink. Free shrink allows you to achieve a better-looking package on tough shapes and sizes with high degrees of free shrink.
This determines how difficult it is to break the film and how difficult it is to shred it once it has been pierced.
Films with strong puncture resistance often have lesser tear resistance, and vice versa. If you must make this trade-off, choose the more significant trait.
Choose a shrink film that strikes a balance between product protection and ease of access to the real goods.
Puncture resistance is critical, for example, if you have a window box.
Next, keep your shrink wrap in a cool place until you're ready to use it to avoid the film becoming brittle. If the film is kept in extremely hot conditions, it may shrink inside the packaging.
Some films are cold-shrinkable, meaning that they have good recoverability at low temperatures after being stressed for a period of time.
If you're shipping to an area with cooler climates, this could be useful.
Antifog films are used on both fresh and frozen food to prevent moisture from forming on the surface of the film.
Moisture can generate a fog, which makes it difficult to see the product through the coating. Many shoppers will walk past fogged-up items in favor of those that are plainly visible on the inside.
An antifog film is a good choice for easy-to-view packaging styles.
This property determines how much moisture will or will not pass through the film.
If minimal moisture transfer into or out of your packaging is vital for shelf life, you should pay attention to this feature.
This can also be impacted depending on the region you are shipping products to and from. More humid states like Florida might have different recommendations than Arizona.
Odor barrier films are used to prevent unwelcome scents from entering or exiting your product. Don't let your consumers down after they've purchased your stuff by giving it a bad odor.
An aroma blocking film can be thicker and thereby a more durable shrink film style.
There you have it, seven important characteristics of shrink film. When you are selecting packaging for your products, keep these in mind.
Good films provide many performance benefits when wrapped around your products. Shrink films offer clarity, puncture resistance, and moisture protection to name just a few. These factors apply in various degrees depending on the quality of the shrink film you choose.
Contact Bennett Packaging today for a custom quote on shrink film.
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