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.
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.
You&#;ve likely witnessed the explosion of shrink sleeve packaging on the marketplace in the last decade. From craft beer cans to tamper-evident pharmaceuticals to personal care products, shrink sleeve packaging is hot &#; and all indicators point to continued growth.
If you&#;re interested in expanding your services to include shrink sleeve application or would like to incorporate shrink sleeve labels into your existing production lines, we&#;ll cover everything you need to know. Learn about the benefits of shrink sleeve packaging, types of shrink sleeves, how the application process works, and what machinery you&#;ll need.
According to Flexible Packaging, &#;the heat shrink sleeve format in North America is clipping along at a seven percent growth rate, as it branches beyond food and beverage, nutraceuticals and household chemicals, and makes inroads into new categories like health and beauty.&#; Here are a few of the reasons why.
Branding &#; Shrink sleeves offer full-color images that completely wrap around the container, providing more real estate for messaging. Companies can deliver their products in unique shaped containers to stand out from the competition. Colors and shape matter &#; they have a major influence on consumer behavior.
Flexibility &#; Companies can save money by purchasing &#;blank&#; bottles or cans and applying shrink sleeves for short runs like promotions, seasonal offerings or new products. By stocking rolls of shrink sleeves, they can respond more quickly to market shifts, reducing waste when a product isn&#;t selling.
Tamper Evident &#; By adding a tamper-evident band on the outside of the cap or container, consumers don&#;t have to open the package to confirm the contents are safe prior to purchase. Food and drug safety is a high priority for consumers today.
Durability &#; Shrink sleeve labels are reverse printed, sealing the inks safely behind a clear film. The graphics won&#;t be scuffed or torn during transport with their tight shrinkage to the container.
Sustainability &#; Shrink sleeves can be removed for recycling. The sleeves also provide support to the container, allowing processors to reduce the weight of the container itself. Plus, engineers have been creating thinner sleeves to reduce the amount of plastic and new biodegradable films are now coming on the market.
Depending on your project, there are several types of shrink sleeves.
Standard Shrink Sleeve &#; A portion or most of the container is covered but the sleeve doesn&#;t cover the neck and cap/lid.
Full-Body Shrink Sleeve &#; The entire container is covered with the sleeve from top to bottom, creating 360-degree coverage. The portion of the sleeve covering the cap or lid acts as a tamper-evident seal and can be perforated for easier removal.
Shrink Bands &#; Often used as a tamper evident band or safety seal, shrink bands are small strips of film that are shrunk around the container&#;s cap. They can be clear, colored, or custom printed with a design like a logo or symbol.
Combination Packaging &#; Combines multiple containers together to offer as one product unit.
Before we get into the application process, let&#;s talk about shrink sleeve conversion. For an in-depth look at the conversion process, check out our last blog Everything You Need to Know About Shrink Sleeve Conversion. Here&#;s a brief summary of the steps (and shrink sleeve machines) involved in the printing, seaming, inspection, and cutting processes.
Printing Shrink Sleeves &#; Flexography, gravure, offset or digital printing processes all work for printing shrink sleeves. Printers can use solvent, water-based, UV or digital inks.
Seaming the Sleeves &#; Once printed, the seaming machine applies a solvent to one edge of the roll. The seam is where the edges of the shrink material are glued together to make sleeves. There are several machines available depending on your needs. Karlville offers seven types of seaming machines ranging from entry-level to high production
Inspecting the Sleeves &#; After seaming, you can use an inspection machine to analyze the sleeving construction and search for imperfections. After detecting defective material, it can also doctor issues before shipping. Karlville&#;s three seaming inspection machines come standard with ACCUWEB EPC systems on the Rewind, oscillation on Rewind tied to EPC, automatic tension control via load cells on Unwind & Rewind as well as additional taper tension control module via PLC.
Cutting the Sleeves &#; If you plan to use an automatic applicator machine, cutting the sleeves isn&#;t necessary. However, a cutting machine can cut the rolls into individual pieces, if your customer would like to apply them manually. Karlville&#;s C1 series, for example, allows converters to offer end users cut sleeves for manual sleeve application.
Once the shrink sleeves have been produced, you have two options for applying them to your product &#; using an automatic machine or manually placing them over the product. Naturally, the option you choose will depend on the size of your production and whether it&#;s a prototype.
The Karlville Automatic Shrink Sleeve Applicator SLEEVEPRO line applies shrink sleeves on most container shapes, materials (glass, plastic, metal), conditions (filled or empty) at speeds that range from 50 to 800 bpm. You can configure each model to apply full body shrink sleeves, partial labels or combined shrink sleeve labels. There are five models to accommodate small to large volume.
If you want to offer your customers a tamper-evident cap, Karlville&#;s Tamper Evident Line is the most reliable application in the market. The tamper-evident line can be used as an integrated system on your existing label application or as a stand-alone system. This line includes the COMBITEC, which includes both the tamper applicator and an infrared electric tunnel. It&#;s a servo motorized machine that&#;s compact with an easy and accurate set-up.
Shrink tunnels are the final critical element of the shrink sleeve process. After passing through the heat tunnel, the sleeve will shrink and affix to the container for a tight seal. Each kind of tunnel is suited for certain applications and materials. Karlville offers the widest range of shrink sleeve tunnels found on the market today.
For full body, high-quality applications with distortion-free graphics, steam tunnels are best. Steam is also good for pressurized containers or products with high flammability. Karlville steam tunnels offer a 360-degree uniform shrink. Machine nozzles and steam pressure can be adjusted to meet container size and shape. They&#;re ideal for after-fill application.
Karlville also offers a complete line of high-quality electric shrink tunnels for different applications. Our four main lines offer different benefits to adjust to our customer&#;s needs: HEATPRO (ideal for pre-heating section), TORNADO (sophisticated technology offering 360-degree uniform shrink), TAMPERHEAT (ideal for tamper applications), and RADIANTEC (ideal for pre-heating section in full line of conical and empty containers).
The Steambox is Karlville&#;s prototype for sample making. It&#;s the first complete shrinking system that fits in a portable case. This prototype can help you evaluate new material and print distortion, make small productions to test your material and improve reactivity. The Steambox is designed to ensure the feasibility of shrink-sleeve projects by simulating the shrinkage process of full-size steam tunnels.
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If your company wants to get into the shrink sleeve market, contact Karlville for more information on getting started. Hopefully, this article has given you a sense of what shrink sleeve application involves and how you might explore the options.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of plastic film wholesale. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.