Welcome to American Label’s Blog! We hope to use our many years of knowledge and experience to help educate you about your pressure sensitive label and shrink film needs. Please feel free to let us know what you think as well as other topics you would like to know more about.
Since American Label is now printing, seaming and inspecting shrink film in Salt Lake City, we thought we would share a little insight about this new product offering.
Shrink-wrap or shrink film, is a material made up of polymer plastic film. When you apply heat, the film shrinks tightly over whatever item or product you choose. Heat can be applied with a heat gun but for best results it should pass through a heat tunnel or steam tunnel.
Shrink film is commonly used to over wrap many types of consumer packaging, including bottles, cartons, food and beverage, household items, cosmetics and toiletries. A variety of products may be enclosed in shrink film to add tamper resistance, stabilize products or unitize them. Shrink bands can be applied over product closures to ensure tamper resistance when exposed on a retail shelf.
The most commonly used shrink film is polyolefin. It comes in a variety of thicknesses, clarities, strengths and shrink ratios. Other shrink films include PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) and several other compositions. Low heat is required to shrink PVC film (200-275°F) vs. Polyolefin shrink film (300-375°F). Shrink film can be produced to shrink in one direction or in both directions depending on the need of your particular packaging. Films are made to shrink when warm or when heat is applied, cooling sets the film in place.
Shrink film is first printed flat with artwork to customer’s specs, then seamed or made into a lay flat cylinder. An additional step American Label adds at this point is seam inspection. This is to make sure the seam that was put in place is secure and ready for production. Shrink film is usually provided in flat roll stock and applied over the product, often by automated equipment, before sent by conveyor to a steam tunnel.
The positive attributes of shrink film include:
· Beautiful multi-color decoration for eye catching products
· Tamper Evidence
· Toughness
· Can be applied to flexible/squeezable packaging without loosing it’s surface conformation
· Simplifies inventory control and waste friendly
· Cheaper than other surface decoration methods
· Easily updates product information
· Recycle friendly and accepted overseas
· Waterproof- can be used in products that are associated with moisture
We hope you can see all of the ways shrink film can add to your business and product lines. Please call American Label with any questions you may have 801-262-6416 or 800-818-6416.
