What is shrink labeling?

Looking for a versatile and cost-effective labeling option for your product? Since its first introduction in the 1960s, shrink sleeve labels have become an increasingly popular labeling choice across a wide range of industries. Today, companies such as Inovar, are leading the nation in using innovative technology to create top-quality shrink sleeve labels.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Private Label Shrink Film. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Even if you’ve never heard of shrink sleeves, there’s a very good chance you’ve come across them in your everyday life. Learn more about this type of label, their potential applications, and the advantages this type of labeling has to offer. From there, you can get a better feel for whether this product label may be right for your product.

What Are Shrink Sleeves?

Shrink sleeves are a specific type of product label that is essentially heat-wrapped around an entire product, such as a bottle or can. These labels completely and seamlessly conform to the shape of the product or container. Most often, shrink sleeve labels are made of a polyester or plastic film material.

Types of Shrink Sleeves

At Inovar, we’re proud to offer a wide range of shrink sleeve label options to suit your needs. Some examples include:

• Full-body shrink sleeves – the label wraps around the full product, which may or may not include the cap (depending on client specifications).
• Neck-band sleeves (also known as tamper-evident sleeves) – perforated neck-bands go over the lid of a product for added protection.
• Partial-body sleeves (also known as belly bands) – the label wraps around a portion of the product, but not the entire thing.
• Multi-pack sleeves – body- or belly-band sleeves that wrap around more than one product to group them for sale.

How Shrink Sleeves Are Applied

Special machines are used to apply shrink sleeves to a wide range of products. This typically entails placing the sleeve over the product and then using a heat-shrinking process and steam tunnels to conform the label smoothly to the product itself.

At Inovar, we have access to state-of-the-art distortion software that allows us to design and apply shrink sleeves to any container shape, regardless of how complex it may be.

Common Uses for Shrink Sleeves

While the applications for shrink sleeves are essentially endless, there are a few industries where we tend to see the heaviest use of this type of labeling.

Food and Beverage

From condiments and snacks to beverages and more, many food and beverage distributors are now using shrink sleeve labels on their products. They enjoy the ability to implement a 360-degree design while also enjoying the tamper-resistant functionality of these labels.

Pet Care

The pet care industry is also embracing the use of shrink sleeves; you’ll often see this type of labeling used on pet products like food containers, snack packages, and pet shampoos/conditioners. Pet care companies enjoy that shrink sleeve labels provide tamper-resistance and easy branding while also conforming to the shape of any bottle or container.

Nutraceutical

More nutraceutical companies are also using shrink sleeve label technology to create eye-catching package designs on things like vitamin/supplement packages, protein powder containers, and the like.

Home and Personal Care

Shrink sleeve labels are frequently used on home and personal care products, including cosmetics that need to be sealed with a tamper-evident label while retaining an eye-catching and appealing aesthetic. On some cosmetic products, such as pressed powders, shrink sleeve labels can also help to reduce unwanted movement or shifting of the product itself.

Automotive

Auto fuel additives, cleaners, and sealants can all benefit from tamper-evident packaging and a 360-degree label design. This type of labeling also allows for measurement windows to be easily accommodated, which is an important feature in the packaging of many automotive products.

Benefits of Using Shrink Sleeves

Is shrink sleeve labeling right for your product? Consider a few of the key advantages of using this type of label.

360-Degree Coverage

Because shrink sleeves can wrap around an entire product, this gives you the opportunity to expand your labeling real estate and implement a truly eye-catching package design that can increase sales.

Tamper-Evident Sealing

Perforated neck-band sleeves and other shrink sleeve labeling can provide your product with tamper-evident protection, which gives your customers added confidence and peace of mind with their purchase.

Excellent Durability

Shrink sleeve labels are made of durable materials like polyester and plastic film, which can easily stand up to temperature extremes, high humidity, and other harsh conditions without affecting the appearance of your product. And because graphics are typically printed on the inside of the sleeve itself, there’s no worry about abrasion or ink run.

Recyclable

Because no adhesive is used to apply a shrink sleeve label, these labels can be easily removed and recycled by your customers. This makes it easier for your organization to do its part in cutting down on waste.

Choose a Shrink Sleeve Label Specialist

Our team at Inovar has already helped many brands incorporate shrink sleeve labeling into their product design and packaging. Contact us today at (800) 285-2235 to find out more about what we have to offer—or to request a quote for our shrink sleeve services. From design to application, we can handle every aspect of the process while working with you every step of the way!

When you want to brand your product from top to bottom, shrink sleeve labels give you a way to create 360-degree coverage for your products. Shrink sleeves have grown in popularity over the past few decades after making an initial splash when Tylenol used them to combine attractive labeling with tamper-evident sealing.

Shrink sleeves are now growing in popularity for cans, bottles, and other containers, but there are still many people in need of quality product packaging who don’t know how these labels work. Here’s a quick breakdown of what a shrink sleeve label is and what makes it different from other labeling solutions.

For more information, please visit Automotive Shrink Film.

What is a Shrink Sleeve?

Shrink sleeve labels are full-color, 360-degree printed labels that utilize heat in the application process to conform the label to the shape of the container. The labels are typically printed on either plastic or polyester film material and are commonly used on aluminum cans and glass or plastic bottles.

Looking for Custom Shrink Sleeves?

Custom shrink sleeve labels allow you to add a “second skin” to your containers. When the film sleeve is placed around your container and heat is applied, it conforms to the shape of the container to create a look like it’s truly part of your product.

Request a Quote    Get a Sample Pack

Benefits of Shrink Sleeves

One of the greatest advantages of using shrink sleeves is that it allows you a 150 percent increase in label real estate compared to pressure sensitive labels. This additional space can be used to help tell your brand story, add more imagery, or make room for all of the regulatory information that needs to go on your label.

Beyond branding, shrink sleeves can function as more than just a label. Like in the Tylenol example, shrink sleeves can double as tamper-evident sealing to give your products the extra security they need with a perforated shrink cap. Shrink sleeves can also be used to package multiple items together for the purpose of offering it as one product. Because shrink sleeves are form-fitting, you can package different sized and shaped containers, like free samples or two-for-one deals, together easily.

Another benefit of using shrink sleeves is that they are very made of very durable materials. This makes them an excellent labeling option for products like hair care products and beer that are often in humid or moisture-heavy environments like showers and refrigerators.

How Do Shrink Sleeves Work?

Like regular labels, shrink sleeves give you a means to add branding and product information on a container. The process of applying a shrink sleeve involves shrinking a film sleeve with steam or heat so that it conforms to the shape of your container instead of laying on the surface with an adhesive. However, before you can apply the shrink sleeve there are a few different steps that have to happen.

Creating the sleeve

As the name suggests, one of the key differences between shrink sleeves and pressure sensitive labels (i.e. sticker-like labels) is that they come in “sleeves.” Like pressure-sensitive labels, shrink sleeves can be printed on flexographic or digital printing presses. Unlike traditional labels, the ink is printed on the inside of the sleeve instead of on top of the label material. This allows the film to naturally protect the ink as it adheres to the container.

Once the sheets are printed, they need to be converted into sleeves. Some print shops, like Blue Label, do this step in-house to limit the number of times people handle these delicate products before they are applied. Other printers may need to send the sheets to shrink sleeve converters, which results in more opportunities for someone to mishandle the shrink sleeves, obstruct the ink, or cause some form of damage to these labels.

Regardless of who completes the process, the converter will seam the ends of the sheets together to leave openings at the top and bottom of the newly created sleeve. This is done by taking the ends of the film and sealing them together with a specific type of glue to create a loose cylinder. These seams are then inspected to ensure that the sleeves won’t break open as they’re applied. Once done, the film is inspected and shipped as either rolls or individual sheets depending on your application needs.

Adjusting the design to the sleeve

One of the big draws of shrink sleeves is that it conforms to the shape of your container: every angle, curve, or unique shape. However, this also means that your label design needs to be properly prepared to conform to this shape as well.

Due to the shrinking process, your label design will warp as the sleeve is heated and conforms to your container. Similar to how you need to adjust your design for tapered pressure-sensitive labels, you’ll need to pre-distort your design based on the shape of your container. As such, you’ll want to work with a label designer and label printer who can pre-distort designs for custom container shapes before your sleeves are printed.

Applying the sleeve

Once your sleeves are ready, it’s time to apply them to your containers. In addition to printers – and sometimes converters – you may also require an applicator if you don’t have the right equipment in house. Either way, the sleeves are slipped over your containers and sent through a heat or steam tunnel, where the intense heat will shrink the film around the container.

It’s important to note that since the film is made to react when exposed to heat, it’s vital that they don’t get too hot or cold before they’re applied to your containers. Excess temperature in either direction can cause pre-shrinkage or affect the ink on the labels, which can impact the quality of the label and even render them unusable. As such, proper storage and shipping is a must, especially since you may require multiple locations to create and apply shrink sleeves.

How Do I Work with a Shrink Sleeve Label Company?

Ready to cover your containers with quality shrink sleeves? First, you’ll need a good designer if you don’t have one already. Check out our designer directory to find a professional that can help you achieve the perfect look for your products.

Once your design is ready, you’ll need to find the right shrink sleeve label company. At Blue Label, we have the experts and equipment to guide you through the shrink sleeve printing and converting process. Our hands-on team will work with you to identify opportunities, such as testing barcodes that may be skewed from the shrinking process. We can then carefully ship your shrink sleeves to your applicator of choice to help you get your products to market.

Contact Blue Label today to talk to one of our experts about investing in shrink sleeves for your products.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Automotive Shrink Film Supplier.