The Complete Guide to Shrink Film

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.

Summer:

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.

Winter

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Contact us to discuss your requirements of polyolefin shrink film temperature. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

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.

Audience:

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.

25 July

Polyolefin Shrink Film

Polyolefin shrink film is an excellent packaging solution for protecting goods, such as pharmaceuticals, food, and electronics. It possesses fantastic benefits in order to protect what you are selling or transporting. Its high transparency gives both full exposure and protection, ensuring your items look appealing to the customer, whilst also improving the security, reducing the risk of any tampering.

Shrink film is adaptable; it can be made using PVC, Polyethylene, or Polyolefin. Each type holds certain advantages, depending on your business and product. In this article we will explore the advantages of polyolefin shrink film in particular, and how it can work for you.

What is polyolefin shrink film made from?

Polyolefin shrink film (POF), also referred to as polyolefin shrink wrap, is usually made of thermoplastic polymers, known as Polyolefins. It is great for consumer-based products as it is visible, low-cost and versatile and is popular within the food industry as it&#;s food-safe. This glossy, versatile, highly transparent material helps protect fresh produce such as apples, peppers, sweets, cakes and meats, whilst keeping the products looking visually appealing for consumers.

Polyolefin shrink film&#;s excellent heat-shrink and thermo-shrinkable properties allows for supplies to be tightly packed for any shape and size, while retaining maximum protection. It is a strong, robust, and tear-resistant material.

Advantages of Polyolefin Shrink Film

There are plenty of advantages of using polyolefin shrink wrap as a packaging solution. It improves inspection and consumer satisfaction due to its visual clarity. Secondly, as it is tightly packed and shrunk to fit the item, it also means odours cannot escape. For example, if you were to wrap a cake, and wanted to keep the smell and moisture tightly within the packaging for a better consumer experience and extended shelf life, polyolefin shrink film can successfully achieve this.

Other benefits of polyolefin shrink film includes:

Consumer Appeal

The highly transparent material displays your items in an appealing manner. For example, if you are a consumer at a local supermarket and you were looking to buy apples and pears, it would be found on a fruit tray wrapped in polyolefin shrink film. It is more appealing to the consumer, as they will most likely opt for what they can see visibly, leading to purchase.

Shrink Properties

When heated, the material conforms itself to the shape of the product that is being wrapped, securing it for transit.

Durability

It is extremely durable, preventing punctures and tears in order to keep your packaging safely intact.

Environmentally-friendly

Polyolefin shrink film can be made from recyclable materials, and is simple to recycle itself. As it shrinks to fit, it can often use less packaging than a stretch wrap.

Convenient

The shrink film is straightforward to use, and can be applied for equipment involving heat.

FSA approved

As polyolefin shrink film is popular for food-based packaging, its material is chlorine-free, making it safe for consumers to eat.

What are cross-linked polyolefin shrink films?

Cross-linked polyolefin shrink films have been treated using a chemical process which exposes the film to high radiation, creating cross-linked molecular bonds within the film. The purpose of cross-linking polymers allows you to use a thinner type of film, yet it can still maintain its strength and durability.

More additional benefits include:

Cost-effective: The thinner film material allows for faster sealing and shrinking, yet still keeping it at a low cost. This reduction in overall weight, may also help reduce your liability in terms of the Plastic Packaging Tax.

Durable for All Environments: cross-linked polyolefin shrink films provide even higher protection against chemicals and UV protection, making it suitable for the harshest environments.

When might you use cross-linked vs standard gauge polyolefin shrink film?

Cross-linked polyolefin shrink film serves its purpose when the packaging needs additional protection. Packaging meat in a cross-linked polyolefin shrink film ensures hygiene standards are kept high, due to the fact the wrapping is strong enough to protect the meat from punctures and exposure to oxygen before purchase. At the other end of the scale, cross-linked polyolefin shrink film can also be used for adding a protective layer to significantly larger objects such as boats prior to shipping via road in order to help protect the outer surface from stone chips, dust and dirt.

However, a standard gauge polyolefin shrink film is most commonly used for supplies that do not require significant additional containment or protection. The packaging is usually cheaper, as it&#;s easier to manufacture and uses less raw material during the manufacturing process. An example of when a standard gauge polyolefin shrink film may be used is when electronic goods need to be shipped. To wrap the external packaging box of a stereo in a standard gauge polyolefin shrink film protects the item from damage and physical impact, while keeping it safe from exposure to harsh weather conditions in transit.

The difference between cross-linked versus standard gauge polyolefin shrink film boils down to the specific requirements of the items being packaged. Budget, strength, and temperature separate the two.

Order Your Polyolefin Shrink Film Today

We supply customised polyolefin shrink film, manufactured to meet your specific needs but as a guide, some of our most common requests include:

• &#;Typical&#; thicknesses from 12.5mu to 400mu
• &#;Typical&#; widths from 200mm to 12m
• Custom-printed shrink films

If you are interested in finding out more or would like to request a free sample or quote, contact us today.

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