Shrink Bands for Packaging

Shrink bands are used for a variety of retail and industrial, primary and secondary, packaging applications. The most common and well known use is to wrap around the neck or body of a bottle. Sleeves serve two important functions. They provide tamper evidence and display product identification information and branding messages, often with high quality, high impact graphics. Sleeves are generally made from PVC plastic, or polyvinyl chloride. The material can be preformed to the shape of the bottle or other item it is to be wrapped around, or can be purchased as lay flat pieces of precut PVC tubing. After the sleeve is applied to the package, it is heated to form a secure seal around it.

Applications and Industries

Used in a number of industries, shrink bands are most commonly seen on beverage containers, in processed food packaging, for pharmaceutical / medical products, and for personal care items. In recent years, the use of sleeves has expanded into other, related products as a cost effective replacement for paper labels and direct product printing. One notable example is wine bottles, where bands serve as an excellent medium for carrying the branding message, due to their high resolution, eye catching graphics. For retail products where shelf visibility is important, sleeves are an excellent choice. Typical sleeve wrapped products include salad dressings, detergents, and beverage containers composed of aluminum, glass, and plastic materials. For many of these products, tamper evidence is extremely important, and is the primary advantage of sleeves in the packaging of OTC drugs, eye drops, and many other pharmaceutical items. Shrink bands are also widely used for bundling two like or unlike products together. This is commonly done for kitting and the marketing of retail products. Sleeves can cover a portion of the container, or be applied as a full body seal.

Versatility of Shrink Bands

Lay flat or preform sleeves can be made in a wide variety of sizes, and are thus used to package very small as well as relatively large items. The PVC tubing is likewise available in a wide range of thicknesses to economically package heavy or lightweight products. The shrink characteristics of the film vary in order to accommodate various product configurations and sizes. Sleeves can be applied and shrunk semi automatically for low and medium volume operations, or with fully automatic, high speed machines that cut bands online from roll stock tubing. Equipment is designed for either long runs of a single product type, or for quick changeovers in applications where package sizes change during a production shift. Heritage Pioneer is experienced in the design and production of sleeves for retail and industrial use, and can assist in selecting the most effective option for even the most demanding requirements.

Heritage Pioneer offers Shrink Bands and many other packaging solutions to meet your packaging needs, please contact us with any questions.