Technically speaking, today we have different types of shrink materials of different quality and grade available for sleeve applications. However, in many cases, it is difficult to find the right material which best fits your application in order to get the desired result. In this sense, the shrink material and its quality plays an important role in the sleeve making process.
Let’s take a glance at the most common shrink sleeve materials below to discover their differences.
PVC
As the most commonly used shrink material for sleeves, PVC has a decent shrink rate up to 50% for blow film and 60% for calendered film. It offers high transparency, excellent printing quality, great seaming properties and strong mechanical resistance to impact. It is perhaps the easiest shrink material to manage during the whole sleeve making process. At the same time, due to the mass production volume, it was the most economic shrink sleeve material during a long period of time in the past.
However, studies of recent years demonstrate that as a chlorine derivative, PVC presents potential impacts to our environment and human health during its lifecycle. As a result, alternative materials are introduced and popularized to substitute PVC.
PETG
PETG was introduced as a hard-to-resist alternative to PVC and it offers even higher shrink rate up to 80% and better transparency than PVC. It can adapt well both electrical shrink tunnels and steam ones delivering excellent shrinking performance. At the same time, it is a recyclable material with no threats to human health in accordance with the current state of scientific knowledge.
Specialties of PETG are also available such as white PETG, Extra Shrink PETG and Low Shrink Force PETG for PP or PE bottles etc. which make it the most widely used shrink sleeve material in our industry today.
PLA
As a 100% bio-degradable shrink material, PLA is definitely a step forward. Based on corn and other plants materials, the sleeves manufactured with PLA are naturally compostable. It presents decent physical properties and remains stable in normal conditions for sleeve manipulations.
However, in spite of its promising environment benefits, it has a dilemma. If we take into account water consumption and land occupation for the corn plantation, its environmental impact will be compromised. On top, PLA today is definitely the most expensive shrink material for which in many cases it is a handicap.
OPS
Oriented polystyrene is widely introduced and used in Japan as a shrink sleeve material. It has decent transparency and physical properties while its shrinking process tends to be slower than other materials which is great for extremely irregular container shapes.
However, OPS is very sensible to temperature. As a result, both the transportation and storage become delicate and its related cost soars.
In summary, in front of a specific shrink sleeve application, it is extremely important to choose the right material of the right quality and characteristics. Even a very tiny technical deviation can ruin your project and disappoint your customers. Consult us for any specific shrink sleeve application you have and our experienced technical team will assist you with the right material and the right know-how to obtain the right result you are looking for.
