Shrink Sleeves
With the application and shrinkage of the sleeve, the printed film and the bottle, pot or container are combined to form a stylish vessel. A perfectly positioned sleeve will give your product an air of quality, with ample space for design and product information.
By precisely adjusting the artwork (predistortion), we ensure that the image still remains perfect where there is extra shrinkage, such as at the neck or the waist of the bottle. Critical distortion areas are indicated at an early stage so that they can be taken into account in the design.
A sleeve starts with a PET, OPS or PLA shrink film. Several new film grades such as RPET and floatable material are available in order to support sustainability targets. The choice of film determines the quality of the sleeving and, ultimately, the appearance of the packaging. A variety of factors determine the choice of film. We closely examine the product you are packaging in your process: the required percentage of shrinkage, the cost aspect, the desired quality, and the preferred printing technique. Furthermore, we take into account whether your vessel will be empty or filled during sleeving, i.e. whether it will be ‘pre-sleeved’ or ‘post-sleeved’. Besides the functional characteristics of film, the aesthetic aspects play an important role. You may require a film that has a special in appearance, with a snow-white or matt finish, for example. We can advise you in choosing the right film and printing technology.
Colourwise, sleeving provides an unprecedented range of options. Coating bottles to achieve a special finish is now a thing of the past, as we can now achieve the same effect with sleeving. What’s more, the packaging is no longer disturbed by a label. It is instead a smart, stylish and cohesive whole. One of the most impressive features is the use of colours and effects across the entire sleeve.
Options include nacre, gold and silver, but also embossed decorations, such as touchable drops of water. Photographic images, but also matt lacquering across a full sleeve, can look impressive. The possibilities are endless.
To protect the ink from damage, sleeves are usually printed on the inside. Examples of functional printing include highly UV-resistant film, but also the gluing of the film to the packaging or promotional effects such as ‘scratch & win’.
Read more about the printing techniques below.