The hottest heat shrinkable film materials have en

The heat shrinkable film material has entered the explosive growth stage

according to the prediction of relevant experts, the drum label, shrink film drum label, shrink sleeve label and shrink strip have entered the explosive growth stage

in 2000, the sales volume of shrink film in the United States was about 36million pounds, but compared with Asia and Europe, this figure is insignificant. According to statistics, the sales volume of shrink film in Asia and Europe is at least twice that of the United States, reaching more than 72million pounds. However, it is also an indisputable fact that Americans are increasingly favoring and paying attention to shrink films. Experts believe that the shrink film market is growing rapidly at a rate of 20% per year

in terms of shrink film, the main reason why the United States lags behind Europe and Asia is that for a long time, they have focused on containers with simple shape, flat surface, low cost and mass production. These simple shapes require that the film label of the drum can be glued and pasted on the designated position under the condition of high-speed operation. However, in order to enhance the attractiveness of products to consumers, the trend of designing packaging containers with unique shapes and personalities and larger label coverage is becoming more and more obvious

sharon Lobel, President of seal it, said, "marketing and making products different are the main factors driving this change." At the beginning of the rise of shrink film labels, Lobel began to contact and engage in the business of shrink labels. He witnessed and experienced many changes and technological developments. He said: "this field has experienced a long history of development. If it is used in decorative containers, such as glass bottles, plastic bottles, cans, etc., it can obtain bright and bold colors and visual impact, which is unmatched by any other method."

smart businesses all know that when customers cross the corridor, 70% of them have decided which product to buy. It has been proved that at the critical moment when customers compare and choose various commodities, products with shrink film labels or packaging often have a strong attraction to customers, which makes them linger and admire, and they can no longer move their steps. This is one of the main reasons why more and more products begin to use shrink film packaging

first, not only the marketing

aerosol packaging can industry has adopted the whole body shrink film label as early as a few years ago. "In the past, manufacturers of packaging cans had to print patterns on their surfaces before they could send them to the canning process. With the development of the times and changes in the market, this kind of pre printed cans has become increasingly backward. For example, if the manufacturer's factory name, address, and other contents have changed, and the net content or composition has changed, it is likely to cause the scrapping of the whole batch of cans. It is estimated that the cost per 1000 cans is high It is about $200, and its loss can be imagined. However, if the shrink film label is used, the cost per 1000 rolls is only about $20 (not $200), so the cost can be saved by $180 per 1000, and the loss is much smaller

gary gates, President of gates packaging system, took Folgers coffee as an example. Folgers believed that the green that had been used in the packaging of decaffeinated coffee before could not attract the attention of consumers, so it chose a light orange to replace it, but it failed, and its sales performance fell sharply. In the subconscious of consumers, green has been automatically associated with this decaffeinated coffee. Folgers realized the mistake and corrected it quickly. Fortunately, Folgers used roll shrink film labels at that time. Although it was a pity to destroy these labels, if they were still packaged in cans, the loss would be greater

reel label and reel shrink film label can compete with metal cans in visual effect because of their excellent printing quality and good wear resistance. The commonly used shrink film label adopts a kind of oriented polypropylene (OPP) composite film. The ink is located between two layers of OPP, with strong wear resistance and low moisture permeability

second, film is the core and key

at present, the films used in the field of shrink labels in the United States include polyethylene (PVC), PETG, polyester (PET), polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene (PP). Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film accounts for about three quarters of the U.S. market; In Japan, due to environmental protection reasons, the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film is prohibited. It is said that the application of alternative products of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film is growing much faster than that of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film. Although the United States does not prohibit or restrict the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials in law, many companies are choosing and applying alternative products of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film to prepare for a rainy day

the following table lists some commonly used directional tensile heat shrinkable film materials

list of commonly used directional tensile heat shrinkable film materials

material name application

polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the most widely used material at present, but it is difficult to recycle; Combustion produces dioxin; It is prohibited in Europe, Japan and some other countries

polyethylene (PE) is mainly used in tensile labels and small shrinkage labels

polystyrene (PS) is hardly used in the United States, mainly in Japan; Strong shrinkage performance/natural high, requiring extra care when storing

polypropylene (PP) the shrinkage rate of polypropylene (PP) material currently used is very low

petg copolymer is beneficial to environmental protection and can further adjust the shrinkage setting. However, due to its higher shrinkage tension, it may be a problem

improved pet has a high shrinkage, which is conducive to environmental protection and is cheaper than PETG

among the shrink film materials of labels for various purposes, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material is the cheapest, which is one of the reasons why polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film is widely used. However, price is not always a decisive factor, because each film has its specific unique properties, and manufacturers and trademark printers must determine which film is most suitable for their specific processes and applications

what kind of film will eventually replace PVC film? Polystyrene (PS) is very popular in Japan; In the United States, pet and PETG may occupy the market on a large scale

the conclusion is that polystyrene (PS) is cheaper than polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but its shrinkage property is strong/high under conventional storage conditions, so it must be stored in cold storage, which is one of the disadvantages of polystyrene (PS). In addition, the shrinkage of polystyrene (PS) is also relatively low. In Japan, polystyrene (PS) is widely used, probably due to its historical reasons, and there is already a polystyrene (PS) treatment system. However, polypropylene (PP) with high shrinkage is rare at present

Third, more and more new developments are emerging.

Tom Hogue, sales manager of DuPont, said: the fastest growth rate of business within DuPont is shrink film. Sharon Lobel said, "in the past six months, the shrink film business has achieved the same growth as in the past six years. There are many reasons, such as investing more R & D funds in the development of shrink film, which is also one reason."

recently, Eastman Chemical Company adopted a new type of resin (called embrace). Until six months ago, in order to obtain satisfactory product performance, polyester shrink film manufacturers usually mixed two to four separate polyesters to produce a polyester film. Embrace film is extruded with embrace particles through an extruder. Parker said, "we are unremitting in improving our products. However, due to the rapid development of shrink films, especially those used to make labels, embrace is really a return and a great help for us."

another thing worth celebrating is the development of adhesives. We know that in the process of labeling (shrinkage), while shrinking the film, the hot melt adhesive also softens under the action of heat, which will lead to the decline of its bonding performance or the opening of adhesive at the gap. In response to this situation, national starch and chemical introduced a new type of UV curing adhesive, which can shrink with the film in the labeling (shrinkage) process, so as to prevent the film from sliding or loosening

one of the main problems of whole body contraction labels is that the production speed is relatively slow. Therefore, in order to obtain a larger scale of promotion and application of this technology, it is necessary to achieve high-speed labeling, which is also one of the current obstacles. Parker believes that the contraction time of a single container is generally between 5 and 7 seconds. He said: "within the given time of any experimental step, 15 to 20 containers can be obtained in the contraction channel. Therefore, from this point of view, the speed has been very fast, and we believe that with the improvement and development of equipment, the speed will definitely be further improved in the future."

if printers are interested in shrinking film business and intend to carry out this business, the key problem is whether they can print these films at a lower cost. First print on the shrink film and then dry the ink on it, and the speed is very fast, which is also one of the developments that many people cannot understand. Take the MSP printing machine of Comco company as an example. The drying temperature in each color group of the printing machine can reach 300 degrees. Because the film will shrink when it is about 150 degrees, and there are several efficient cooling rollers in each color group of the printing machine, the film should not shrink on the printing machine. Comco MSP printing machine is characterized by high efficiency. In addition to high chemical resistance, the temperature change of the film will not exceed 5 degrees in the whole printing process; In addition, the fault analysis and elimination of the clamping drive of the electro-hydraulic servo universal testing machine