Inkjet Printing on Shrink Sleeve Packaging

Today, you can find Shrink sleeve packaging everywhere. They’re on energy drinks, pharmaceuticals, cleaning products, fruit juices, cosmetics, and almost every other category at the supermarket. Marketers have embraced shrink sleeves because they understand the brand marketing power of great packaging, especially when combined with high-quality industrial printing inks.

Shrink sleeves continue to grow in popularity due to their versatility and branding options for creative package designs. They conform to any shape, provide 360-degree coverage, and work well with containers made from metal, glass, or plastic.

Industrial inkjet is the most common method of printing shrink sleeves, while flexographic and gravure printing processes are also used. Inkjet printing technology offers more options for rendering distinctive and innovative shrink sleeve packaging designs using solvent, water-based, LED-curable, and EB-curable inks.

Common Shrink Sleeve Packaging Materials:

There are three main materials that are used to make shrink sleeve films and packaging:

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) – PVC is the most used material in the shrink sleeve printing industry. Relatively inexpensive as compared to other shrink materials, it offers exceptional print quality, image clarity, low shrink temperature, and resistance to scuffs and environmental elements. PVC, while most cost-efficient, is less environmentally friendly than other shrink materials.
Polypropylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) – PETG offers excellent print clarity and a higher strength tolerance than other shrink materials. PETG has a higher shrink percentage, which you may benefit from if your packaging contains many curved surfaces. You can expect high gloss and weather resistance from PETG as well. Although the most expensive, this material is both pasteurized and recyclable.
Biodegradable & Eco-Friendly – Shrink films made from plants such as rice compounds and other biodegradable plant-based shrink film alternatives are also trending as a sustainability option for offering more eco-conscious plastic products. These bio-polymer-based shrink films are earth-friendly plastics, yet they have a similar physical texture and aesthetic to traditional plastics. However, as they are created from plant-based, biodegradable, and sustainable compounds, they break down naturally into their plant-based by-products when disposed of, lowering the carbon footprint of producing the shrink sleeve.

Types of Shrink Sleeve Packaging

Depending on the product and the packaging performance needs, there are several types and applications of shrink sleeves available that deliver great results when being printed with industrial inkjet inks:

Standard Shrink Sleeves

Your typical shrink sleeves will cover most of the container, except for the neck and cap. The standard shrink sleeves are often used on various products, from health & beauty to soft drinks and distilled spirits.

Full-Body Shrink Sleeves

Shrink Bands

Printing on shrink film is often important for security and consumer safety because the material is frequently used as a tamper-evident band or safety seal. “Shrink bands” are small strips of film that are shrunk around the container’s cap. They can be clear, coloured, or custom printed with a design, like a logo or a symbol. Shrink bands add a level of confidence, so consumers know that their product has been untouched and is safe to open and consume.

Combination Packaging

Shrinkwrapping can be used to combine multiple containers to offer as one product unit. Combination shrink packaging is commonly used to contain and deliver beverages in bulk quantities. It is commonly printed with branding, nutritional facts, and other product information, including expiration dates and lot codes.

Why Inkjet Printing is Preferred for Sleeves

Inkjet technology is the optimal choice for industrial printing on shrink sleeve labels and packaging because it offers more versatility and flexibility than flexographic or gravure printing systems. Today’s brands often need to print short runs and variable data, two growing agile marketing trends that are better supported by digital printing systems.

It’s More Cost-Effective

Because inkjet does not require prepress materials, including plates, it’s a more cost-effective choice for short-run printing, reducing overall production time. The technology has allowed smaller businesses to create unique shrink sleeve labels for their products.

Higher Speed of Production

Often, digital inkjet combines with analogue printing methods on the same shrink label run. For example, the main design may be printed using a flexographic printer. An inkjet printing station, such as a hybrid unit from Colordyne, is used to add customization and barcodes. Inkjet printing’s increased production speed makes this a popular choice.

Why Inkjet Printing is Preferred for Sleeves

It’s More Cost-Effective

Higher Speed of Production

Benefits of Shrink Sleeve Packaging

Brands take advantage of shrink sleeve labels to make their products stand out from the competition. Shrink sleeve labels create opportunities for innovative product shapes because labels can form to just about any shape. With the ability to wrap around the entire container, businesses have more surface area than ever to use for packaging design.

Visual Branding Opportunities

Shrink sleeves offer full-colour images that completely wrap around the container, providing more real estate for visual branding and messaging. Companies can deliver their products in uniquely shaped containers to stand out from the competition. Colours and shapes matter because they have a major influence on consumer behaviour.

More Flexibility

Companies can save money by purchasing “blank” bottles or cans and applying shrink sleeves for short runs like promotions, seasonal offerings, or new products. By stocking rolls of shrink sleeves, they can respond more quickly to market shifts, reducing waste when a product isn’t selling.

Tamper Evidence Capabilities

By adding a tamper-evident band on the outside of the cap or container, consumers don’t have to open the package to confirm the contents are safe before purchase. Food and drug safety is a high priority for consumers today.

Higher Durability

Shrink sleeve labels are reverse printed, sealing the inks safely behind a clear film. The graphics won’t be scuffed or torn during transport with their tight shrinkage to the container.

Supports Sustainability

Shrink sleeves can be removed for recycling. The sleeves also provide support to the container, allowing processors to reduce the weight of the container itself. Plus, engineers have been creating thinner sleeves to reduce plastic, and new biodegradable films are now coming on the market.

Inkjet Inks for Shrink Sleeve Packaging

Inkjet printing inks offer several benefits when used to print shrink sleeve packaging and labels, including:

Vibrant colours
Rapid curing or fast drying
High resolution
High durability and flexibility
Adhesion to a wide range of substrates (PET-G, PVC, OPS, PLA)
Good surface slip properties

There are several ink types for printing shrink sleeves that offer rapid curing without damaging the thin films:

Water-based LUNAJET Ink

One of the best options for printing on flexible film or shrink sleeve packaging is LUNAJET inkjet ink. The water-based ink prints high-resolution images on shrink sleeves. This revolutionary ink uses a patented technique known as nanodispersion, which concentrates the pigment and allows the ink to spread evenly over the film surface.

Eco-friendly LUNAJET ink dries fast without heat or curing and emits no odours.

EB-Curable Inks Eliminate Migration in Shrink Sleeve Labels

Electron beam curable inks (EB inks) stand out as an alternative to conventional printing inks for shrink sleeves. Because EB inks do not require any heat source to cure, they can be used on even the most heat-sensitive shrink sleeve substrates, especially for packaging food and pharmaceutical products.

Their dependability, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally friendly nature of the inks also make them a popular choice. EB inks do not require a photoinitiator, which eliminates concern over migration of photoinitiators.

LED-Curable Inks for Shrink Sleeve Labels

LED curable ink has high colour strength with excellent cure. Besides being a reliable ink, it also offers consistent adhesion and printability. LED-curable ink also has advanced capabilities like high curing consistency and energy efficiency.

From a sustainability point of view, these inks are mercury-free and ozone-resistant, and they use less heat for curing, making them ideal for shrink sleeve printing.

Custom Shrink Sleeve Printing Inks Available

Kao Collins offers custom ink formulation services to ensure customers have access to the exact industrial printing ink solution they need for a specific product, substrate, or printing application.

Some advantages of formulating custom inks include the ability to control important characteristics of the fluid, such as:

Durability – We can engineer inks that are especially resistant to abrasion, exposure to sunlight, and other challenging conditions.
Chemical Composition – Our chemists can work with multiple chemical compositions to ensure your custom ink solution meets your printing needs for viscosity, surface tension, heat, and other variables.
Printing Performance – We ensure your custom inks will work with your specific industrial printing system and printhead technologies.
Sustainability & Eco-Friendliness – For customers who prioritize environmental responsibility and want custom inks that support sustainability goals, we can customize eco-friendly inks.
Packaging Substrate Compatibility – Create ink solutions for biodegradable shrink films or other substrates.