Shrink Sleeve Converting: The Critical Steps of Secondary Converting

Ben Ritter is a shrink sleeve and converting specialist at Accraply. The following content is an excerpt from his article – Shrink Sleeves: Seaming, Converting and Application – which originally appeared in Labels & Labeling on October 23, 2020.

The secondary converting process is critical in converting a printed shrink sleeve stock onto the final product container. To achieve a best-in-class shrink sleeve application, the converting and the application processes need to be aligned and functioning in harmony.

This process includes the following steps.  

1. Slitting is a critical first step as it directly influences the nature and quality of the slit edges. In shrink sleeve slitting applications, the slit edges of the rolls are solvent-welded, producing an overlapped seam that would ideally be invisible on the finished product.
   
   
2. Seaming follows once clean slits have been achieved. The objective of seaming (or welding) is to transform the flat, printed film into a seamed tube. The end goal should be to achieve this with a seam that cannot be seen or felt, while at the same time, maximizing throughput and minimizing waste.
   
   
3. Additional Finishing often follows the seaming process. In this step, a doctor machine enables the converter, when necessary, to change the core size, application rewind direction, and remake splices as necessary to ensure that they will pass appropriately through high-speed automatic application equipment. 

While converters will be most interested in how to produce a high value shrink sleeve label, it is also necessary that they understand that the application and shrinking process is equally important to producing a finished product that the brand owner – and ultimately, the consumer – will value. 

For more information on shrink sleeve converting, read the original article on Labels and Labeling or contact us to connect with a shrink sleeve and converting specialist today.