Chetan Jain shares prerequisites with packaging professionals

How can we achieve perfect packaging in a single attempt? The answer to this question is constant - Getting hold on the basic requirements and eyes for innovative solutions. Packaging jobs vary and every container offers a different level of challenge depending on your experience.

Here are six pivotal points; all professionals handling packaging development need to consider.

Product container shape
First step in the packaging process is identifying the container’s shape. A symmetric container can provide even shrinkage. If your container has contours and troughs that are unevenly placed, then getting the right shrinkage could be difficult. In such cases, distortions are more likely to appear. You have carefully selected the container shape and shrink tunnel.

Advanced packaging concepts
Shrink sleeves can vary depending on the level of innovation desired for your product. It is dependent on the converter and the delivery process. It is predominantly determined by customers’ basic requirements and expectations, but a lot depends on the manufacturers’ ideation and conceptual execution. For example; a QR code or barcode is a safety and assurance indicator. UV or metallic inks are an indicator of the quality of the packaged food. Any special effect on the shrink sleeves helps create a distinctive feature and protects it from counterfeiting. These unique characteristics can include wet, sand, soft, silver, or gold foiling.

Shrink Sleeve Material
The right shrink sleeve substrate is a game changer for your product packaging. Brands select the right shrink sleeve substrate before designing the packaging.
There are a lot of packaging materials on the market, but selecting the appropriate one according to your product is the key. A brief discussion with the converter will benefit in choosing the right sleeve material.

1. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
PVC is a versatile shrink sleeve substrate which is widely used. Easy to print and handle efficiently for effortless work. Low-cost substrates provide a good range of shrinkage. Despite all these benefits, PVC is not environmentally friendly, and
Its incineration has negative effects on health.

2. Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG)
A sustainable option in today’s world, predominantly used by all brands. Substrate clarity, stability, and availability are its benefits. It has a high shrinkage ratio, which is an added advantage in controlling the factors for shrink tunnels. It means less distortion.

There are some more options, like LDPET, next PETG, OPS and TruCycl that are
relevant depending on application.

Design
Designing the packaging creatively is another landmark. Design reflects the brand’s appeal. Shape, colour, design elements, layout, and contents all contribute to the complete design. The high-shrinkage areas should not have fine design or text loaded content. Bar codes
are to be aligned vertically. Seams are also very critical areas for the design. Avoid using continuous graphic text. There, use small amounts of content and elements.

Shrinkage and distortion
Perfect shrinkage is the result of various determinants like container type, shape, and
material, yet it is considered the factor of perfect shrink sleeve packaging because it
also depends on the shrink tunnel one prefers. Every tunnel has its own prerequisite
conditions and benefits. Steam shrink tunnels are known to provide the best
shrinkage since they evenly distribute the heat. As the shrink sleeve is exposed to
direct heat, it is more prone to distortion.

Converter partner
For every exceptional execution, you need expert support that can guide you through the process according to your needs. It is a challenging task, and not everyone could deliver your desired result. Most of the time, we understood it clearly after the final shrink sleeving went wrong. In order to save time and money, you should go with a converter partner who has the required technologies, knowledge, and experience.

For more queries and dicussions, you can contact Chetan Jain at chetan.jain@tauruspackaging.com