Why Shrink Wrap? Advantages and Benefits
Why Shrink Wrap Packaging Might Be The Best Application For Your Packaging Process
If you are among those businesses shipping consumer-based products, then you need reliable packaging
material for your business. The idea is to ensure that the products are safe and secure as they ship out
to the target customers. A good material can make satisfied recipients and reduce the costs for
replacements. Since there's a wide array of available materials, it can become tough to choose the right
one. Shrink wrap packaging is used by almost all industries. From small toiletries, to large windows,
shrink wrap will safely protect any product as it travels to its destination, making it a protectively
and cost-efficient packaging option for much product.
Shrink wrap is a polymer plastic film. Once the film heats up, it tightens over everything it contacts.
The film gets heated as it passes through a shrink tunnel hood. It surrounds over and around a product
when it is moving and encloses everything snugly in place to ship and store.
1. Higher Protection Levels
Once heat has been added to a web of shrink wrap, it creates a very tight enclosure. The wrapping
closely covers the product inside and guards it against other external elements such as:
Dust
Dirt
Elements that are weather-based
Because of the fit of the heat shrink wrap around a product, many items can be held and kept secure in a
number of shapes and sizes. Many types of shrink packaging also protect against UV rays. Such premium
protection means that products do not get damaged as they are shipped around the globe. Generally, the
level of protection that shrink wrapping provides is the highest possible when it comes to a wide range
of items as well as companies.
2. Strength
Shrink wrap is made from fibers and long chain polymers which are quite very strong. Shrink film can
come in various materials. One of which is Low-density polyethylene, commonly referred to as LDPE. LDPE
is one of the most easily made, yet extremely powerful. As much as it is quite lightweight, it is hard,
making it well-suitable as material for packaging. LDPE properties are consistent over a wide
temperature range (-30F to 120F).
Industrial shrink wrap, as well as plastic shrink, ensures the strength and robustness of shrink wrap
packaging because LDPE plastics are highly strong so that they cannot be torn easily or have any
puncture. This strength is also helpful while shipping packages, as it meets many stressors that cause
the material to break. For instance, many shipments travel through tractor-trailers where they could be
knocked about. Shrink wrap's consistent strength keeps the items safe even when moved.
Its strength also prevents it from sagging or getting weak over time. Once applied as a shrink wrap to
an object, the item remains sealed up tight with extreme heat or cold conditions. If your products have
to travel long distances or through many different distribution centers, the strength of LDPE will keep
your product safe and protected.
3. Versatility
Another advantage of shrink wrap packaging is that it is flexible. As mentioned earlier, the material
can mold itself around the product it covers. With this molding ability, the material can be used to
protect almost any product.
Another advantage of flexibility in shrink wrap can be observed in most industries. A few examples
include:
Cosmetics: Shrink wrap also finds an application in the cosmetic and personal care industry. The
material envelops small products or packages them for convenient shipments.
Food and beverages: LDPE shrink wrap bags is highly used as a secondary packaging in food and beverage
products as well as food containers that include drink carriers and Styrofoam plates.
Travel: Shrink wrapping of all your luggage and other belongings is widely accepted amongst those
travelers. That shrinks your bags tightly and keeps them airtight from any outside contaminant.
Medical and pharmaceutical: Some medical and pharmaceutical institutions require their products to be
shipped with security strength in shrink wrap while in transit. Fragile medicinal products like bottles
of laboratory preparation are suited for packaging such as LDPE, which is a security strength.
There is also use of shrink wrap in the pet industry. Most of the pet products are packed in cans or
plastic packs, and you can use shrink wrap to combine several items. Other pet products such as toys or
sleeping products can also be grouped together using shrink wrap.
Construction: Shrinking wrap is one of the highly followed practices in construction. Roofing, windows,
rolls of insulation can all be shrink wrapped by manufacturers to make them protected both in delivery
and at the construction site construction.
Water-Resistance
One of the major shrink wrap packaging advantages is that it can repel water for a long time; hence,
transportation through damp regions becomes trouble-free.
If it rains, snows, or whatever, your belongings will stay dry for weeks under the shrink wrap. This is
very important if you're dealing with moisture-sensitive items, such as furniture. Still, the plastic
used LDPE lets water and air in eventually, so it can't be applied for too long to cover the items.
5. Economy
Besides these benefits, shrink wrap packaging is more economical compared to most other packaging
materials. You can apply exact amounts of shrink wrap to cover an item entirely. This will be able to
help you consume fewer materials than you would with alternatives, like cardboard. Consuming fewer
materials translates into spending fewer dollars.
It also uses up less space, so you will be able to ship more products at once. You can transport more
shrink-wrapped items on trucks or store more of them on warehouse shelves, thus saving you and other
shipping professionals precious space and money.
Many types of shrink wrap are recyclable. Products can be reused or transformed into other materials,
saving time and precious resources. In some waste streams, clean LDPE has a scarp material value and can
be sold back to a film manufacturer.