Analysis of the most popular shrink film label pri

Market analysis of shrink film label printing and processing (Part I)

the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. At present, many flexible label printing enterprises have begun to turn to the field of shrink film labels. The shrink film label market is growing rapidly and its market share is expanding. It is estimated that the annual growth rate can be maintained at 7% ~ 10%, far exceeding the annual growth rate of 4% ~ 5% in the ordinary label market. It has great development potential

shrink film labels can be divided into two categories: shrink sleeve label (shrink also provides a basis for the development of straw industry, the main by-product of wheat) and wrap around label

common shrink film

the thickness of shrink film is generally 50 μ M, in the past few years, 40 μ M and 45 μ M thick films have also been widely used. What thickness of shrink film should be selected depends on its labeling performance on the labeling equipment

shrink film is very sensitive to heat. Therefore, high temperature must be avoided during storage, printing and transportation

commonly used shrink films are as follows:

(1) PVC. In the field of shrinkable film in the United States, PVC shrinkable film accounts for 2/3 of the market share. The shrinkage rate of PVC shrink film is high, between 40% ~ 60%, and its cost is low, and its tensile strength is good. It is suitable for multi package combination packaging

the main problem of PVC shrink film is poor environmental protection. Allan Rasmussen, senior project manager of plastic container recyclers who are unwilling to recycle P Lego, said that VC shrink film. Moreover, the relative density of PVC and PET materials is relatively close, about 1.33. In terms of the current technical level, it is difficult to distinguish them in the recycling process

(2) PETG。 Among all kinds of shrinkage films, the highest shrinkage rate of PETG film can reach 78%. The market share of PETG shrink film is 15% ~ 20%. Its relative density is 1.28, but its high price hinders its development

(3) OPS。 Compared with PVC shrink film, OPS shrink film has excellent environmental protection; Compared with PETG shrink film, OPS shrink film is cheaper and more economical. The current market share of OPS shrink film is 5%, and it also maintains a rapid growth momentum

ops has a relative density of 1.025 and a shrinkage rate of up to 65%. Moreover, in the process of its shrinkage, there is basically no shrinkage in the direction opposite to the shrinkage

(4) OPP。 Although the shrinkage of OPP film is low, its application in the field of shrink wrap labels can not be ignored. It occupies 18% ~ 20% of the market share. Opp shrink film is more suitable for approximate cylindrical containers with low shrinkage requirements. The relative density of OPP is 0.90, so it can provide higher output at very competitive prices. Opp shrink film is only applicable to shrink wrap labels

in order to improve the scratch resistance of the ink layer and better protect the printed text, after printing on the surface of the white OPP film, a layer of other substrate needs to be compounded

printing inks

there are four main types of inks used for shrink film printing: solvent based inks, water-based inks, cationic UV inks and free radical UV inks. In terms of the current application, solvent based inks dominate the field of shrink film label printing, followed by water-based inks and free radical UV inks, while cationic UV inks are less used in the field of shrink film due to their high price and troublesome printing

when selecting appropriate shrink film printing ink, the following performance indicators shall be considered

(1) COF (coefficient of friction). For shrink sleeve label printing ink, COF is a very important index of fatigue life before fracture, which determines the slip efficiency of sleeve label on the container surface

(2) shrinkage. The shrinkage of ink is also very important for shrink film printing. It must match the shrinkage characteristics of shrink film. Generally speaking, when printing shrink films with high shrinkage, the shrinkage of the ink used is required to be 60% ~ 70%, regardless of the control mode, speed range, experimental stroke and tonnage of the experimental machine; When printing low shrinkage film, the ink shrinkage is generally between 10% and 20%

the shrinkage of water-based ink, solvent based ink and cationic UV ink is more than 40%, with high flexibility. Among them, cationic UV ink has higher shrinkage and flexibility. The shrinkage of free radical UV ink and EB ink is usually less than 20%, and the flexibility is slightly poor

(3) adhesion. Solvent based inks and cationic UV inks have a wide range of applications to film materials and good adhesion. Water based inks and free radical UV inks have poor adhesion due to the limitations of the chemicals used, which need to be further improved

(4) chemical residues and migration. It is required that the ink can be dried quickly under low heat to avoid the migration of residual chemicals to the surface of the printed matter

water based inks are environmentally friendly inks with less migration of chemicals and are much cheaper than UV inks. The migration of chemical components in solvent based inks is relatively more. Free radical UV inks cure rapidly and can cure instantly, but the chemicals in the ink may migrate to the surface of the substrate. Cationic UV ink can achieve instant curing, less chemical migration, but its price is more expensive than free radical UV ink