label shrink sleeve Solutions Guide

What is a label shrink sleeve?

A label shrink sleeve (often called a shrink sleeve label or shrink sleeve) is a continuous, form-fitting plastic label that is applied to a container and then heated so it shrinks tightly around the container’s shape. It’s used for full-body or partial coverage labeling and can conform to complex shapes, including curves, shoulders, and contoured bottles.

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Key points:

typically PVC, PETG, OPS or PET shrink film—materials that shrink predictably when heated.

the sleeve (a tube open at both ends) is slipped over the bottle or container. Heat (steam or hot-air tunnels) causes the film to shrink and conform to the surface.

allows full 360°coverage, edge-to-edge graphics, and seamless, high-resolution printing—good for bright colors, photos, and promotional/seasonal wraps.

beverage bottles, food containers, personal care products, household chemicals, promotional packaging, and tamper-evident bands.

excellent shelf impact, fits irregular shapes, can include tamper-evident features (e.g., tamper bands), barrier or protective properties (depending on film), and relatively fast application for high-volume production.

requires investment in sleeving equipment and heat tunnels; material choice affects shrink rate, clarity, recyclability, and cost; sleeve must be pre-printed and designed with shrink allowance (graphics scaled to account for shrinkage).

Common problems many new customers encounter

1. How to prepare design files for label shrink sleeve for containers?

2. How should sealing machines be selected?

How to solve these two problems?

Provide sample containers and determine the label shrink sleeve material and dimensions

1.1 Provide “accurate” sample containers to the shrink sleeve manufacturer

“Accurate” here means the sample container’s weight, wall thickness, and finished dimensions must match the containers that will be used later; otherwise it will affect subsequent material selection and dimension specification.

1.2 Determine the appropriate label shrink sleeve material

Confirm a suitable shrink sleeve material based on the specific printing requirements and cost estimates. Be clear that material choice will affect shrinkage rate, clarity, recyclability, and cost; sleeves must be pre-printed and designed with shrink allowance (graphics scaled proportionally to account for shrinkage).

1.3 Determine the appropriate label shrink sleeve dimensions

Confirm the flat (unshrunk) dimensions based on the shrink sleeve material and the container’s finished size. Different types of shrink sleeves (pre-cut sleeves/roll film) require different scale-ups for the flat dimensions.

Find suitable sleeving equipment and shrink tunnels according to the label shrink sleeve type

2.1 Pre-cut shrink sleeves

Individually pre-cut label shrink sleeve can only be sleeved and shrunk manually, so you can only choose manual sleeving and small hot-air or steam machines.

2.2 Roll-film shrink sleeves

These roll-film label shrink sleeve require fully automatic sleeving machines and must be equipped with hot-air or steam tunnels.