Heat-Shrink Sleeves

Viscose Closures Ltd is the longest established shrink sleeve producer in the UK. Call on our expertise to help protect, promote or decorate your products

Uses

Decorative Sleeves. Printed shrink labels give full 360º graphics on a skintight membrane which hugs every contour of a product container. Guaranteed to make your product stand out on the shelf
Promotional Sleeves. Shrink sleeves are an excellent way to present promotional packs. Sleeves can accommodate awkward shapes and different sized articles. Especially useful for ‘Buy One Get One Free’, multipacks and similar promotions.
Tamper Evident Sleeves. Because shrink sleeves fit tightly to any container they are an ideal method to ensure products are protected providing reassurance to you and your customers.

What They Are Made Of

We supply sleeves in a number of materials and grades:

PVC - The most popular choice because of its good shrink capability, and usually the most cost-effective. Available in standard, high-shrink and pasteurisable grades.

PET – This material offers the best ‘scuff resistance’ and also the highest percentage of shrink. It is pasteurisable and easily recycled.

PLA.- Made from polylactic acid and completely biodegradable. The film choice for environmentally aware customers.

Print Choices

Gravure printing provides the highest quality of print with the ability to print up to 9 stunning colours. Special effects can be created using metallic, luminescent, thermochromic and photochromic inks.

Flexo and UV Flexo printing offers high quality print with lower origination costs and is particularly suited for short run and multi-variant work.

Graphic design

If required, Viscose Closures can take over the graphic design for your product and provide a complete pre-press service including digitally printed samples prior to going to print. Alternatively we are always happy to work with your designers and can pre-distort any supplied artwork if necessary

Sleeving formats

Sleeving can be produced on a reel for automatic application or as pre-cut sleeves or preforms for hand application. Preforms are sleeves which have been formed into a shape by shrinking them on to a mould. Preforms make it easier for production workers to apply sleeves by hand and to obtain a superior finish.

Single or multiple lines of perforations can be introduced either vertically or horizontally to make sleeves easier to remove or more susceptible to damage if tampered with.

Coloured tear strips can be affixed to the sleeving in a vertical orientation and can be used in combination with perforations to provide an effective easy-open feature to the pack. Plain colours, metallic colours and holographic designs are available.

Shrinking

Shrink sleeves need heat to cause them to shrink. It is usual to pass the container with its sleeve through a hot-air or steam tunnel to achieve this shrinkage. It is common to pre-distort the print design so it will assume its correct proportions after shrinking has taken place. Viscose Closures is able to pre-distort artwork supplied by its customers.

Shrink-Sleeve Machinery

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