Viskrings / Celons

Purpose

Viskrings are used to provide a tamper-evident and counterfeit-proof secondary seal over a primary closure such as a cap or stopper. Other uses include sealing the valves of gas cylinders and acting as a label and tamper evident seal combined.

Materials Used

Viskrings are made from cellulose which comes from wood pulp. They are bio-degradable. Viskrings are stored in sealed tins or pails together with a preservative solution. Viskrings are first extruded into tubing of the required width which is collected on reels following which it is then cut into Viskrings of the desired length (sizing viskrings). Viskrings can be printed and perforated to make them easier to remove from the bottle or jar. Viskrings shrink when they are left to dry naturally in the atmosphere to provide a tamper evident and counterfeit proof seal.

Colours

Viskrings can be transparent or pigmented in a wide range of colours including metallic and pearl finishes. Striped Viskrings can be produced by co-extruding several colours simultaneously. This technique is used to provide clear "windows" of transparent material in pigmented Viskrings to reveal such things as duty-strips which would otherwise be concealed beneath the Viskring seal.
Additional colours can be added by printing.

Printing/Origination

A maximum of two colours can be printed on either side in registration onto a transparent or pigmented viskring. A wide range of colours can be printed but there are some colours which cannot be printed eg White Yellow Gold. Text or images can be created in these colours by overall reverse printing onto white, yellow or gold pigmented Viskrings.
Maximum print width is 94mm and print repeats from 20mm - 100mm are possible.
Printing takes place on the reeled cellulose before it is cut into sleeves and this means that in order to print on both sides of the tubing, two printing cylinders are required for each colour.

Perforations

Shrinking

Viskrings are stored in a preservative solution and when they have been fitted to a closure they begin to dry out. As Viskrings dry, they shrink up to 30% in the transverse direction but less than 10% in the vertical direction. Shrinking time depends upon ambient conditions but normally they begin to shrink after about 5 minutes and the whole shrinking process can take up to an hour. Shrinking can be speeded up by applying heat. Viskrings shrink to form profile-hugging seals which continue to apply pressure to the closure even when shrinking has been completed.

Sizing Viskrings

Viskrings are available in diameters from 8mm up to 146mm.
As Viskrings only have the ability to shrink up to 30% transversely it is important to correctly size it. Too large a Viskring will not provide a tight fit and may split when fully shrunk. Too small a Viskring will be difficult to apply.

Measure the widest point over which the Viskring/Celon must pass, then add the appropriate tolerance. The length is to suit customer requirements and may include a proportion for folding over the top of the closure. Add 10% to the measured length to allow for shrinkage.

Ordering on line

For smaller orders in a standard range of colours and sizes, an on-line ordering and payment facility is available from us through www.ecapsdirect.com

Just click on the link and place your order.