5 Helpful Tips for Shrink Wrap Application

Using shrink wrap to secure your shipments and protect the materials inside is one of the better decisions you can make for your company, but how does shrink wrapping work? The durable plastic seals around the product keep out rodents, environmental elements, and other damaging variables. Use our five helpful tips for shrink wrap application to learn how to wrap the package correctly and make the most out of your shrink wrap.

Keep the Sealing Area Clean

After sealing multiple products, the sealing wire can become dirty with product build-up and not work. Clean the wire often with a damp rag to remove any plastic residue. Increasing the seal time won’t eliminate this issue and could hinder the quality of the shrink wrap on your packaging.

Find the Right Thickness of Shrink Wrap

With various types of shrink wrap, it can seem impossible to choose which one is right. Thin shrink wrap could protect the products less if you roughly handle it, but a thick shrink wrap can make it more difficult to open once the customer receives it. Trial and error is the best way to determine the correct shrink wrap to use. Talk with your clients about their feelings toward the product packaging when it arrives.

Use Consistent Heat

Inconsistent heat will make the shrink wrap tighter in some places and looser in others. An important shrink wrap tip is to start your heat on low with the heat gun and evenly move across the surface about six inches away. While you can use a heat gun to shrink the plastic, having a tunnel that the package travels through to shrink the plastic allows you to apply consistent heat for quality shrink wrap packaging on every product.

Enforce Seals With Shrink Film Tape

More oversized products or machinery will require the help of shrink film tape. The seals may not be as strong as you hope, and instead of scrapping the job you just did, you can enforce the seals with shrink tape. This ensures that the seal won’t break and the package will arrive to the customer safely.

Avoid Holes Forming With a Perforator Alignment

As heat shrinks the plastic, some air can get trapped, causing holes in the material. Having your shrink wrap come with perforated holes allows the air to escape while shrinking and eliminates the “dog ear” effect that happens when the corners of the wrap don’t shrink and resemble dog ears.

Applying shrink wrap can be different for various products, but these helpful tips for shrink wrap application can work for just about every job. The best option for finding the right solutions is to go through trial and error until you come up with the perfect shrink-wrapping process. Be patient and learn from your mistakes, and eventually, shrink wrapping your products will be second nature.