20 Feb
Taurus Packaging

Avoid these 6 common mistakes while developing shrink sleeves

Are you planning a new product launch or re-branding your existing products? Then a perfect shrink sleeve should be on top of your list; simply because well-made shrink sleeves are an essential prerequisite for perfect looking containers or bottles. And even though companies are hiring packaging professionals to get their shrink sleeve right, many steps can be missed out.

 

 

Let’s look at the common mistakes to avoid to develop perfect shrink sleeves.

 

 

  1. Creating the wrong key line dimension (kld)
    If the KLD is incorrectly marked, it may lead to the critical text, brand name or logo to appear in the wrong areas or contours of the container. And this can make the packaging look odd and out of place.
  2. Failure to perform pre-distortion
    Some packaging containers have too many contours and depressions. Or the shape may not be symmetrical. In such cases, if pre-distortion is not done, the text may look much smaller after shrinking, than the legal requirement. Even the barcode image may appear distorted.Some companies perform pre-distortion manually because they do not have access to the correct technology. It may lead to errors, as well.
  3. Lack of trials
    Shrink sleeves behave differently in different weather conditions. Also, the different shrink tunnels may require separate shrink sleeve dimensions.Unfortunately, some companies fail to consider this factor. They only depend on the sizes given by the printer and do not take specific trials. Such an error on their part may lead to costly mistakes in the commercial lots.
  4. Choosing the wrong film
    These days, there are many material choices available to create a perfect shrink sleeve. However, each material performs differently on different containers and shrink tunnels. Hence, no one specification fits all and it is advisable to try out the different options before making a final choice.Also, you may make the mistake of using a higher shrinkage, thickness or grade of the film. It can result in over-specification, increasing your costs. So, before choosing a shrink sleeve, do explore your options to get an appropriately priced sleeve.
  5. Selecting unsuitable printing technology
    Separate printing technologies have separate advantages; so it is imperative to select the one most appropriate for your printing requirements.Otherwise, you may end up buying a high-volume shrink sleeve due to MOQ issues in the Gravure set up. And because of this one mistake, the excess quantity may expire, even before you use them. Or your artwork may change by the time it is finished.

    So, it’s crucial to perform appropriate research to choose the right technology. Remember, Buy-As-You-Need is easily possible, thanks to the availability of a wide range of printing technologies.

  6. Incorrect storage
    Often, production units are in areas where the weather in summers may reach 40-45° Celsius. In such conditions, the room temperature may also go above 30° Celsius.And storing your shrink sleeves in such conditions can result in unwanted shrinkage or distortion due to the natural shrinkage properties of the film.

    temperatures below 29° Celsius or for prolonged storage, below 25° Celsius.

 

Closing thoughts

Now that you are aware of the common mistakes companies make while developing shrink sleeves, it is your turn to avoid these costly errors.

 

Are you ready to create a perfect shrink sleeve?

Feel free to get in touch with me and I will be happy to assist you. You can schedule a 121 call/zoom meeting with me. Please visit chetan-jain.com to schedule a meeting.

 

13 Nov
Taurus Packaging

BIS BANS TOLUENE USED IN PRINTING INKS FOR FOOD PACKAGING

After its prolong use in printing inks for food packaging, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has officially banned the use of Toluene in India.

Toluene-based printing inks have been a part of the Indian packaging industry for a very long time. They are used extensively in the Rotogravure Printing technique.

However, there has been a growing sensitization about the ill effects of this harmful chemical. And while several countries had banned its use some years ago, India is now one of the latest entrants to join this list.

 

What is Toluene?

Toluene or Methylbenzene is a hazardous and toxic chemical solvent. It is colourless and has a characteristic odour, often associated with paint thinners.

 

The Original BIS Standard IS 15495:2004 

In 2004, the first Indian Standard 15495 was published to lay down the code of practice for printing ink for food packaging.

The aim was to guide companies manufacturing printing inks used on food packages so they would not include any dangerous or harmful chemicals in their inks.

It also offered assistance to food packers and manufacturers of packages so they could select the right quality of printing ink.

Guidelines were prescribed for the exclusion of specific substances from formulations of printing ink used on food packages.

 

Amended Version IS 15495:2020 

In July 2020, BIS published its first amendment to the 2004 Indian Standard in which Toluene was added in the exclusion list in Annexure A. What this means is that Toluene should no longer be used in manufacturing printing inks.

 

The Reason behind the Historic Amendment 

Toluene is dangerous on many counts, not only for those handling the printing tasks using Toluene-based inks but also the end customers. It is because Toluene can migrate from the inks in laminates onto the food product packed inside it.

Exposure to Toluene is harmful and can lead to several health issues such as nausea, dizziness, skin problems, difficulty in breathing, burning sensation in the eyes and nervous system damage.

 

Toluene-Free Inks are the Future

Many food brands are now making the necessary shift to ensure that their packaging suppliers comply with the latest amendments and provide them with Toluene-free printing inks.

While many ink suppliers have complied with the ban on the use of toluene-free inks, others too will follow their lead.

Many ink suppliers like Sakata, DIC, Toyo, Flint, Huber, Uflex etc are already ready with Toluene-free printing inks.

 

The Effects of Toluene Ban on the Indian Packaging Industry 

Now that the ban on Toluene has officially taken place, it will have a significant impact on the packaging prices.

Prices are all set to rise as Toluene-based inks are cheaper, and Toluene as a retarder is also cheaper than the other solvents used in printing.

Expected Future Changes in the IS

Another component in many inks considered to be quite harmful is Ketone. Contact with Ketone or its inhalation can cause skin rashes, eye irritation and even permanent damage.

Expectations are that Ketone, too, might be banned from use in the coming future. 

The BIS ban on Toluene in printing inks is a step in the right direction. It will contribute to making the Indian packaging industry a safer domain for workers as well as customers.

9 STEPS FOR EASY TRANSITION FROM PVC SHRINK SLEEVE TO PETG SHRINK SLEEVE
27 Oct
Taurus Packaging

9 STEPS FOR EASY TRANSITION FROM PVC SHRINK SLEEVE TO PETG SHRINK SLEEVE

Previously in an article, I have discussed pros and cons of PVC and PETG and myths related to them. Now many Indian and Global FMCG manufacturers are shifting or wanting to shift from PVC Shrink Sleeves to PETG Shrink Sleeves for Global compliance as well as environmental reasons.

And this transition always brings out a lot of queries and hesitation before you reach out to find the right vendor, film grade and infrastructure.

If you too are considering making this shift, here are some essential considerations which will make this transition easier for you –

1. Shrinkage Curve Graph of PETG
The most important consideration while making PVC to PETG transition is the Shrink Force. A shrink curve analysis will tell you at what temperature a certain percentage of shrinkage happens for the shrink sleeve.

Remember, the comparison of Shrink Initiation Temperature and the Peak Shrinkage Temperatures of PVC shrink sleeve and PETG shrink sleeve is the main difference between the two shrink films.

Most containers and hot air Shrink tunnels are adjusted to run for PVC sleeves. To make it easier for PETG to run on similar tunnels, the shrinkage curve of PETG must closely resemble that of PVC, primarily in case of hot air tunnels.

2. Hot Air or Steam Tunnel
Steam tunnels are the easiest to convert from PVC to PETG sleeves. Steam provides more uniform heat across the tunnel chamber as compared to a hot air tunnel. For steam tunnel, switch to any grade of PETG can be done immediately.

But again, if you are using PETG for a high shrinkage application, such as the neck of a full-body shrink sleeve for a bottle, it is essential to adjust the steam nozzles on the neck area. Doing so will enable you to achieve better shrink results where a higher shrinkage is required.

3. Shrink Force
Shrink force refers to the force exerted by the shrink film on the walls of the container when the film shrinks in the heat tunnel.

This characteristic is important to understand because the sleeve may try to de-form or de-shape the container upon shrinking.

It is especially true if the container has thin walls, low or no ribs. A low shrink force PETG film is recommended for thin-walled containers to replace PVC sleeve.

4. Ambient Temperature and All-Weather Trials

HDPE and PP containers expand or contract, depending on the temperature. So a sleeve may give different results on such containers based on the weather. Hence, the recommendation is to have trials and machine adjustments in all kinds of extreme weathers.

5. Hot Melt / HAL
A vertical hot-melt strip in PVC sleeve is generally alright. But in PE/PP container with PETG Shrink sleeves, a vertical Hot Melt might create wrinkles, if there is even a minor looseness with the container wall.

In such cases, HAL gives better results when using PETG sleeves on HDPE and PP containers. HAL can be applied anywhere where we are unlikely to observe looseness.

6. Sources of PETG
In general, the availability of PETG is better as compared to CAST PVC. In India itself, you will find multiple PETG manufacturers and many high-quality manufacturers in countries around India such as Thailand, China and Taiwan, etc.

CAST PVC is mostly a generic film available with most manufacturers. Different makes of CAST PVC have mostly common properties and is easily replaceable with each other. However, in the case of PETG, each manufacturer has different grades of PETG sometimes even for the same applications, but the difference among them might be more as compared to PVC vendors.

Hence, if you are going for multiple vendors of PETG shrink sleeves, it is imperative to have proper trials with all grades of PETG manufactures.

7. Container Strength
Keeping in mind the shrink force of the shrink film, the container strength is another important aspect you must look into while converting from PVC to PETG sleeves. And this is especially true in the case of hot air tunnels and a thin-walled container.

8. Stiffness of Film
PETG shrink film is stiffer and harder than PVC. So, it is a must to have proper trials when you are using the material in roll form as the stiffness might hinder the machine’s ability to run correctly.

Also, a higher thickness of PETG film has more stiffness and can create crackling sounds after shrinking, when the bottle squeezes. So, do keep that in mind to avoid problems later on.

Now many of us are shifting from 40 mic to 50/55 mic shrink sleeves due to latest PWM rules. While opting for a higher thickness of PETG, such as 50/55/60 µm, do keep in mind a critical aspect that PETG has higher initiation temperature and is stiffer than PVC. Note that PETG may require a high temperature which might affect the results.

9. BEHAVIOUR OF PETG SHRINK SLEEVES, BASED ON THE CONTAINER
MATERIAL

1. PET Bottles or containers using PVC Sleeves are the easiest to switch to PETG.

2. HDPE containers showcase properties of Thermal Expansion. Simply put, HDPE containers expand when heated and contract when cooled. So when we shrink PVC on an HDPE container, the PVC Sleeve shrinks at low temperature (which is before the container starts to expand.)

When we shrink most grades of PETG sleeves on an HDPE container, the container starts to expand before the PETG sleeve begins to shrink. As a result, the PETG sleeves shrink on the expanded container, primarily due to the difference between Shrink-Initiation temperatures of PVC and PETG.

So when the container cools down to its original size, the PETG sleeve will start showing looseness and wrinkles. It’s why factors like the grade of PETG, shrinkage curve and quality of shrink tunnel are very important.

3. Most thin-walled PP containers behave similarly to HDPE containers, in terms of
their thermal expansion, so similar precautions are necessary.

4. Glass Bottles and Jars generally require a full-body sleeve whenever a higher
shrinkage is desirable.

In such cases, PETG is the ideal choice due to its higher shrinkage percentage compared to PVC. However, do take into account that it can easily shrink with any grade of PETG but a proper shrink tunnel is required for using hot air. Any air trapped in the sleeve  and glass surface will create wrinkle, which is not easy to remove.

5. HIPS are mostly used for Yogurt and Dahi Cups.
Such cups usually have thin walls which can get deformed due to a high shrink force of PETG. You can reduce the temperature to reduce the force of the shrink film on the cup walls, but this may cause uneven shrinkage or wrinkles.

Here, the suggestion is to use low shrink force or medium shrinkage PETG.
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This article is based on the practical and hands-on research we have done while working on numerous client projects – helping them convert their PVC sleeves to PETG sleeves while using their existing Shrink Tunnel infrastructure.

I hope it will help you plan your move from PVC to PETG shrink sleeves. In case you need an expert opinion, feel free to reach out to me by booking a discovery call at www.chetan-jain.com, and I will be happy to assist you.

Written by
Chetan Jain
Author | Packaging and Shrink Sleeve Expert | Entrepreneur

ALSO READ: PVC or PETG – Breaking The Myths

22 Sep
Taurus Packaging

EXTENDED COLOUR GAMUT PRINTING – A REVIEW

Are you looking for ways to enhance your printing performance, get an exact colour shade and maintain colour consistency in all your branding efforts while saving money? The Extended Gamut Printing Method may be just what your business needs.

WHAT IS EXTENDED COLOUR GAMUT PRINTING (ECG)?
ECG is the methodology of introducing three additional ink colours, namely Orange, Green and Violet (OGV) to the CMYK Process Colours, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black during printing.

Adding the extra colours extends or expands the range of colour printing and helps to reduce the overall dependence on spot colours. The resultant printed images are a lot more vivid with negligible colour difference.

WHY DO WE USE ECG & HOW DOES IT WORK?
The ECG Printing Method is primarily used to work around the limitations of CMYK colours and custom spot colours.

Considering that every brand/customer has a highly specific shade or colour preference, finding that perfect shade can be a challenge and often requires using many different pantones and increasing costs of buying/matching and retaining these pantones.

Even though using spot colours with CMYK colours can widen the available colour range for printing, using separate pantones for each customer is a costly and prolonged task. You always have to maintain a good stock of colours and bear the wastage of ink, etc.

What’s more, when working with special colours, you can’t perform multiple jobs on the same colour palette. All these issues are handled well by using the ECG format.

In the Extended Colour Gamut Printing Method, we add Orange, Green and Violet inks to the traditional CMYK ink set and printing begins. Next, inks are overlapped to get the desired shade and the job is done!

BENEFITS OF EXTENDED COLOUR GAMUT PRINTING
Here are some top benefits of the ECG printing method –

  • Faster and more efficient printing.
  • Impactful and superior print quality with greater colour consistency.
  • Ability to match up to 95% of colours from the pantone guide and get the desired shade.
  • Easier to work on back-to-back printing.
  • Reduces wait time on account of colour mixing and cleaning between print jobs.
  • Eliminates wastages caused by unused inventory.

The Extended Colour Gamut Printing format is quickly becoming the preferred choice for printers, packaging experts, brands, and designers alike. No wonder, the future of Extended Colour Gamut Printing looks promising.

Do you have a question about the ECG method? Feel free to get in touch with me and I will be happy to assist you.

Written by
Chetan Jain
Author | Packaging and Shrink Sleeve Expert | Entrepreneur

01 Aug
Shrink Sleeves, Taurus Packaging

Introducing new cutting-edge machines at Taurus- Bigger, Better & Faster

Taurus Packaging Makes History with the Installation of India’s First-Ever Fully Dedicated In-Line Bobst Hardware for Shrink Sleeves.

We are pleased to announce the virtual inauguration of two of the most cutting-edge hardware up-gradations at Taurus, the 9-colour Bobst M5 Flexographic Machine and 10-colour Pelican Rotogravure Printing Machine.

The Bobst Press is the first and only in-line machine in India dedicated completely for manufacturing shrink sleeves.

What’s more, the new Rotogravure with highly advanced customisations and is one-of-its-kind 10-Colour Pelican ever built for creating versatile and durable shrink sleeves.

With these latest additions, we are now producing both, the smallest and the largest order volumes in shrink sleeves across India and honouring diverse order quantities with ease.

These machines are successfully churning out never-seen-before and perhaps never-heard-before innovations for shrink sleeve customers, making them an important cog in our ground-breaking H.I.P. Framework.

Even though we could not plan a bigger launch due to the ongoing situation, this is a milestone day for us. We are bigger, faster and we just made shrink sleeves a lot better.

Taurus Packaging is now India’s largest shrink sleeve manufacturer and we are already creating the records for the fastest time-to-market deliveries for shrink sleeves.

On this happy occasion, I would like to thank our valued customers and clients for always showing tremendous trust and faith in us. Your unwavering support that motivates us to always strive towards excellence.

We can’t wait for you to experience the amazing benefits of these new installations. To discuss the possibilities and for more details, do get in touch!

19 Jun
Shrink Sleeves, Taurus Packaging

Go Small – Importance of Short-Runs

Do you see a regular tiff with your printer over the MOQ’s? Printers refuse to accept lower quantity printing due to certain limitations. This is true. The traditional rotogravure printing method has limitations. There are a certain setup time and wastage to match colours. This time, wastage, low productivity comes at a cost that is then passed on to the customers. Additionally, high cylinder cost for low volumes certainly doesn’t help.

But imagine if you have a pilot launch, or want to test market a product or have multiple low volume SKUs, and you are stuck with the situation of buying high volumes and pay up for cylinders cost!
Shrink sleeve industry has been coping with this volume requirements or end up using the other labeling alternatives. This compromise has been a bottleneck for too long.

Solution
Introduction of Hybrid Sleeves using the H.I.P. Framework has changed the way you buy sleeves at any volumes. Yes, you read it right. Be it 100 sleeves or 10,000 sleeves. You can get it at a very optimum cost and that too without investing in the expensive cylinders. This saves so much of additional inventory, and MOQ tussle.

Advantages of Low Volumes
• Test market your product in a smaller market before bigger launch
• Small batch allows freedom to make changes in design for next purchase as per market and sales’ feedback
• Shrink sleeve comes with a shelf life. Don’t keep inventory more than your requirement
• You can develop more SKUs and variants without worrying about high inventory

This is how short-runs can help you to save your time and cost along with resulting in the creation of the quality products.

H.I.P. Framework is the future of shrink sleeves.

Taurus Packaging Pvt
25 Apr
Taurus Packaging

3 Trends that will Shape the Packaging Industry Post COVID-19 Pandemic

chaten jainCOVID-19 pandemic will affect every human and each country directly or indirectly.
There is no precedence like it in this generation, and we can’t fully predict the impact this pandemic will leave on us, society, businesses and habits.

I have been trying to understand and gathering information on how post-Coronavirus, our packaging industry will change. I have also spoken to a lot of industry professionals and experts during this lockdown to understand the impact of COVID-19 on our industry.

The initial impact of the coronavirus crisis on the packaging industry will be very predictable. Demand for the packaging of groceries, basic food essentials and healthcare products will rise sharply. At the same time, demand for industrial, luxury and some institutional packaging could decline.

The impact on packaging players will depend on their portfolios and exposures to different regions, end uses for packaging and substrates. A study of the US consumer market done by McKinsey & Co. a trend that can be extrapolated globally.

pand

Consumers are unlikely to risk moving out and shop a lot in brick and mortar stores sighting vulnerability to the virus.

This will be more true after lockdown lifts when people would want to avoid going to crowded stores. Industry associations and government bodies have already warned of a recession bigger than the one in 2008. Consumerism will go down, as people will have low disposable income to spend on luxury and non-essential products. Economic concerns will drive low sales of many products available in pre-COVID days.

There is already a temporary surge in the sale of essential FMCG products, but the sale of many non-essential and not-so-essential FMCG products will remain low for the near future. I can see certain new trends emerging out of this whole scenario. This is based on my understanding of consumer behaviour during the Coronavirus crisis, feedback from industry professionals, buyers and general human nature.

New Brand try-outs: With availability and options a luxury due to travel restrictions, the consumer is driven to buy whatever brand is available in the nearest accessible grocery shop, departmental store, corner shops and e-commerce deliveries. Due to certain industries locked down, transportation is still an issue, many brands (small, mid and major) are not able to service their supply chain normally. This has forced retailers to stock newer or alternate brands and consumer is not shying away from buying them.

This will most likely turn away the consumer from his/her brand loyalty and drive sales up for others. Market penetration for many alternate brands will increase. Many such consumers are trying cheaper brands also due to economic reasons. Will this shift in the brand going to hold, that still remains to be seen, but the consumer has definitely started trying new options.

Smaller Volumes: With demand for non-essential FMCG products going down, it is going to affect purchase decisions for FMCG companies. Many bigger companies might be able to retain or bring back their volumes, but others might have to accept the new reality of smaller sales for non-essential products. New products will still get launched, but the industry might try out with smaller launch sizes to taper off the risk in the new post-COVID market. Demand for smaller packaging requirements is bound to shoot up in especially Personal care and household goods. Even in essential food segments, with many brands losing their client to others, might be driven to scale down their requirement for the time being for certain products.

The demand for Hygienic Food Packaging: Consumers will not be going to crowded restaurants anymore. After the recent case of food delivery boy found to be CoronaPositive, the demand for food delivery will go dip. People will avoid eating out or ordering out. Consumers will avoid buying loose food items like atta, dal, sugar etc. with obvious reasons of hygiene. This will directly scale up demand for packaged food which will ensure that the food is untouched, clean and ward off coronavirus risk. They are going to look out for hygienic packaged food. Single-use plastic- a misused term till now, will come out as a boon to mankind when we are going to prefer non-reusable packaging for our consumption. Yes, single-use plastic will finally get its due importance.

Consumers will be more aware of unpacked foods, knowing the risks of contamination by the virus. They will discard unpacked products and prefer plastic packaging for their safety and security. Moreover, with restaurants, catering, hotel industry seeing a dip in customer demand, the requirement of bulk packaging will be replaced by retail packaging, when the consumer will prefer to simply eat at home.

The sustainability agenda of the packaging industry will be severely affected.

FMCG industry will demand economical alternates to reduce costs. Companies that have moved from “unnecessary” plastic packaging to “sustainable” alternates will return to plastic packaging. Consumers will be concerned about hygiene and food safety, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it will be expected of them to prefer plastic packaging and single-use plastics more than ever- at least till the near future. The plastics will now get its due importance from the consumer due to the advantages of hygienic plastic packaging that will overweigh concerns of recycling and plastic wastes.

Overall, the packaging industry will see a reduced demand but with a shift from bulk packs to retail packs and smaller volumes. Consumer choices will force a reduction in demand but the industry will have to adjust itself to the new normal. The sooner, we are able to do it, the better.

While challenging times are certainly ahead for the packaging industry, pockets of newer opportunities have been created in the market and can be capitalized by proactive manufacturers and converters.

Written By
Chetan Jain
Author | Packaging and Shrink sleeve Expert | Entrepreneur

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