Polyolefin shrink film is used for light duty wrapping and packaging applications including candies, foods, medical equipment, magazines, dvd's, toys and more.

Polyolefin shrink film is centre-folded on the roll and available in general purpose to heavy duty gauges. Film thicknesses range from 45, 60, 75, and 100 (1 mil) gauges and are available tinted (coloured) and custom printed with minimum order quantities. Contact a sales representative for more information on alternative sizes or thicknesses, colour options, or custom printing.

Polyolefin shrink film doesn’t leave any residue on the packaged items and is puncture and tamper resistant.

Crosslinked polyolefin provides high tensile strength and exceptional clarity, crosslinked film is ideal for high-speed applications. For more details on crosslinked polyolefin shrink film contact our sales team.

Polyolefin shrink film is applied with a heat sealer and electric heat shrink guns for small users or heat shrink machines for larger volume users.

Advantages of Light Duty Shrink Wrapping Include:

• Keeps product in factory condition
• Immediately identify damage or theft
• Protect items during transit or storage
• Easy product identification
• Bundling multiple items or packages

Packages wrapped in thinner shrink films like polyolefin are not waterproof but, the product is protected from moisture, dust, dirt and tampering. Cardboard boxes containing toys or games in retail stores are often shrink wrapped to avoid loss of pieces or damage, books and magazines may be shrink wrapped to prevent children reading inappropriate content. Foods, medical equipment and aerospace components may be sealed in shrink wrap where sterilization protection is important. It is also convenient for bundling lightweight products into one package, for example in retail stores when multiple boxes of product are sold together.

Looking for heavy duty shrink wrap for propane operated heat guns?
Thicker shrinkable polyethylene material used with propane operated heat shrink guns is also available for shrink wrapping larger, commercial items and for industrial applications. Though it is more expensive than both PVC and Polyolefin shrink film it is also substantially thicker and tougher, available in rolls, sheeting, pallet covers and bags for cost effective, heavy duty wrapping including; Winterizing boats, stabilizing product on pallets or wrapping irregular shape items, providing protection from dust, dirt and weather including wind, rain and snow and, sealing off sections of buildings during construction. To give you the idea how much stronger this material is, polyolefin and PVC are available in a maximum thickness of about 100guage, while Polyethylene has a maximum of up to 1200guage.

For additional information visit our Knowledge Centre:
Heat Shrink Equipment and Materials

Polyolefin is generally more expensive than PVC, however, PVC releases a strong smell and harmful fumes during sealing and heating/shrinking meaning it requires ventilation during application. Due to this PVC has been banned in some countries.

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) was the most commonly used shrink film for non-edible items until polyolefin shrink film became available. Today polyolefin is generally considered a safe replacement for PVC as it does not contain chlorine, and therefore does not produce hydrogen chloride gases when heated.

Polyolefin is FDA approved allowing it to be used with food. It also does not contain plasticisers, and is therefore unaffected by temperature change during storage.

Polyolefin has higher heat resistance and greater puncture resistance than PVC, therefore it’s stronger seal is better suited to packages that include multiple items binded together. However PVC is more tear-resistant than polyolefin.

Polyolefin shrinkfilm is manufactured with longer roll lengths than PVC, allowing for less roll changes and therefore increased productivity.

For more details on PVC shrink film contact our sales team