Heat shrink sleeving hots up

Posted on 10 September 2025 by Thomas Glendinning

The market for shrink sleeves keeps growing, with more and more brands opting for them over pressure-sensitive labels and labelling.

Shrink sleeves are now widely used across many different industries, from food and beverage, cosmetics, and beauty, to household products, automotive fluids, and pharmaceuticals.

This is as heat shrink sleeving is one of the most versatile and visually striking ways to decorate and protect products. They can be applied to round cans, square bottles, contoured jars, and many other containers, and permit 360-degree decoration in all cases.

Modern heat shrink sleeving machines place a flexible shrink sleeve over the neck or body of your product using precise, servo-driven application systems. Once in place, the product moves through a heat tunnel that typically uses steam or hot-air to shrink the film uniformly around the container.

The result is a smooth, premium-quality finish with full 360° coverage. This makes sleeving ideal for brands seeking a high-impact visual design and a more consistent shelf presence. Neck collars make heat-shrinking an increasingly popular choice for brands needing tamper protection.

Getting the most out of shrink sleeves

Sleeve technology and design expectations continue to evolve. To achieve the best result, consider:

• Pre-distortion – Because the artwork is printed flat but applied to 3D shapes, graphics must be pre-distorted to prevent warping once the sleeve shrinks. Modern software has made this easier, but thoughtful design is still crucial.
• Be strategic – While machines now handle more challenging geometries, extreme contours can still distort images. Considered use of photorealistic imagery and placing critical content in low-distortion zones will safeguard legibility and ensure image quality.
• Consider the seam – All shrink sleeves have a seam. Positioning it where it will least affect design and avoiding fine text or intricate details along that line ensures a clean professional look.
• Materials matter – With increasingly higher sustainability expectations, many brands are shifting to recyclable PET-based shrink films or recoverable and recyclable materials for lightweight containers. Ensuring compatibility between the film, container, and tunnel technology is vital for both performance and recyclability.

The benefits

As am increasingly popular decoration technique, sleeving offers a number of benefits, including:

• High-impact branding – 360-degree decoration gives brands expansive creative freedom. From UV-reactive inks to tactile finishes, shrink sleeves are increasingly used to elevate both mass-market and premium, luxury packaging.
• Versatility across product lines – One sleeving machine can handle multiple SKUs, container shapes, and material types, making it ideal for brands looking to scale new product ranges quickly.
• Tamper-evident security – As regulations tighten across pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and food, shrink sleeves provide a clear, reliable tamper-proof seal without altering container design.
• Sustainability without adhesives – Because shrink sleeves require no glue, they simplify the recycling process. Recyclable sleeve materials and tear-strip options further support recyclability of sleeved containers.

For nearly three decades, we have supplied high-performance sleeving equipment that is trusted across manufacturing environments. Our heat shrink sleeving machines feature: servo-driven application heads for maximum precision, steam and hot-air tunnel options, quick-change tooling for fast, flexible production, and full integration for automated production.

We also partner and work closely with shrink film manufacturers so we can support your entire sleeving journey.

We’re here to help you find the right sleeving solution for your production needs. Get in touch with our team today.