Resin reduces shrinkage on film labels says manufacturer
distortions found in other competiting products, its manufacturer
claims.
Netherlands-based Eastman Chemical said its Embrace LV brand is a halogen-free copolyester resin for shrink film. It is designed for the food, beverage and personal care markets. The company said the film resin is now being offered in Europe for the first time. Films made from Embrace LV offer clarity, gloss and strong performance for an array of complex bottle designs, the company claimed. "Compared to films made with other copolyester resins in the market, they exhibit up to a 50 per cent reduction in shrink force with no machine direction shrinkage, eliminating "smiley face" and other distortions that detract from packaging appearance," Eastman stated. The film's low shrink force means it can also be used for thinner-walled containers, helping companies reduce material consumption, said Hans Warmerdam, a market development manager at Eastman in Europe. "Embrace LV meets brand owner demand for shrink films that provide high-quality, 360 degree billboard-effect advertising on their bottles," he said. "Its high ultimate shrinkage coupled with a gradual shrink curve ensures optimum design flexibility for beautiful packaging with excellent finish and graphics." The material allows extruders to custom design shrink curves to meet the specific needs of a particular product. It can be run in a variety of different shrink tunnels, giving packagers design flexibility. Klöckner Pentaplast has started marketing films made with Embrace LV in Europe, the company stated. "Films made with Embrace LV are much easier to use and process, providing our customers with one film for a multiple types of machinery and applications," Eastman stated. "Less sensitive to heat than competing materials such as OPS, these films also have longer storage shelf life, which will be essential to our European customers as we enter the hot summer months."
