What is Shrink Wrapping

Shrink-wrap is manufactured and classified as a plastic product. During manufacturing, the plastic-based material is manipulated to produce a continuous thin film that is then tightly wound onto thick, layered cardboard rolls commonly referred to as cores.

Shrink-wrap rolls are produced in various lengths and widths; roll lengths range from 1,100 to 17,500 linear feet and roll widths range from 3 to 70 inches. Available roll lengths and widths vary depending upon the shrink-wrap wind and type.

There are two ways in which to wind shrink-wrap onto a core: Singlewound and Centerfold. Singlewound means that the shrink-wrap is wound onto a core in a single layer. Centerfold means that the shrink-wrap is folded in the center before it is wound onto a core in a double layer.

There are a variety of shrink-wrap types. Each shrink-wrap type is designed with special characteristics to meet specific packaging needs. For example, Sealed Air’s Cryovac® line consists of 9 different shrink films - each provide product-tailored performance characteristics such as:

• general-purpose
• abuse resistant/bundling
• soft shrink for soft goods and paper products
• high speed (75+ PPM)
• oxygen-barrier
• anti-fog