Finding the Right Film for yours Needs

Matching your film to the items you’ll most often be wrapping helps optimize your packaging experience. There are many varieties of film on the market, and while they’re largely inter-changeable, specific tasks or specific products, may require specific film. The smaller the gauge number, the thinner the film. For most general applications, 75 gauge will suffice. In applications where strength is of particular concern, large baskets, heavy and bulky multi-packs etc., you'll want to consider 100 ga. film.

As we all know, the natural enemy of a chocolate bar, is a heat gun. For this and other heat sensitive items, we recommend 60ga polyolefin. Typically, 60 gauge film is considered to be too thin to use with manual systems...it's too easy to blow a hole in the film when shrinking it...but with items like the aforementioned chocolate bar, as far as the heat gun is concerned, we want to be in and out, like a thief. We can't afford to spend precious extra seconds removing each wrinkle from the surface...60 gauge film allows us to get a reasonable rate of shrinkage...while avoiding blooming and other negative effects from too much heat.

Traditional machine-grade PVC is known for it's smooth, flat surface, highly reflective shine and high clarity. Our traditional PVC is FDA compliant for direct food contact (NOT ALL PVC FORMULAS ARE!!!). Choose traditional PVC to prevent color bleed and odor leaching. This industry favorite is great for CD's, DVDs, VHS, candles and to overwrap most packages on a variety of machines or equipment.

Polyolefin is a puncture-resistant shrink film, FDA compliant for direct-food contact. It's very effective for wrapping irregularly-shaped items and packages with sharp corners and protrusions. Polyolefin is softer than PVC and it's acid-free making it especially suited for matted prints, photos, cards, scrapbooking and all paper products. If you plan on bundling or multi-packing you might want to consider it as well. We stock polyolefin in 60, 75 and 100 gauges.

Most films you see are 40-40's. That is, they shrink 40% in each direction...exerting pressure on package as you shrink it. The softer, the less rigid an item is, the more likely this pressure will cause it to warp and/or ripple. Limited Shrink films, 10-10's, only shrink approximately 25% as much as typical shrinks ....exerting much less pressure on your package, maiking it suitable for soft, pliable items like mouse pads, magazines, photos etc. Limited shrink is available for both Polyolefin as well as PVC.

To secure caps and lids on jars, bottles and tins, Band Seals are small, easily applied inexpensive "rings" of shrink film, like the security seal on a bottle of aspirin, that can often solve packaging issues, at a remarkably low price. Converted from PVC tubing, cut bands are a cost-effective choice for securing caps, lids and closures with easily recognized tamper-evidence. Also available pre-formed for bundling.

Printed Shrink

For an extravagant look for your baskets and gift sets, we have holiday-themed films, all 100 ga. for a secure package, and all FDA approved for direct contact with food. Check for pricing and availability. Prints currently available inc. Gold Stars, White Confetti, Hearts & Strings, 4 styles of Xmas Wraps and more! Set yourself apart from the rest of the retail crowd!

Sizing Film

1. For flat items, add the longer of the length or width to the height and add 2”. That will be the width of the roll you need.

Our systems are available in 13”, 14”, 24”, 30” and 32” lengths. 40” by special order. Get the system that just exceeds the width of your film requirements. If your items are small, like a deck of cards, soap, Cd’s, DVD’s, Cosmetics and perfumes, pads, etc etc... you can arrange them in a grid, and seal 12 items for the effort it would normally take to do three pieces with a larger system. The film you use will ultimately be determined by what you typically wrap.

Sizing Film For A Basket

1. With a flexible measuring tape, measure the entire circumference of the basket (the widest part, all the way around ). Then add 10% to that measurement, and divide by 2, round up to the nearest even number . This will give you the width of the bag you will need for this particular basket. This is only a consideration for purchasing pre-cut domed-bags for basketing. Off a roll of film, you can cut a piece large enough to wrap a canoe...given sufficient film width. The film width, for baskets, typically 24-30" (Don't forget, the film is centerfolded...so your 24" width only has to cover one side of your item...the other side of the film covers the second side.)
2. For the correct height, measure the basket all the way around from top to bottom, add 10% and divide by 2. Round up to the next even number.. This will give you the correct height of bag....which on the roll, is the measured width. Get it? In other words...you measure the height of the basket...to determine the width of the film you'll use. If you want a “spray” or "swoosh" of film coming from the top of the basket, add 4-6”depending on overall height. Our bag sizes are all listed, width by height.< /li>
3. If you ever wrap numbers of the same sized baskets...you might consider tubular film. Tubular film is configured like a pillowcase, open at both ends. Your baskets wrap even more securely, mostly due to the absence of seams on either side. Absolute easiest way to wrap baskets in the "cello" style, with a spray of film rising from the top...or coming out of the side. The difference between using shrink and cello though...is that with PVC...you can shrink the bottom part of the basket...while leaving the top "un-shrunk". You then get the flair of a cello wrap, with the notable difference being that you can actually see what's inside the basket when it's wrapped with PVC...and can only guess at what lies within, trying to peek through the folds of cello.

We back our products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, please ask SoapHutch for full details.

Let SoapHutch provide you with the Shrinkwrap Films you need.

You can learn more about each of the Shrinkwrap System products offered by SoapHutch by clicking the links in the yellow Product Selection Menu to the right.

You can Click on the Checkout Button in any of the Product pages to complete your order.