What is Craft Beer Shrink Film and Why Do We Use Them?

The craft beer industry is at its height in popularity, and to many brewers, how their craft beer looks from the outside is just as important as how it tastes. In the blog below, we will discuss shrink sleeve labels and how they are used in the craft brew industry.

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What are shrink sleeve labels?

Before we dive in, here is a brief explanation of shrink sleeve labels. Full-body shrink sleeves cover the entire container to create a 360-degree design from top to bottom. These sleeves can be used for single packaging or to create a multi-pack. A multi-pack is when multiple containers are packaged using a larger shrink sleeve. This type of packaging is often used when offering a two-for-one sale, packaging products to sell excess inventory, or adding a new sample to an existing product. Middle sleeve shrink labels are another option to cover part of a container. This label is typically used in consumer products like beverages, food, and health and beauty.

Shrink sleeve labels can be applied by hand or with automated equipment such as AFM’s LX-100, LX-150, and LX-350 shrink sleeve label applicators. AFM manufactures sleeve applicators for a wide range of production speeds and environments depending on the size and application speeds desired. As a result, many companies are using shrink sleeve equipment to keep production rates high and their operation running as efficiently as possible.

In automated applications, the labels are put on a sleeve roll and fed into the label applicator. The labels are then fed through the machine into a cutting assembly and cut to a specified height. The cut labels are then applied to the container using the equipment’s label applicator wheels.

How do shrink sleeve labels benefit you, the craft brewer?

In the seemingly ever-growing craft industry, the ability to stand out in the field becomes an important factor. One way to do that is to incorporate shrink sleeve labels into your production. A great feature of shrink sleeve labels is that the whole surface of the product can be covered with eye-catching graphics and information about your product.

Because the labels are custom, you can create a design that fits your brand and tells your customers a story about your company. When using shrink sleeve labels, your product will stand out on the shelf. Many breweries use brighter colors, a variety of gloss or matte finishes, and designs on their shrink sleeve labels to create brand awareness.

When ordering pre-printed cans, there is often a minimum requirement for directly printing onto the cans reaching into the 100,000s. This could be close to their whole year output for many smaller breweries. This is where shrink sleeve labels come in. Breweries can order blank cans, often referred to as brites, and then purchase pre-cut labels to be applied by hand or ordered as rolls and applied by an applicator. These custom labels are also great for seasonal or limited-run beers and give breweries more inventory flexibility.

Shrink sleeves and pressure-sensitive labels are two common ways to label beer cans. Both are great options, but shrink sleeve labels allow you to use the whole can for designs and beer information. Sleeves are great for eye-catching designs to create more brand awareness. Shrink sleeve labels are also great to use when the product is used or stored in different environments. Pressure-sensitive labels can be affected in an environment with moisture because of the adhesive used to stick them to the can. Shrink sleeve labels are made with plastic and are not affected by moisture.

As you can see, shrink sleeve labels are becoming more common in the craft beer industry. They offer many benefits to both small and big breweries and more flexibility when creating seasonal and limited beers.

For more information on shrink sleeves and the equipment used to apply the labels, visit the equipment section of our website and view AFM’s full line of sleeving solutions!

Do you still have questions about shrink sleeve labeling, shrink tunnels, or tamper-evident bands? AFM’s knowledgeable team of district sales managers is here to answer your call.

You’ve worked long and hard to formulate the perfect craft beer brews, from sourcing various types of grains (e.g., barley, wheat, rye), hops, and yeast to experimenting with different combinations of those ingredients. Test groups love your beer — and they’ve even helped you pick the winning graphic design for your beer can. When it comes to applying that design, you come to find that you have two options: direct printing and shrink sleeving.

What are the differences between those two methods, and why is shrink sleeving better than direct printing?

What is direct printing?

As the name suggests, direct printing is done by printing images and text directly onto containers, such as aluminum cans used for craft beers. It involves using a stencil — also known as a screen — to apply layers of ink onto the container itself. Colors are applied one at a time using several different stencils to achieve the final look.

Want more information on Craft Beer Shrink Film? Feel free to contact us.

Why is shrink sleeving better than direct printing on craft beer cans?

There are many reasons why you’re better off shrink sleeving than direct printing.

More flexibility with artwork

With direct printing, you can only use a maximum of six colors. Therefore, if your artwork has more colors, you will need to create a simplified version of it for your craft beer cans.

If your artwork is intended to be opaque, you will need to spend more. This is because inks used in direct printing tend to become transparent, showing the aluminum beneath. To boost the opacity of the inks, direct can printers often recommend running a white coating underneath the design. While the additional white coating will get you the look you’re aiming for, it will also increase your printing costs.

On the other hand, the sky’s the limit when designing an artwork that will be printed on shrink sleeves. Since shrink sleeves use digital printing technology, there are no color limitations. Opacity isn’t an issue either since a white layer under the artwork is a standard option for shrink sleeves.

Furthermore, since shrink sleeves wrap around the aluminum can, you have plenty of room for striking designs that will pop on retail shelves. You can also use that space to display more information about your brew (which craft beer enthusiasts love to read about), company history, and other messaging you want to convey to entice customers to buy your products.

Faster turnaround time

Printing directly onto aluminum cans usually takes a long time, with lead times reaching up to six months. A leading can printer even stopped receiving new customers for a time, as bigger breweries were taking up all their time and resources. So if you’re an experimental brewery with many fast releases, direct can printing won’t be able to meet your needs.

With shrink sleeving, orders are processed within days and usually completed in a few weeks, allowing you to get your products out on retail shelves much faster.

Small minimum order quantities (MOQ)

Can printers require large MOQs — usually 12 pallets or 100,000 cans — in order to fill a full truckload. This MOQ can be problematic for artisanal craft brewers like yourself since your retailers and customers expect specialty and seasonal brews from you. And when launching new products, craft beer brewers usually produce only small batch runs to test the market first in order to minimize the financial risk. What’s more, small breweries usually have limited storage capacity, making it impossible for them to house 100,000 cans at one time.

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about such issues because shrink sleeve labeling providers can accommodate small MOQs. This gives you the flexibility to experiment with different brews, which is perfect for catering to niche and difficult-to-predict markets.

Durability

Unlike with direct printing, shrink sleeving involves printing the graphics on the reverse side of the film. This makes the sleeves resistant to moist or humid environments, such as refrigerators and chillers, which is why they are ideal labels for beverages. Shrink sleeves can also withstand scuffing, chemicals, heat, and UV light degradation. As a result, your craft beer cans will more likely retain their appearance during shipping, warehousing, and when displayed on retail shelves. The durability of shrink sleeves also minimizes product returns due to damaged packaging.

Partner with a reliable contract labeling provider

To enjoy all the benefits of using shrink sleeves for your craft beer cans, you need professional shrink sleeve label application, and that’s what Pro-Motion Industries specializes in.

With over two decades of experience, state-of-the-art equipment, and a team of labeling experts, we guarantee smooth, high-quality label application. This way, your labels will embody your brand identity, last long, and deliver maximum value.

When you partner with us, you can leverage our swift turnaround times, enabling you to quickly launch seasonal brews. No matter what size your brewery is, we can meet both your functional and budgetary needs with our wide array of label application solutions. Interested in partnering with us? Speak with our label specialists at 856-809- today!

Are you interested in learning more about Good Gloss Shrink Film? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!