Benefits of shrink sleeve labels
Shrink sleeves provide some of the most standout design possibilities and often reduce costs and turnaround times. They’re full-body labels that wrap around the entirety of a container, offering 360-degree branding and messaging on your product.

Many brands turn to shrink sleeve manufacturers to enhance the vibrancy of their designs and achieve one-of-a-kind labels. Shrink sleeves can be printed digitally, eliminating the need for printing plates and making them economical for short runs while ensuring the finest printing quality.

They offer a range of additional benefits, including:

Versatile use on common or specialty containers
Fast and easy design changes from run to run with digital presses
Tamper-evident labels — shrink sleeves can go over a bottle’s cap to create a secure seal
All sleeves can be moisture proof
Abrasion resistance, as graphics are printed on the inside of the shrink sleeves
Full recyclability of both the label and container because shrink sleeves can be easily removed since they use adhesive-free application
Cost savings with generic containers, because shrink sleeves cover the entire container
Applications for shrink sleeve packaging
Generally speaking, shrink sleeves give you a 150% increase in label real estate for a mere 25% price increase over traditional pressure-sensitive labels. This additional space can be used for a myriad of purposes: Telling your brand story, including regulatory information or adding imagery of your product.

Beyond branding, sleeves are an attractive option because they allow you to add functionality to your product packaging, while saving money on total label and container costs. By extending the sleeve over the cap of a bottle, you can save money by eliminating the need for a drop-band closure or other more expensive tamper-evident options on the container itself. And incorporating a sleeve allows you to use a lighter bottle — reducing the cost and weight of your total packaging system.

These innovative labels are used on plastic, glass or metal containers and are common in a wide variety of markets. That’s because packaging buyers know the upfront cost of shrink sleeves is easily justified by the value they provide to their product’s packaging. Here are a couple potential applications for shrink sleeve packaging:

Tamper-evident shrink sleeve packaging
Sleeves are especially popular for food and beverage labels, particularly juices, energy drinks and alcoholic beverages, because they offer tamper-evident seals. They’re common on pharmaceutical and nutraceutical labels for the same reason.