PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2016

LABELLING 54 PET planet Insider Vol. 17 No. 10/16 www.petpla.net with much more creative opportunity when compared to the limited space of traditional labels. As the designer’s role is to make the packaging as attractive as possible to the consumer, this free- dom generally leads to more innovative and eye-catching layouts. The extra space also allows the positioning of data such as volume, contents, barcode and other legally required information, in addition to enabling producers to add messages and communications of their own choice. Labels to cover all or part of the bottle By applying film sleeves to entire bottles or parts of bottles, the SSL application involves shrinking the film with heat, causing it to follow the shape of the container to which it is being applied. As it shrinks into place, it adapts to any surface and eliminates any irregularities or restrictions due to container shape. The film can be used to cover the bottle in a number of different ways, too. It might cover part of the bottle - just the cap and shoulders, for exam- ple - or the whole bottle. Other means of application include stretch sleeves and roll-on, shrink- on (ROSO) systems. By cover- ing the whole bottle, includ- ing the cap, the label sleeve can serve effec- tively as a seal and, in the case of sensitive products, it can also be used as a light barrier to protect the contents. Full- body sleeve labels addition- ally enhance the potential for further lightweighting, as they can strengthen the bottle walls, improving handling performance and the whole consumer experience when applied to lighter bottles. To take advantage of the many positives that the sleeve labelling process and the new substrates offer, equipment manufacturers have been working to develop machinery that fits in more closely with producers’ needs. This has led to the production of machines that combine the simplic- ity of consolidated roll-fed technology with shrink-sleeve processes for high- speed applications. Labelling onto ultra-lightweight bottles Within most labelling equipment, labels are applied to the bottles by machinery separately handling each bottle. This handling might weaken an ultra-light bottle in some manu- facturers’ systems. This can result in poor quality labelling and reduced machine efficiency. To overcome the problem, some producers are ‘nitro- gen-dosing’ their beverages - that is adding liquid nitrogen to the filled bottle prior to capping. When a drop- let of nitrogen is added to the filled bottle and trapped by the capping process, it expands as it vaporises. This greatly increases the pressure within the bottle and has the effect of strengthening the bottle. Naturally, leading equipment manufacturers are already building labelling machines that can handle even the most lightweight bottle and manage the extra demands of bottle lightweighting - without the need for nitrogen dosing. Compared to tradi- tional Transversal Direction Orienta- tion (TDO) where sleeve labels are already formed in tubes on the reel, the sleeve labelling solution from Sidel, the Rollsleeve, can apply labels with a Machine Direction Orientation (MDO) on very lightweight bottles, as the final tube creation and welding are performed directly in the labelling machine. Labels for product personalisation Inventing ways in which the con- sumer experience can be made more personal is a current trend within buying public. This is one reason why SSL, which affords greater freedom for graphic design, is growing rapidly in popularity, particularly among those producers operating in well-established markets. The larger area available for graphics naturally presents designers