Full Body Sleeve Labelers - Labels That Are Formed As A Tube And Shrunk On The Bottle

Another type of labeling machine that has become very popular over the last decade are full body sleeve applicating machines that cut and apply labels that are made in a tube shape (both seamed and unseamed) and then laid flat in roll form. The labels are advanced by a drive that stops according to the registration marks that are printed on the film, cut with various types of knives, and then opened and placed over the bottle, then shrunk onto the bottle in a heat tunnel. Machines speeds vary according to the model of machine from 30 - 600 bottles per minute. A big advantage of a full body sleeve applications is that the cost per sleeve is substantially lower than a pressure sensitive label of similar size plus there is no waste material which is yet another added bonus in our environmentally sensitive era. The disadvantage is that while printing technologies have made significant strides in recent years, the quality and printing options are not up to the level of pressure sensitive labels - yet.