How To Choose The Correct Shrink Wrap Machine

Your company may directly manufacture products on site and need a packaging option or your operation is part of a long chain that sees goods packaged before delivery to retailers and wholesalers. Choosing the correct machine is easier than you might think.

We are contacted almost on a daily basis and bombarded with questions which we are all too ready to answer and assist with. The most obvious result from employing an automatic machine is the ability to drive down costs instead of employing manual labour. For a new start up, the savings can be substantial.

But where to begin? Do you select second hand shrinkwrap machines or new and do you require custom alternations or a whole new shrinkwrap set up entirely? While we are at hand to answer your questions and you can visit for a demo on any of our shrinkwrap machines, here's a quick run down on how to choose a shrinkwrap machine.

Output: Investing in machinery will be one of your biggest costs. You need to not only consider your current volume requirements but your operation in six months to a year. If you need to shrink wrap under fifty items a day, you may be best off with a hand impulse sealer and a heat gun or a portable I-Bar Sealer.

However if volume will be between 50 and 250 a day in the medium term, a semi automatic option in the form of a Shrink Tunnel / Chamber Machine or for higher volume Semi Auto L Sealers and fully Automatic L Sealers that can process over 1500 items an hour.

Size: Every company has different sized items to package, ranging from pens and pencils and trays to whole pallets. Shrink Film and wrapping is a fantastic invention and you can wrap anything from mugs to entire buildings. Rather than buying different machinery for each job, simply select your largest item and the machine will be capable of wrapping your smallest objects.

We offer a range of specialist machines from whole Pallet Wrap machines to trickier solutions for lengthy bundles of pipes or similar shaped objects which can be shrinkwrapped with a Spiral Wrapper and boxes contained by a Strapping machine.

Speed: The old adage of time is money is crucial when it comes to a shrinkwrap operation. The ability to maximise the production line so it is efficient and yet fast at the same time. Each of our machines come with guidelines on how many products can be wrapped per minute or hour. A Flow Wrapper being the most ingenious.

Systems: If your sole agenda is simply getting a product wrapped in a timely fashion, then a standalone automatic shrinkwrap machine will suffice. However, if you are involved in production, there may be a whole chain of events previous that requires a more finished solution.

In which case you may find it helpful to ask our engineers to draw you a detailed system which includes any or all of the following; Conveyors - to feed the objects, a Carton Sealer - to automate box sealing, a Labelling machine, friction feeders and of course the choosing of a suitable shrinkwrap machine.

Costs: Our solutions can range from the hundreds to thousands of pounds. With the fastest most complex machine coming in at over £20,000. How do you justify spend and calculate profitability? If switching from manual labour, the savings are a no brainer.

With years of expertise in development and installation we can assess your current set up and growth targets and advise on running costs, maintenance and offer finance to assist in entry level purchases.

Maintenance: Unless you have a trained engineer on site to resolve any machine issues, it is recommended that you take up a service option. With 24 hour call out, you need not worry about delays when it comes to packaging or paying over the top for parts replacement.

To read about the choices of machines available to you and how each machine performs individual tasks, view the Machinery descriptions or browse the FAQ for more answers. Contact us today for free advice and a free demo.