Shrink Film Shelf Life

How long does shrink film last?

Not many people question how long shrink film lasts but it's an important consideration to make for the market. There are two reasons to ponder how effective and fresh shrink wrap film will remain. You may be tempted to stockpile shrink film rolls and benefit from bulk purchase discounts. Secondly, once rolled off the production line, items may lay in situ for months even years before hitting the shop floor.

Does shrink film deteriorate? Will rolls of shrink film be forever malleable? Will shrink wrapped products see the shrink film discolour or collapse over time? These are questions we aim to answer briefly below. When it comes to storage in a warehouse you may think the ambient temperature will not vary too much.

However if you take into consideration staff requirements of a heated environment and that of seasonal temperatures, you might wish to find a smaller room that is not affected by such changes. The optimum storage area will be dark and away from sunlight, with room temperature being under 35 degrees celsius and humidity no more than 60%.

Should these guidelines not be adhered to, over time you can expect shrink wrap to become baggy and have slack edges which will obviously cause problems when it comes to wrapping the final product. It would be impossible to drill down on exact shrink film shelf for each product in one article.

Each shrink wrap film manufacturer offers individual data sheets on each line of product. Because each is not made of the same material, minimum corona levels are set to ensure the best adhesion and colouring. in the majority of cases shrink wrap film, when stored in the correct conditions can last up to 12 months, but some some treated films are only good for three months.

If you are a distributor or are applying shrink wrap on a production line, it's worthwhile talking with your customers to ask how quickly they expect to shop your product to the shop floor. While the majority of faults due to expiry date of shrink wrap apply to performance before the wrapping process has begun, some discolouration and slacking can occur once packaged.

Ensure your customers know that shrink wrap film has a shelf life and that the conditions which the final product should reside within, are not too dissimilar to those of storage of the actual shrink wrap rolls. If you have any questions regarding shelf of shrink film do get in touch and we'll be happy to assist.

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