01Types of shrink sleeves
A sleeve starts as flat film. It is printed, then the edges are overlapped and bonded with solvent into a tube, which is cut to length at application, dropped over the container and run through a heat tunnel.
- Full-body sleeve: covers the sidewall from shoulder to base. It gives you print on every side of the bottle and lets you dress a stock container.
- Partial or body sleeve: a band around part of the container.
- Tamper band or neck band: a short band over the cap and neck, with a perforated tear strip to open it. It can be clear, printed, or part of a full-body sleeve.
- Multipack sleeve: a sleeve that bundles two, three, four or six containers.
A stretch sleeve is a different thing: a sleeve stretched over large bottles and jugs, with no heat or adhesive. A pressure-sensitive label is a flat sticker applied with adhesive (see labels in our packaging glossary). Shrink wrap (the search "shrink wrap labels" mixes the two) is a film wrapped around the entire product container and shrunk to a tight fit.
02Films and how much they shrink
| Film | What to know |
|---|---|
| PETG (copolyester) | Copolyester; ask the converter for the grade's data sheet, shrink curve and density |
| Crystallizable PET | The sleeve film APR's PET guidance builds its preferred design around, at about 50 microns or less with perforations |
| PVC | APR says PVC sinks with PET in the wash tank and is very hard to remove; a PVC film label on a PET bottle renders it non-recyclable |
| OPS | Oriented polystyrene; ask the converter for the grade's data sheet and shrink curve |
| Polyolefin | APR says film labels that float, typically polyolefin based, separate easily from PET flake |
| PLA | Polylactic acid; APR treats a PLA film label on a PET bottle as rendering the package non-recyclable |
Data sheets give shrink separately for the transverse direction (TD, around the bottle) and the machine direction (MD, up and down), at a stated temperature and time. Shrink numbers depend on the test, so compare grades only at the same temperature and time, and ask for the shrink curve, not just a maximum.
The bigger the jump from body to neck diameter, the more TD shrink you need. Give the converter both diameters and physical bottles before they pick a grade.
03Printing and distortion
Sleeves are reverse printed: the ink goes on the inside of the film, so the print sits against the container, where it is protected from scuffing. In general, shrink films are reverse printed by flexo and rotogravure, and digital presses also print them. Ask which press your job runs on, what one-time setup charges apply, and what each extra version costs.
The artwork is printed flat and then shrinks unevenly: the film shrinks more where the bottle is narrower. Text and logos over the shoulder or neck stretch and squash unless the art is pre-distorted to compensate. The traditional way to measure this is a grid test: print a grid on the sleeve film, shrink it onto your bottle, measure how the squares moved, and distort the art to match. Prepress software can now predict distortion, but still ask for grid test sleeves on your real bottle.
Put barcodes and small text on the straightest part of the body, ask where the seam will sit and keep critical copy off it, and ask for a white backing layer if you want opaque color on a clear bottle.
04Tamper bands and the FDA rule
For OTC drugs, tamper evidence is required. Under 21 CFR 211.132, each manufacturer and packer of an OTC drug product for retail sale (except dermatological, dentifrice, insulin and lozenge products) must use a tamper-evident package if the product is accessible to the public while held for sale. A tamper-evident package has one or more indicators or barriers to entry that, if breached or missing, can reasonably be expected to give consumers visible evidence of tampering.
The rule also says:
- The feature must be distinctive by design or use an identifying characteristic, such as a pattern, name, registered trademark, logo or picture.
- The retail package must carry a statement naming the tamper-evident feature, placed prominently where breaking the feature will not affect it. The rule's own example is a bottle with a shrink band: "For your protection, this bottle has an imprinted seal around the neck."
FDA's compliance policy guide on this rule lists heat shrink bands or wrappers, usually at the joint of cap and container, as one technology that can meet it. It says a perforated tear strip can enhance tamper resistance, tinted bands are no longer acceptable as the identifying characteristic, and using a listed technology does not by itself make a package compliant. A plain clear or tinted band has no identifying characteristic of its own, so print your name or a pattern on it.
A similar rule, 21 CFR 700.25, covers cosmetic liquid oral hygiene products and vaginal products. Neither section covers beverages, candles or other cosmetics; if you band them anyway, 211.132 is a sensible spec to copy. This is not legal advice: check the rule for your category.
05Recycling: the PET bottle problem
A full-body sleeve can make a recyclable bottle hard to recycle. Facilities sort bottles with near infrared (NIR) machines, and APR's NIR resource says a full-wrap sleeve may be a different polymer than the bottle, the NIR machine may not see through it, and the bottle can then go to the wrong stream or to waste.
What the APR Design Guide for PET says about labels, as of October 22, 2026:
- Coverage: label coverage at or under 55% of the sidewall and shoulder is preferred on bottles up to 550 mL, and at or under 75% above 550 mL. Higher coverage needs sorting tests.
- PET-based sleeves: a crystallizable PET sleeve of 50 microns or less with two full-length vertical perforation lines, in one of APR's two cut and land patterns, can be preferred, because it comes off in mechanical delabeling before sorting.
- Floating films: film labels that float (typically polyolefin) separate from PET flake in the wash tank, if their inks and adhesives also meet APR's criteria.
- PVC and PLA: a film label containing either renders the package non-recyclable.
- Inks: label inks must not discolor the wash water.
Then check your claim. Under the FTC Green Guides, 16 CFR 260.12, an unqualified "recyclable" claim needs recycling facilities available to at least 60% of consumers or communities where it is sold, and if any component significantly limits recycling, any recyclable claim is deceptive. A sleeve can be that component. Our sustainable packaging page covers the rest of the Green Guides.
06When to choose a sleeve, and what drives cost
Choose a shrink sleeve when you need print all the way round a curved or shaped container, want a stock bottle to look custom, or need a tamper band anyway. Choose a pressure-sensitive label when the container has a straight panel, runs are small and change often, or PET recyclability matters more than full coverage. For a box around the bottle instead, see folding cartons.
Minimums and prices vary by converter and press, so ask each one:
- What is the minimum per design, and per version if you run several flavors?
- Are setup charges one-time, and is the price for printed sleeves only or applied and shrunk?
- Who applies them: you, the converter, or a co-packer with a sleeve applicator?
See what MOQ means for negotiating minimums, and put sleeves, application and freight into your landed cost. The Vault lists packaging suppliers with contacts.
07Before you sign off
- Run grid sleeves and a short print test through the same tunnel type (steam, hot air or infrared) that will do production, since shrink depends on the heat and time.
- Approve the proof on film shrunk onto a bottle, not a flat PDF.
- For an OTC drug, put the tamper-evident statement in the artwork brief.
08How to spec it with a supplier
Put these in your request so every converter quotes the same thing.
| No. | Field | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Container | Material, volume, height, widest and narrowest diameter; send physical samples |
| 02 | Format | Full-body, partial, neck band, or full-body with an integrated tamper band |
| 03 | Film | Material and grade, thickness in microns, clear or white |
| 04 | Shrink | Required TD and MD shrink and the test conditions; request the shrink curve |
| 05 | Number of colors, white backing layer, matte or gloss finish, press type | |
| 06 | Artwork | Distortion done by the converter, grid test sleeves on your bottle, proof approval steps |
| 07 | Perforations | Tear strip on the band, and vertical perforations if you follow APR's PET guidance |
| 08 | Application | Hand or machine, applicator model if known, tunnel type (steam, hot air, infrared) |
| 09 | Supply | Roll or cut sleeves, core size, sleeves per roll or carton |
| 10 | Recycling | APR test results or recognition for the film, ink and design on your bottle |
09FAQ
Q01What is the difference between a shrink sleeve and a label?
A pressure-sensitive label is a flat sticker held on with adhesive. A shrink sleeve is a printed film tube shrunk on with heat, and it can cover the container all the way round.
Q02What is a shrink sleeve made of?
PETG, PET, PVC, OPS or a polyolefin film. On PET bottles the film choice decides whether the bottle can still be recycled.
Q03How are shrink sleeves applied?
The sleeve is opened and placed over the container by hand or by an applicator, then run through a steam, hot-air or infrared shrink tunnel.
Q04Are shrink sleeves recyclable?
APR notes that labels on PET packaging most often become waste, and a full-body sleeve can stop a PET bottle being sorted. APR's design guide sets the rules that keep the bottle recyclable.
Q05What is a shrink band?
A short sleeve shrunk over the cap and neck, with a perforated tear strip to open it, used as tamper evidence. For OTC drugs, FDA lists heat shrink bands as one way to meet 21 CFR 211.132 when they carry an identifying characteristic.