Release Liners - A Shrinking Violet?
October 2005
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Is the increased use of shrink labels affecting the use of release liners? Release liner manufacturers say no and offer different reasons why pressure-sensitive labels are the way to go.
ONE THING IS certain, your typical consumer doesn't give any thought to release liners as he or she travels up and down the packed isles in the local grocery store. But package printers know that release liners are a very important component in the world of labeling, one that can impact their bottom lines. packagePRINTING spoke to some release liner manufacturers to see what's new and what impact the growing use of shrink labels is having on the release liner market.
P.S. Honey I shrunk the label
Competition can be healthy when viewed and dealt with in the correct way. What would the price of gasoline be without competition? What would a personal computer cost, and would its performance be anywhere close to what it is today?
But competition, by nature, doesn't always run in everyone's favor all the time. For instance, it seems to some release liner manufacturers, but not all, that their customer base (the consumer product companies) is moving away from pressure-sensitive (p-s) labels to shrink labels. This may be true to a certain degree, but release liners still play a major role in the label market, especially in applications like roll labels, overlaminates, beverage and pharmaceutical labels, health and beauty aids, and toiletries and cosmetics. And that's just in the package-printing industry. Other release liner markets include decals and graphics, industrial (such as in tapes and sealants), and the medical field.
Shrink labels have their own laundry list of qualities that make them an attractive choice, says Jim Casey, vice president of FLEXcon. "On the plus side, shrink labels offer more 'real estate' than most p-s label products—that is, surface area for graphics—since they usually cover 100 percent of the container. That does allow for large, high-impact graphics."
But Casey also offered many points in favor of p-s labels, which, of course, necessitate release liners. "Pressure-sensitive labels can be produced at a rate of up to 800 labels per minute, while shrink sleeves are produced at a slower line speed. The faster line speed of p-s labeling products is a productivity advantage," he said. "Overall, we believe that p-s films offer a superior, proven solution for the vast majority of primary and secondary labeling applications."
ONE THING IS certain, your typical consumer doesn't give any thought to release liners as he or she travels up and down the packed isles in the local grocery store. But package printers know that release liners are a very important component in the world of labeling, one that can impact their bottom lines. packagePRINTING spoke to some release liner manufacturers to see what's new and what impact the growing use of shrink labels is having on the release liner market.
P.S. Honey I shrunk the label
Competition can be healthy when viewed and dealt with in the correct way. What would the price of gasoline be without competition? What would a personal computer cost, and would its performance be anywhere close to what it is today?
But competition, by nature, doesn't always run in everyone's favor all the time. For instance, it seems to some release liner manufacturers, but not all, that their customer base (the consumer product companies) is moving away from pressure-sensitive (p-s) labels to shrink labels. This may be true to a certain degree, but release liners still play a major role in the label market, especially in applications like roll labels, overlaminates, beverage and pharmaceutical labels, health and beauty aids, and toiletries and cosmetics. And that's just in the package-printing industry. Other release liner markets include decals and graphics, industrial (such as in tapes and sealants), and the medical field.
Shrink labels have their own laundry list of qualities that make them an attractive choice, says Jim Casey, vice president of FLEXcon. "On the plus side, shrink labels offer more 'real estate' than most p-s label products—that is, surface area for graphics—since they usually cover 100 percent of the container. That does allow for large, high-impact graphics."
But Casey also offered many points in favor of p-s labels, which, of course, necessitate release liners. "Pressure-sensitive labels can be produced at a rate of up to 800 labels per minute, while shrink sleeves are produced at a slower line speed. The faster line speed of p-s labeling products is a productivity advantage," he said. "Overall, we believe that p-s films offer a superior, proven solution for the vast majority of primary and secondary labeling applications."
Companies Mentioned:
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