The Role of Labeling Machines in Bottled Beverage Production

Sleeve, OPP or sticker: what decides the choice?

A full-body sleeve covers the whole bottle and gives the most design freedom, at the cost of film and a shrink tunnel. An OPP wrap-around label is the cheapest per unit at high speed. A sticker suits short runs and curved surfaces where a wrap is impractical.

What does a shrink sleeve need to look right?

A consistent shrink needs the right film direction, a controlled tunnel temperature profile and a bottle that does not deform. Steam tunnels give a softer shrink than hot air and suit thin-wall bottles. A wrinkle at the shoulder is usually a film or temperature issue, not a speed issue.

Reference unit for this duty: the Rotary Sticker Labeling.

Where does the labeller sit in the line?

After the filler and before the packer, normally with an accumulator on each side. The labeller is the most frequent short-stop on many lines, so the accumulator size in front of it decides whether a label roll change reaches the filler or not.

The unit behind this configuration is the Sleeve Labeling.

Why does a label need a vision check?

Because a missing or skewed label is a customer reject that the line cannot see. A camera at the labeller outlet with a reject gate catches it at the source, before the packer hides it inside a case.

The same question is worked through from another angle in Hot Glue Labeling: Where the Glue Pattern Decides the.

Frequently asked questions