The Amazing Shrink Inks

Adhesion: Ink-on-ink contact is not uncommon when dealing with printed shrink films in the pre-labeling or sleeving phase, said Brendan Maunsell, vice president and commercial director of Coates USA, a division of Sun Chemical. If an ink with poor adhesion is used and then stored for any amount of time with ink touching ink, problems can occur. A common problem that can occur when adhesion is not adequate is blocking or "picking off," when the ink transfers from one side of the pre-shrunk shrink sleeve to the other, said Mark Winheim, R&D project manager at Alcoa Flexible Packaging.