Craig met with Allie to discuss the range of six juices and the requirements to manufacture shrink sleeves for both a one litre and 300ml size for each variety.    

Shrink sleeves provide a full-body branding solution for your product as they offer 360 degrees of communication space. They have a great deal of versatility as the shrink film can be applied to both standard and unusually shaped product packaging. Shrink sleeve artwork is printed on the inside of the sleeve, making it a durable, scuff resistant and fade-resistant labelling solution. They can provide protection against product tampering with the inclusion of tamper-evident seals and neck bands and are suitable for labelling in a variety of different markets including beverages.

Craig worked closely with Allie to assist in the development of the shrink sleeve templates, ensuring the sleeve met the requirements of both the PET bottle shape and the shrink tunnel that would be used to apply the sleeves. Read more about the different types of shrink tunnels here.

We printed the shrink sleeve design on a rPET shrink film that contains 30 per cent post industrial waste (PIW). The Allie’s Pressed Juices sleeve has been designed for recycling with the inclusion of a zipper perforation lengthways along the bottle. This helps the consumer to easily remove the sleeve from the PET bottle, allowing for the container to then be disposed of responsibly through kerbside recycling. The rPET material will not contaminate the recycling process as it can be recycled separately as a soft plastic through Australia’s REDcycle program. The PIW properties of the rPET film, and its ability to be recycled post-use, makes this material an ideal labelling solution to help companies reach their sustainable goals such as the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation’s 2025 National Packaging Targets.  

The sleeves were designed by Mila Katagarova and feature eye catching gold foil detail over a number of elements including the word ‘Allie’s’ and the brand’s signature tagline ‘Simple Ingredients. Sublime Juice.’ It was important that we maintained a consistent gold colour to the shade used on the adhesive labels.

We added white ink to enhance the opacity of certain design elements. The white ink was also applied under the mandatory Australian Made, Australian Grown panel and the barcode to ensure ease of readability.

Shrink sleeve artwork is a challenge, as the shrinking process can compromise the design. Our internal team of experienced prepress professionals worked with the art files to ensure the key design elements of the sleeve would sit away from high shrink areas. We also use sophisticated shrink sleeve software that simulates warping on the container to accurately predict artwork distortion. The final result is a beautifully printed and shrunk package that accurately represents the brand.

The shrink sleeves were printed using our flexographic printing technology at our Brisbane facility. Flexo printing requires the use of plates for each colour that carry a raised image to accept the ink. When the plate is pressed against the material the ink transfers from the plate to the material. Our flexo presses achieve world-class quality print and are well set up for medium to long runs, such as the Allie’s Pressed Juices range.