San Benedetto is an Italian manufacturer and distributor of soft drinks, sports beverages, probiotics and bottled water, and the company knows the impact quality ingredients have on the end product. It does not compromise on what goes into each of its products and makes every effort to protect that quality. And it takes the same approach to projecting an image of that quality through its product labeling.

San Benedetto was using a polypropylene-based roll-fed shrink label with a hot melt adhesive seam for its Batik Succoso juice brand. However, the company wanted to upgrade the look of the product to make it strongly reflect a quality position more in line with the quality of the product itself.

The polypropylene-based roll-fed shrink film only allowed up to an 8 percent shrink ratio, which limited the amount of space the label could cover on the contoured bottle. Coupled with limited graphics characteristics of the film, San Benedetto thought matching the high-impact shelf appeal of shrink sleeve labels was not attainable.

“Roll-fed shrink film allowed us to use a package with a contoured bottle and a label to match,” says Lorenzo Benvegnu, product manager with San Benedetto. “But the low shrink ratio meant we were limited to how high we could place our label on the Batik package. We literally could not go past the moderate shoulder.

“There was a lot of space on the bottle we just couldn’t take advantage of, and we felt we were missing an opportunity. Still, we never gave up pursuing film options that would cost-effectively allow us to match the high impact of sleeves.”

Finding a Better Option

At the beginning of 2009, San Benedetto’s patience was rewarded when it relaunched Batik Succoso with a new roll-fed sleeve film label called polyphane fit STS, which has a guaranteed shrink ratio of 50 percent.

Polyphane fit film is a proprietary polyolefin that is machine direction oriented. This provides high tensile strength properties and excellent on-press stability. It also does not require refrigerated freight or air-conditioned storage because the film has higher shrink initiation temperatures versus conventional sleeve label materials.

Polyphane fit was developed and is manufactured by Polysack Plastic Industries Ltd. “Many other shrink films and sleeves were considered for this application, polyphane fit STS was selected for its superior printing, labeling, welding and shrink performance,” says Hubert Mignolet, sales and marketing manager with Polysack. “Polyphane fit films are unique in that they perform more like shrink sleeves than traditional roll-fed shrink. We only had to adjust the graphics slightly to take advantage of the higher shrink ratio and enlarged display area.”

The labels were flexo printed in eight colors with solvent inks. With superior optics based on clarity of 98, haze of 3 and a gloss rating of 135, Polyphane Fit is an ideal medium for high-end graphics representation.

“Polyphane fit combines all the graphics benefits of shrink sleeves with the operating efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of roll-fed sleeve labels,” says Laura Clark, marketing director for food and beverage, Avery Dennison.

“With a shrink ratio of up to 50 percent, this solution allows San Benedetto to take full advantage of the entire Batik bottle, including the neck. The ability to apply the label top to bottom and around the full bottle delivers a significant advantage for improved shelf impact.”

Leveraging Operational Efficiency

Along with improved shelf appeal, San Benedetto sought an alternative seaming technology for its labels. While a label represents only a fraction of the total cost to package a product, its impact on the consumer is significant. Misplaced labels or split seams undercut the perception of quality. The company wanted to eliminate glue from the labeling process because it was an added consumable and reduced the operating efficiency of the labeler. Glue seams also proved to be less robust and split when heated in the shrink tunnel, resulting in rework.

San Benedetto opted to install a roll fed sleeve technology (RFST) labeler from Sacmi Labeling. The modular labeling machine allows the application of wraparound thermo-shrink plastic film labels starting directly from the film on the roll and uses laser-welding technology for seaming. The labeling operation is fully integrated with the bottling line and can handle line speeds up to 1,000 bottles per minute.

“The laser seaming technology from Sacmi pairs well with the polyphane fit material,” Benvegnu says. “It gives us a perfectly secure seam all along the full contour of the bottle for an extremely tight fit without any gaps. I believe this was the first commercial launch of Sacmi’s RFST using a laser seam. The technology was new and untested. Polysack, the converters and San Benedetto worked together over a 6-month period, proving the technology, working through minor challenges to bring application to commercialization.”

While San Benedetto realized a cost savings by eliminating glue as a consumable and the related extra work associated with added time for machine setups and downtime for cleaning, it has also been able to reduce its energy consumption. The previous roll-fed shrink film required a hot air tunnel temperature of 600 degrees F to shrink just 8 percent. However, the new material of the roll-fed sleeve allows the company to use its existing steam generator at just 200 degrees F.

San Benedetto
+39 041 585 9847
www.sanbenedetto.it

Avery Dennison
(440) 358-6000
www.averydennison.com

Sacmi Labelling
+39 045 634 7511 ‎
www.sacmilabelling.com

Polysack Plastic Industries Ltd.
+972 8 9989796
www.polyphane.com