Label films are essential materials widely used in various industries for labeling and packaging purposes. They come in different types, each with unique characteristics and applications. This article provides an overview of several common label film materials, highlighting their properties, advantages, and use cases.
1. Polyethylene (PE) Film
Polyethylene film is a commonly used plastic sheet that exhibits a slightly hazy appearance. After printing, labels made from PE film present a soft visual effect. It boasts excellent flexibility, making it suitable for adhering to curved surfaces without the edges peeling off. PE film’s smooth surface ensures superior printing quality. Additionally, it possesses good cold resistance, waterproofness, and moisture resistance.
2. Polyester (PET) Film
Polyester film is a high-molecular-weight material known for its hardness and brittleness. It has a smooth and glossy surface, providing excellent adhesion for inks. PET film is highly resistant to high temperatures and harsh environments, including acids, bases, and other chemicals. This makes it ideal for outdoor use and applications requiring high-quality labels. Available in matte silver, matte white, and glossy white, PET film also offers tear resistance, oil resistance, light opacity, good stain resistance, and scratch resistance.
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Film
PVC film is a lightweight and flexible plastic film composed mainly of PVC resin. It possesses excellent physical properties, such as flexibility and ease of molding, along with good light transmittance. PVC film is also flame-retardant, strong, and resistant to climate changes. Its geometric stability and strong resistance to oxidants, reductants, and strong acids make it versatile for various applications.
4. Polypropylene (PP) Film
PP film is used for self-adhesive labels and exhibits multiple properties, maintaining excellent adhesion and stability even in extreme environments. It has high transparency, clearly presenting the contents beneath the label. PP film is flexible and resistant to compression, making it suitable for surfaces of different shapes without deformation or damage. It is also waterproof, oil-resistant, chemical-resistant, rigid, wear-resistant, temperature-resistant, and tear-resistant.
5. Pearlescent PP Film
Pearlescent PP film uses PP as its core raw material and undergoes special processing to give it a subtle pearlescent glow. It is flexible, has high tensile strength, is heat-resistant, waterproof, oil-resistant, scratch-resistant, and chemical-resistant. Pearlescent PP film also offers light-blocking and tear-resistance properties. It is an eco-friendly, durable, economical, and versatile synthetic paper product. Combining the printability of natural paper with the waterproofness and durability of plastic, it is a new eco-friendly material.
6. Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) Film
BOPP film is characterized by its high tensile strength, impact strength, rigidity, toughness, and good transparency. It is commonly used as a surface material for composite films due to its good printing adaptability after corona treatment. BOPP films come in various types:
- Gloss Film: Also known as the ordinary BOPP film, it is the most widely used BOPP product. Gloss film is waterproof and can make non-waterproof label materials waterproof when laminated. It enhances the brightness and high-end appearance of label stickers and protects printed ink/content, making the label surface scratch-resistant and more durable.
- Matt Film: Also called matte film, it achieves a matte effect by absorbing and scattering light. It generally enhances the appearance of printed items but is relatively expensive and produced by fewer domestic manufacturers. Matt film often lacks a heat-seal layer and is thus used in combination with other films (e.g., CPP, BOPET).
- Pearlescent Film: Mostly a three-layer co-extruded stretched film, it typically has a heat-seal layer. Commonly used for chopstick bags, pearlescent film has a heat-seal section due to its own heat-seal layer. It has a density mostly below 0.7, which helps reduce costs. The common pearlescent effect is white and opaque, providing some light-blocking ability and protecting light-sensitive products.
- Aluminum-Coated Film: Made by depositing an extremely thin layer of aluminum onto the surface of plastic film using a special process (most commonly vacuum metallizing), aluminum-coated film combines the properties of plastic film with those of metal. It is an inexpensive, aesthetically pleasing, high-performance, and practical packaging material mainly used for packaging dry and puffed foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
- Laser Film: Produced domestically in relatively small quantities, laser film has certain production technical requirements and is typically used for anti-counterfeiting and decorative packaging of high-end products such as cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, and food.
In summary, label films are diverse in material and function, catering to various needs in different industries. Understanding their characteristics and applications is crucial for selecting the most suitable label film for specific purposes.
