Reflex Labels opens shrink sleeve division

UK converter Reflex Labels has opened a new division, Reflex Dynamic Sleeves (RDS). RDS will manufacture shrink sleeves for primary packaging, offering both UV and solvent-based flexo, with the ability to do both short and very long runs.  

Managing director Ian Kendall said: ‘RDS has been set up to reduce minimum order quantities and increase speed to market. Shrink sleeves have long been the first choice of marketing departments, but the comparatively high prices often cause the purchasing team to put the brakes on.  

‘Price increases for self-adhesive labelstock over the last two years have created a swing in favor of shrink sleeves, as opposed to labels. RDS will make shrink sleeving even more accessible to UK brand owners, by taking away barriers such as high minimum order quantities and long lead times. 

‘We have been supplying shrink sleeves for some time, watching the market demands steadily grow in the UK and observing how the existing suppliers react to those demands.  This product is not new – it was invented in Japan in the 1950s – but we have made it newly accessible. 

‘Dynamic factors such as rising raw material prices for other packaging formats are a part of it, but really what is driving the marketing and design sector’s desire, is how good this product is: the sheer force of impact you can achieve with a shrink sleeved product, how much better your product can look on the shelf than its labeled neighbor.’ 

Reflex will be working closely with The Greenhouse reprographics and artwork agency, which specializes in adapting designs for packaging application, as well as drawing on the company’s own in-house R&D center.  

‘The Greenhouse’s specialist software shows us how the sleeve will behave during shrinking, allowing us to accommodate for the warp that inevitably occurs. It also gives us (and our customers) the ability to create 3D films and presentations to pitch concepts and discuss ideas with their team and their clients,’ continued Kendall. 

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