Buyer lanes that change the RFQ
Food and beverage multipacks
Intended fill and tunnel climate belong on the first line. A beverage tray that exits a 160-180 °C shrink tunnel needs the shrink ratio and film thickness named, plus any food-contact or migration testing file the receiving plant will ask for. Those files attach to a lot, not to this website. High humidity on a chilled dock can change how a 15 μm POF web behaves even when the datasheet looks adequate; the brief should say whether the film is a tray overwrap only or also a printed sleeve.
Personal-care and CPG sleeves
Primary packs often sit in a bottle or jar; the shrink sleeve still needs a lay-flat width that matches the contour. Print is usually a mid color-count flexographic or gravure mark. Digital print versus flexo or offset is a run-length choice: short SKU counts can avoid plates, while a stable long run often keeps spot color on flexographic printing. The RFQ should state artwork change frequency so plate cost is not hidden inside a piece price.
Industrial shipping bags
Parts and hardware lanes care about puncture and seal integrity more than shelf graphics. Name PE versus POF and the thickness method. A 50 μm PE shrink bag is not a drop-in for a 19 μm POF centerfold. If a barrier layer or oxygen transmission rate target is required, it is a second quote line because it uses a different structure.
Application fields that belong on the supplier brief
| Lane |
Must name |
Document to request later |
| Food and beverage |
Fill, tunnel range, thickness in μm |
Resin and ink food-contact file for that lot |
| Personal-care sleeves |
Lay-flat mm, print colors, artwork revision |
Drawdown or press proof, not a website badge |
| Industrial bags |
Resin, thickness, barrier yes/no |
Strength or OTR sheet that matches the quoted film |
Material and method comparison
Buyers often treat PVC and POF as interchangeable because both shrink. PVC can offer a lower piece price and a high shrink ratio on older tunnels, while POF is commonly requested where a chlorine-free web and a lower seal initiation temperature matter. Neither resin is automatically recyclable in a US municipal stream; post-consumer recycled content, if required, is a lot file, not a footer claim. A mono-material PE bag can support a reporting goal and still fail an oxygen transmission rate or water vapor transmission rate check that a multilayer bag passed. Ask which structure was priced before treating the two as equivalent.
Buyer-stated ranges used to compare constructions, not inventory held by this desk
| Choice |
Typical range to write |
What stays outside the kilogram price |
| POF centerfold |
12-25 μm; shrink ratio 50-70%; seal initiation temperature about 90-120 °C |
Tunnel trial, sample roll, freight |
| PVC web or bag |
15-50 μm; shrink ratio often 40-60% on older tunnels |
Disposal or chlorine-handling notes requested by the receiving plant |
| PE shrink bag |
25-80 μm; puncture and oxygen transmission rate if barrier is required |
Barrier layer, water vapor transmission rate file, extra seal test |
| Printed sleeve |
Lay-flat in mm; 4-8 color flexographic printing or gravure printing; die line status |
Plates, cylinders, artwork revision |
Continue from inquiry options when more than one lane is open, or from the inquiry form when the first draft is ready.
