Key Takeaways
Toys, gift packs and printed products are shrink wrapped on an L-bar sealer with a shrink tunnel. The boxed toy, board game, book or gift set is enclosed in clear polyolefin film, sealed and trimmed by the L-bar, and passed through the tunnel so the film pulls tight into a glossy, tamper-evident wrap. The wrap keeps dust, fingerprints and scuffs off the box, holds loose parts inside, and shows the customer the pack has not been opened. Long or flat items such as posters and long boxes run on a side bar sealer instead. See the L-bar sealer and shrink wrap machine.
The machine used for boxed toys, games, books and gift sets, in manual, semi-automatic and automatic versions.
Most boxed retail and gift products are shrink wrapped. Toys and games: toy boxes, puzzles, board games, playsets, figurines and collectible or limited-edition toys. Gifts: gift sets, seasonal gift packs, promotional bundles and small hampers. Printed products: books, stationery sets, boxed printed materials and bundles of printed items. Small electronics are covered in how do you package electronic products?.
Boxed toys, games, books and gift sets run on an L-bar sealer and shrink wrap machine with a shrink tunnel. The L-bar seals and trims the film around each pack in one stroke, handles pack sizes that change from product to product, and is supplied as a manual, semi-automatic or automatic machine. The pack has to fit inside the sealing frame. Long or flat items, such as posters, long boxes and flat-packed printed materials, run on a side bar sealer, which seals continuously so length is not limited; the two are compared in L-bar vs side sealer. Large hampers that exceed a machine frame are usually wrapped by hand with a heat gun.
Toys and gift packs are shrink wrapped for four reasons. The glossy, clear film gives the pack a finished retail look while leaving the box design visible. It keeps dust, fingerprints, humidity and scuffs off printed boxes and book covers through storage and transport. It holds puzzle pieces, game parts and gift-set items inside the pack. And it is tamper evident, which matters for children’s toys and gifts, where buyers want to know a pack has not been opened.
Gift sets and promotional bundles are made by grouping the items, sometimes on a card tray or with a printed insert, and shrink wrapping them into one pack on the L-bar sealer. Because the pack is made from film rather than a new box, seasonal gift sets and promotions can be put together without new packaging tooling. Multipacks and promotional packs are covered in more detail in how multipacks and promotional packs are shrink wrapped.
Polyolefin is the usual film for toys, gift packs and books: it is crystal clear, strong enough to resist punctures from box corners, and gives off no harmful fumes when it is shrunk. PVC is cheaper and is used for low-cost retail displays, but it gives off fumes when heated and becomes brittle over time, so polyolefin is preferred for children’s products and premium gift packs. Polyethylene is used for heavier multipacks and bundles.
Toys, gift packs and printed products are shrink wrapped on an L-bar sealer and shrink tunnel in clear polyolefin, with a side bar sealer for long or flat items. Send us your products, their largest size and your volume, and we will specify the machine. The shrink wrap machine cost guide explains what moves the figure, and all four machines are on the shrink wrap machines page.
Hampers that fit inside the sealing frame of an L-bar sealer are wrapped on the machine. Larger hampers are usually wrapped by hand, in shrink film or a shrink bag shrunk with a heat gun.
Yes. Books are routinely shrink wrapped in clear polyolefin, with the tunnel set for paper products so the film shrinks tight without marking the cover. The wrap then protects the cover from scuffs and fingerprints on the shelf.
The film wraps the toy’s box as outer packaging and is removed before the toy is used. Polyolefin is the preferred film here because it gives off no harmful fumes when shrunk and does not become brittle.
Send us your products, their largest size and your volume, and we will specify the shrink wrap machine that suits it, with installation by our own technicians, a one-year warranty, CE marking on request and spares held in Johannesburg. You can also send samples and we will trial-wrap them at our Johannesburg showroom before you buy.
