Key Takeaways
Bottles are shrink wrapped by grouping them into a multipack, usually 6, 12 or 24 bottles, wrapping the group in shrink film on a sleeve sealer, and passing it through a shrink tunnel that pulls the film tight into a stable, retail-ready bundle. The sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel is the standard bottle wrapping machine for bottled water, soft drinks and juice, and an L-bar sealer suits small multipacks at lower output. Bottle bundles are usually wrapped in polyethylene film; clear film keeps the labels visible and printed film can carry branding. See the sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel for the machine itself.
The machine most often supplied for shrink wrapping bottle multipacks, in semi-automatic and fully automatic versions.
The usual shrink wrap machine for bottles is a sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel: the sleeve sealer wraps film around a group of bottles and seals it, and the tunnel shrinks the film into a tight bundle. It comes in two versions, and the choice depends on how bottles reach the machine.
Fully automatic, on a bottling line. Where bottles come off a filling, capping and labelling line, a fully automatic sleeve sealer, the bottle shrink wrapping machine for high volumes, is integrated at the end of the line and matched to its speed, so wrapping never becomes the bottleneck. We did exactly this for a water bottling line.
Semi-automatic, for changing pack sizes. Where bottle packs change from product to product and there is no infeed conveyor, a semi-automatic sleeve sealer is loaded by hand and handles several pack configurations. A bottle multipack customer tested this on our floor model before buying.
For small bottle multipacks at lower output, an L-bar sealer and shrink wrap machine also works.
Water bottles are shrink wrapped as multipacks, usually of 6, 12 or 24 bottles, because that is how bottled water is sold. The sleeve sealer bundles the bottles, on their own or on a cardboard tray, and the tunnel shrinks the film so the pack stays tight through transport, storage and the shop floor. A shrink-wrapped bundle uses less material than a cardboard box, and the sealed film shows at once if a pack has been opened.
Yes. Carbonated soft drinks in bottles and cans are shrink wrapped into multipacks, commonly of 6, 12 or 18, on the same sleeve sealer and tunnel as water. The film holds the pack firmly so bottles do not shift or rub in transit, and it keeps the pack square enough to stack on the shelf. Clear film leaves each label visible, and printed shrink film can carry the brand or a promotion across the whole pack. Can multipacks are covered in shrink wrap for beverage cans.
Juice is shrink wrapped the same way, whether it is in bottles or in small boxes. Individual juice containers are grouped into a multipack for households and schools, wrapped on the sleeve sealer and shrunk in the tunnel, so the pack stays together until it is opened and is protected from dust and moisture in transit.
Shrink wrap packaging for bottles is usually polyethylene film, run on a sleeve sealer; the tunnel will also shrink PVC. Polyolefin is the film for smaller packs on an L-bar sealer. Clear film is the default because the labels do the selling; printed film is used where the brand or a promotion should cover the pack. The film thickness is matched to the weight of the bundle, so a 24-bottle pack of water needs a stronger film than a 6-pack of small bottles.
Shrink wrapping bottles comes down to the sleeve sealer and tunnel, set up either fully automatic at the end of a bottling line or semi-automatic for changing pack sizes, with polyethylene film matched to the bundle. Send us your bottle size, the number of bottles per pack, whether packs sit on a tray, and the output you need, and we will specify the machine. See the sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel, compare all four machines on the shrink wrap machines page, or read how multipacks are shrink wrapped. The shrink wrap machine cost guide explains what moves the figure.
Not always. Bottle multipacks are shrink wrapped on their own or on a cardboard tray. The tray gives the pack a flat base, and glass bottles are usually wrapped on a tray for support. Whether you use one depends on the bottle, the pack size and how the packs are stacked. Mixed promotional packs of different drinks run on the same machine.
Yes, within the machine’s pack size range. A semi-automatic sleeve sealer loaded by hand is the usual choice where bottle packs change from product to product; the film and settings are changed with the pack.
For many bottle multipacks, yes. A shrink-wrapped bundle holds the bottles together with less material than a cardboard box, keeps the labels visible, and is tamper evident. Some producers still combine the film with a cardboard tray for a firmer base.
Send us your bottle size, pack count and the output you need, and we will specify the shrink wrap machine that suits it, with installation by our own technicians, a one-year warranty, CE marked machines and spares held in Johannesburg. You can also send sample bottles and we will trial-wrap them at our Johannesburg showroom before you buy.
