The end-of-life solution
for shrink sleeve labels
Embrace Encore optimizes shrink labels, empowering designers to create more innovative, engaging and attractive packaging. Embrace Encore offers brands good shrinkage properties, toughness and clarity along with a compelling sustainability story — helping promote brand image, increase sales, attract consumers’ attention and encourage brand loyalty.
As the shrink label solution most compatible with PET recycling, Embrace Encore’s advantages include:
PET stream (RIC 1) compatibility and recyclability
- Fully compatible with PET bottle recycling streams
- Embrace Encore, a crystallizable PET, is recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) as compatible with the PET recycle stream when used with washable inks. Crystallizable solutions are one of only two shrink sleeve technologies for PET bottles that APR recognizes.
- Improved rPET yields
- Labels made with Embrace Encore do not cause clumping problems during processing of recycled PET flake. They are also not a source of contaminants typically associated with labels that use adhesives, paper or foreign polymers. These contaminants can cause black specks or introduce non-intentionally added substances (NIAS).
- Fully recyclable
- Embrace Encore can be recovered along with clear PET bottle flakes, supporting recycling claims for packaging.
- Improves sortation accuracy
- Due to its chemical similarity to PET, Embrace Encore offers “like-on-like” labels, increasing the chance that PET bottles will be correctly identified at the recycler.
- Supports bottle recyclability claims
Emerging legislation, such as California SB 343, may allow brands to make bottle recyclability claims only if the labels are compatible with APR guidance.
Superb aesthetics and improved functionality
- Unparalleled shelf appeal and design flexibility
- Embrace Encore enables eye-catching, 360-degree graphic capability with super-high print definition and sparkling clarity, empowering designers to create engaging packaging that promotes brand image, improves shelf appeal, increases sales and encourages brand loyalty.
- Replacement for conventional PETG shrink sleeve labels
- Embrace Encore delivers performance benefits on par with those of traditional polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). This allows for higher surface energy and ease of printing compared to other low-density substrates.
- Perfectly fit, contoured bottles
- Embrace Encore offers up to 75% ultimate shrinkage, toughness, clarity and a versatile shrink curve.
- Films produced from Embrace Encore enable up to 5% machine direction (MD) growth or vertical dimension growth, preventing smiling and frowning on the edges of the label.
- Superior toughness
- Labels made from Embrace Encore exhibit superior toughness compared to other label substrates. The MD elongation at break (EOB), when tested at a standard 300 mm/min, is over 500% in many cases versus a maximum of 100%–200% for olefin-based labels.
- The increased toughness of Embrace Encore-based films allows for lightweighting of the label.
