# Shrink wrap



## HerbalEarthling (Nov 6, 2014)

I'm going to contact the company but figured I would probably get a quicker response here.  Does anyone know if these cello bags heat seal?  Also, has anyone ever used these?

http://www.nashvillewraps.com/cellophane-bags/biodegradable-bags/c-052054.html

I'm going to start shrink wrapping a lot of my products because my labels just get so damaged from being hauled around from market to market.  I see at the top it says "Heat sealable with high oxygen barrier properties"  Does this mean that they are in fact shrink wrappable?  Many thanks in advance.


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## Jstar (Nov 7, 2014)

Those can be heat 'sealed', but that isn't 'shrinkwrap'

This is what you need for actual shrinkwrapping

http://www.nashvillewraps.com/shrink-wrap/shrink-wrap-film/c-020113.html

I use similar and just bought a low powered heat gun at Lowes


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## HerbalEarthling (Nov 7, 2014)

Jstar said:


> Those can be heat 'sealed', but that isn't 'shrinkwrap'
> 
> This is what you need for actual shrinkwrapping
> 
> ...



Gotcha.  Thanks for the info!  I searched Google for "biodegradable cello bags" and came up with Nashville.  Thought I found the one


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## girlishcharm2004 (Nov 7, 2014)

You are genius.  Biodegradable cellophane bags -- where have you been??


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## HerbalEarthling (Nov 7, 2014)

girlishcharm2004 said:


> You are genius.  Biodegradable cellophane bags -- where have you been??



Haha!  I've been in a struggle with keeping my labels nice with minimal packaging   I've wasted so many labels just because they got banged up and ink smeared from rubbing onto other labels.  I'm being counterproductive.  I'm about to drill some holes into a board and just slide my products down into that.  Atleast in the long run, I wouldn't be throwing anything away.


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## girlishcharm2004 (Nov 7, 2014)

Yes! I'm looking for minimal packaging as well!  Actually, there are a few things that I'm looking for and haven't settled on the pros and cons.  I _love _the way bars looked wrapped up with paper, a band, and a label.  It's so neatly packaged.  At the same time, I *hate *wrapping, and then I wonder what it looks like on the inside because if it doesn't sell right away then who knows if "dreaded orange spots" have formed and it can shrink too making the wrapping not fit properly.  I'm not really a fan of plastic, and I don't think it my consumers would like it either; however, it seems way quicker to wrap a large quantity, and I can still see the soap. I... I just don't know.  I was thinking about doing boxes because you can always take a peak at the soap and it seems like it would be quick to package.  However, it doesn't seem as artisan/homemade.  Oh, the dilemma.


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## HerbalEarthling (Nov 7, 2014)

girlishcharm2004 said:


> Yes! I'm looking for minimal packaging as well!  Actually, there are a few things that I'm looking for and haven't settled on the pros and cons.  I _love _the way bars looked wrapped up with paper, a band, and a label.  It's so neatly packaged.  At the same time, I *hate *wrapping, and then I wonder what it looks like on the inside because if it doesn't sell right away then who knows if "dreaded orange spots" have formed and it can shrink too making the wrapping not fit properly.  I'm not really a fan of plastic, and I don't think it my consumers would like it either; however, it seems way quicker to wrap a large quantity, and I can still see the soap. I... I just don't know.  I was thinking about doing boxes because you can always take a peak at the soap and it seems like it would be quick to package.  However, it doesn't seem as artisan/homemade.  Oh, the dilemma.



Amen!  Right now, my soaps are wrapped with one piece of paper (minimal packaging) and it's just not working.  My soaps get smeared with bits from the other soaps, the bars get dinged up.  And wrapping them are a pain!  Just need to find the biodegradable shrink wraps!  Boxes are neat those as you said, atleast you can open them up or peak at them.  I've tried making them but I couldn't get it down.  Need to find a better template, I haven't looked in ages for a new one.  

And while we're at it, OMG I wish I could stop doing markets!  I really want to push my products at more local shops but I just haven't gotten up the courage to do it.  I only have my products in 3 stores, 2 of which don't get any business and the other one I need to find a display stand that fits a tiny space.  If our customers only knew our struggles, I think we would get much more business out of sympathy!  Lol!


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## girlishcharm2004 (Nov 7, 2014)

Bwahahaha, yes!!! If they only knew!


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## misskittygirl (Nov 17, 2014)

I place a soap label with ingredients on the back side of a business card and tie it on with paper raffia. The buyer gets my card, remembers what they bought and can easily reorder on line. As for keeping the bars nice, I only display one bar and keep the rest in individual box totes. When I did markets I only transported limited inventory because the reality was I would not generally sell that much that I needed to take a large inventory.


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## Jbarrett (Nov 18, 2014)

I really like the thought of doing shrink wrap to keep my soaps clean and help them look more professional.  My father in law just made me wooden molds for some silicone loaf pans I bought so that I can really go into production and get soaps of consistent size.  How do I decide what kind of shrink wrap to buy and how do I wrap the actual soap.  The shrink wrap tubing sounds so much more simple.


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## cmzaha (Nov 18, 2014)

Armed with an impulse sealer, resonably priced on ebay, and 4x6 shrink bags from papermart you are good to go shrinkwraping. You can buy an implulse sealer/cutter but they are much more expensive than just a regular impulse sealer. Only takes a second to cut off the extra after sealing. Also the bags are quite cheap


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## Jbarrett (Nov 18, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> Armed with an impulse sealer, resonably priced on ebay, and 4x6 shrink bags from papermart you are good to go shrinkwraping. You can buy an implulse sealer/cutter but they are much more expensive than just a regular impulse sealer. Only takes a second to cut off the extra after sealing. Also the bags are quite cheap



So you drop the soap in the bag, seal it with the impulse sealer and then shrink it with the heat gun?


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## DeeAnna (Nov 18, 2014)

I use the heat sealer itself to cut off the excess bag. My sealer has a cutter, but I don't use it. I tried to cut off the excess with scissors, but didn't like the results. I want my heat-sealed edges to be as thin as possible so the seam is small and fairly smooth after shrinking the bag down. The cutter (or scissors) leaves a small margin along the sealed edge. That margin will create a rough and obvious seam when the bag is shrunk down.

First, raise the sealing time on the heat sealer a notch or two (you'll have to experiment to see what works best). Put a bar of soap in a 4x6 shrink wrap bag. Press the sealing bar down to activate the heating cycle. When the heat cycle ends, continue to hold the sealing bar down and pull the bagged soap away from the sealing bar. If the bag doesn't easily pull away, raise the sealing time another notch and try again. 

You want the sealer to heat the plastic enough so it melts. That way the bag of soap can be pulled away, leaving the excess shrink wrap behind on the sealing bar. Remove and discard the excess plastic. The sealed edge will have a fringe of melted plastic, but that fringe will entirely disappear when you shrink the bag down. 

I clip off at least two corners of the sealed bag before shrinking it, so the air in the bag has someplace to go when the bag shrinks down. Also the open corners let some of the aroma out so it can be smelled by the buyer.


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## soapylondon (Nov 26, 2014)

Would you mind posting a picture of your end soap in the shrinking wrapp Deanna please?


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## DeeAnna (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks for the gentle nudge, soapyLondon. I would enjoy doing that. Today I have a bit of time to play as we wind down into the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. More later...


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## DeeAnna (Dec 12, 2014)

"... Would you mind posting a picture of your end soap in the shrinking wrapp Deanna please? ..."

It took longer than I thought to get this done, but I finally wrote up a tutorial on how I label and package my soap. Here it is: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=50767


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