We prefer steam for any shrink-sleeve labeling application. Because steam always has a temperature of 100-deg C, it is the most consistent.

Once it gets going, steam is also cheaper to run in terms of getting the machine up to temperature and maintaining a constant temperature. You can either use shop steam, or you can purchase a self-contained steam tunnel. All you have to do is hook up a garden hose to it for the water source.

We have also noticed that our customers that use steam get more consistent and faster throughput than those using radiant heat. The labels shrink on better and more predictably with steam. As you feed more bottles into a heat tunnel, the heat fluctuates. This fluctuation creates an inconsistent shrink and less throughput. Many of our customers that use heat find themselves wasting as much as 20 percent of their sleeves because they have to tear them off and put them back through the tunnel.