A standardized shipping tray is disclosed for use in an order fulfillment system. The standardized shipping tray includes a bottom panel that includes raised portions that assist to inhibit rolling on an object within along the bottom panel, and at least two flexible side panels that are adapted to fold inward under a force of a wrapping.

Provided is a label fitting system which can, even if a container has a narrowed portion, appropriately fit a cylindrical label to the outer periphery of the container. A label fitting system is provided with a label arrangement mechanism which pushes down a cylindrical label having been supplied to a location above a cylindrical container and is disposed about the outer periphery of the cylindrical label. The label arrangement mechanism is provided with a vertically movable annular base and a plurality of legs extending downward from the base. The legs have elasticity which enables the legs to be displaced radially, and have lower ends coming into contact with the upper end of the cylindrical label. When the base descends, the lower ends of the legs push down the cylindrical label while descending along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical container.

Provided is a label fitting system which can, even if a container has a narrowed portion, appropriately fit a cylindrical label to the outer periphery of the container. A label fitting system is provided with a label arrangement mechanism which pushes down a cylindrical label having been supplied to a location above a cylindrical container and is disposed about the outer periphery of the cylindrical label. The label arrangement mechanism is provided with a vertically movable annular base and a plurality of legs extending downward from the base. The legs have elasticity which enables the legs to be displaced radially, and have lower ends coming into contact with the upper end of the cylindrical label. When the base descends, the lower ends of the legs push down the cylindrical label while descending along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical container.

An object can be heat-shrinkable packaged by placing an object inside of heat-shrinkable film, sealing the heat-shrinkable film around the object to form a heat-shrinkable package, coupling a first portion of a label to the heat-shrinkable package, and causing the heat-shrinkable film to shrink into heat-shrunk film and the heat-shrinkable package to form into a heat-shrunk package. The label includes an identifier on a second portion of the label. The label remains coupled to the heat-shrunk film after the heat-shrinkable film is caused to shrink into heat-shrunk film. The second portion of the label remains substantially undeformed after the heat-shrinkable film is caused to shrink into heat-shrunk film.

A packaging system and method forms a bundled group of articles in an oriented arrangement, by applying a wrapping material to the articles via the bottoms of the articles while the oriented arrangement of articles is inverted and retained by a pallet. The wrapping material may be a sleeve of shrinkable material applied to the inverted end of the articles and shrunk to conform to the articles and form a base enclosing the bottoms of the articles. The articles are retained by the pallet in the oriented arrangement during the inverting, sleeving and bundling of the group of articles, to provide a bundled group including the articles securely contained by the shrunk wrapping in the oriented arrangement. The bundled group may include more than one type of article. The pallet may be operable to retain a top portion of the article, which may have an irregular or asymmetrical shape.

A packaging system and method forms a bundled group of articles in an oriented arrangement, by applying a wrapping material to the articles via the bottoms of the articles while the oriented arrangement of articles is inverted and retained by a pallet. The wrapping material may be a sleeve of shrinkable material applied to the inverted end of the articles and shrunk to conform to the articles and form a base enclosing the bottoms of the articles. The articles are retained by the pallet in the oriented arrangement during the inverting, sleeving and bundling of the group of articles, to provide a bundled group including the articles securely contained by the shrunk wrapping in the oriented arrangement. The bundled group may include more than one type of article. The pallet may be operable to retain a top portion of the article, which may have an irregular or asymmetrical shape.

A beverage bottle, a method of manufacturing a beverage bottle and a method of designing an illustration on a beverage bottle, the beverage bottle including a container (12) and a shrink-wrap (14), the container (12) having an annular sidewall (16), a bottom (18) and an opening (20) opposed to the bottom (18), the sidewall (16) extending along a longitudinal central axis (X-X) between the bottom (18) and the opening (20), the sidewall (16) being provided with a first outside constriction (22) and a second outside constriction (24) and with a first embossment (26) located between the first and second outside constrictions (22, 24), the sidewall (16) being covered with the shrink-wrap (14), the shrink-wrap (14) being depicted with an illustration having a first simulate relief (R1), the first simulate relief (R1) and the first embossment (26) being in correspondence.

A beverage bottle, a method of manufacturing a beverage bottle and a method of designing an illustration on a beverage bottle, the beverage bottle including a container (12) and a shrink-wrap (14), the container (12) having an annular sidewall (16), a bottom (18) and an opening (20) opposed to the bottom (18), the sidewall (16) extending along a longitudinal central axis (X-X) between the bottom (18) and the opening (20), the sidewall (16) being provided with a first outside constriction (22) and a second outside constriction (24) and with a first embossment (26) located between the first and second outside constrictions (22, 24), the sidewall (16) being covered with the shrink-wrap (14), the shrink-wrap (14) being depicted with an illustration having a first simulate relief (R1), the first simulate relief (R1) and the first embossment (26) being in correspondence.

An apparatus for heat shrinking a package, comprising: a chamber configured such that a package on a surface of the apparatus may be heat shrunk via a heating fluid in the chamber; and a preheat container configured to supply a preheated liquid to a heat tank from which the heating fluid is supplied to the chamber; wherein the preheat container is above the surface such that liquid in the preheat container can be preheated by heat from the chamber.

Polyolefin shrink-wrap films may include a light-absorption additive to make them laser-cuttable by commonly-available lasers. This can make them more amenable to alteration by laser after being shrink-wrapped around a product package, such as alteration to remove sections of the polyolefin shrink-wrap film or to create tabs or perforations to facilitate removal of the polyolefin shrink-wrap film.