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Resistance to degradation will double with the addition of UV stabilizers which means about a year outdoors, at best.

Defining UVI.

UVI (acronym) for Ultra Violet Inhibitor, is an additive used in making films that require protection from sunlight. UVI violet rays weaken non-uvi protected stretch wrap products causing them to lose strength and load integrity. Through the additive, the shelf life of the poly protecting a pallet or a product is greatly increased.

UVI_Stretch_Film Without specific protection, unprotected plastic will degrade in less than a year when exposed to sunlight outdoors.

Why UVI?

In direct sunlights, plastics degrade. When poly begins to deteriorate, the physical makeup of the film begins to change, resulting in yellowing, discoloration chalking, and then eventuallybreaking down completely. As if that weren't bad enough, UV exposure impacts the strength of the film, weakening it, and causing cracking and chalking. To help prevent these headaches, ultra violent inhibitors are added to the resin in the extruding process, slowing thefilm degradation process.

What are the main sources of UV?

There are three main sources of UV rays: 1) sunlight 2) lamps (think fluorescent tube lighting) and 3) UV curing appliances (think medical devices, high intensity lamps, etc).

UVI terms you should familiarize yourself with.

UV Inhibited, UV stabilized, UV resistant. All of these terms point back to the main subject at hand, UVI film.

Facts to take away:

Fact: Most plastics absorb certain wavelengths of UV and in doing so will chemically degrade.

Fact: The degradation is visible: discoloration, yellowing, chalking, and ultimately decomposition.

Fact: UV from the sun will cause most plastics to degrade within several months.

Fact: Without specific protection, unprotected plastic will degrade in less than a year when exposed to sunlight outdoors.

Rule of Thumb: Resistance to degradation will double with the addition of UV stabilizers which means about a year outdoors, at best.

Types of UVI packaging products: UV packaging is commonly found in poly packaging products, including black UVI stretch film, UVI stretchwrap film, lumber wraps, pallet covers, UVI poly bags, UVI hand stretch film, UVI machine stretch films, UVI plastic sheeting, and other packaging alternatives.

Stretchfilmdepot.com is a leading provider of stretch film packaging supplies, stretch film equipment and packaging solutions. If you would like to know more about Stretchfilmdepot.com, please call 877-648-3217 or contact our Sales team.

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