Adhesives work due to the pressure that is used to activate the adhesive and stick it to the surface. They are usually viscous substances and have different types and qualities so you have better pay attention to the type you choose for your label because it matters as much as the front design does.
Anyways, the right choice of an adhesive may be back-breaking. There are many factors that differ one adhesive from the other such as the material it is made of, the type (permanent or removable) as well as the application process. Let’s look through the main types of adhesive that have different properties that vary from one to the next.
Permanent adhesives: These adhesive functions best on a clean and dry surface and can be applied on plastic bottles, glass, cardboard boxes. These adhesives are cost-efficient and removing them will most probably harm the container.
Removable adhesives: This kind of adhesives can be removed from the surface they have been applied to after some time without harming the surface or leaving marks on it. Their stickiness and removable capabilities can be highly affected by the material of the surface they are being applied to as well as the temperature.
Acrylic Adhesives: These labels have heat resistant properties. They don’t function well on rough surfaces and have less tendency to flow outside the edges of the label.
Hot Melt Adhesives: Unlike acrylic adhesives, hot melt ones function better on rough surfaces due to their softer characteristics. They also work well on noon-smooth surfaces. Their rubber-based feature makes them poorly resistant to high temperature conditions as well as UV light.
Repositionable Adhesives: Use this kind of labels if you intend to remove them later on to replace them with another one or reapply. They are user friendly as they will save your time when you don’t like the way it has been applied (this may happen because some labels can be applied by hands) and you would like some changes. Anyways, they have short- term removal ability and after having been applies for a while, they may eventually become permanent.
SQR007 Adhesive: These adhesives have originally been developed for meat industry but they work perfectly for labeling wet and irregularly shaped products as well as cold temperature environments.
Adhesive Properties
Different adhesives may have different properties which makes them differ from the rest and it will help you to easier understand which adhesive is the best for your product. So, let’s have a look at some properties.
- The immediate holding power of the adhesive depends on the initial tack. If the adhesive has a low initial tack, it will build adhesion over time.
- One of the factors that may cause your adhesive to loosen and be easily removed is the ultraviolet light. It can not only cause a bad adhesion but also may make the colors on the label fade.
- Your label needs to have a good mandrel hold to stay on a curved surface and not to have the edges lifted up.
- One of the possibilities for the adhesive to stay tight and not to go off is connected with minimum application temperature. Make sure you know the recommendations for the specific adhesive.
- Different characteristics of the adhesive such as its stiffness, roughness of the receiving surface and the conditions it will be kept under decide when the adhesive will reach maximum holding power. It can take from 2-24 hours.
- Shear resistance decides the firmness of the adhesive so that it won’t flow on the surface and making the application stronger.
- The adhesive shall be solvent resistant to make sure to stay firm and not to harm the high-quality look of the label even when solvent like water, alcohol etc. touch it.
