How to attach a label?

  1. Labeling glues
  2. Labelling glue varieties
  3. Where can I buy labelling glue?

Usually while shopping in a supermarket, we don’t recognize that thousands of cardboard boxes, bottles and paper bags that we see on the shelves are bonded with the help of adhesive technology. The fact is that we use adhesives everywhere, but people just don’t realize it.

When you enjoy a cold beer or a glass of your favorite wine, pay attention to the labels that decorate the front and back of the bottle. A label is stuck to the bottles before they are packaged and distributed. The label helps to promote and sell goods, contains mandatory information about the product according to legislation, positioning and quality characteristics requirements. The label becomes an element of strategic importance - the "supporting structure" of the packaging ideology.

Adhesives play a much more important role in the packaging and labeling process than you can imagine. Usually, consumers believe that the appearance of the label and the quality of its application on the packaging is directly connected with the quality of the product. A slanting, wrinkled or half-detached label can kill the desire to purchase a product and negatively affect the brand or image of the manufacturer. In this case, the question arises: How to attach a label?

To narrow down the search for a suitable adhesive, try to answer the following questions first:

  1. What type of a surface? Will the label be attached to glass, polyethylene, metal, paper or wood? The features of these surfaces influence the choice of adhesive: are they smooth or rough, curved or flat, dry or wet? These properties and features have to be considered while selecting an adhesive.
  2. What is the label material? The label material is another important factor. It may require glue with very high adhesive capacity (adhesion) to stick metalized, laminated or plastic labels. The function of the label plays a key role and determines whether the label has to be permanently attached or temporarily affixed so it is removable.
  3. What are the storage conditions for the labelled containers? Understanding the end use of a sticker is critical in selecting the right glue. Most adhesives are designed for storing glued products in rooms with average temperatures. But what about the impact of external conditions? High and low temperatures, weather, sunlight, dirt, chemicals, moisture are all external conditions that have to be taken into account while selecting glue for labelling containers.
  4. What are the parameters of the labelling equipment? The labelling machine mark, line speed, label feed (magazine or reel) and gluing unit (a nozzle, a shaft, a sheet die) must all be taken into consideration.

Labeling glues

There are many types of labelling adhesives available on the market, and each one has its unique characteristics. Adhesives are not universal and each will bond only certain groups of materials. The strength and quality of the adhesive depends on the right choice of adhesive, joining construction, adherence to glue manufacturing conditions and application technology.

Labelling glue varieties:

Labeling glues are classified into the following types:

  1. Water-base adhesives (cold water-soluble adhesives). The composition of these glues contains water used as a solvent. An adhesive seam is formed by water evaporation or absorption into the substrates to be bonded. There are several types of water-based adhesives for labels attached to glass bottles.
    • Water-base starch adhesives. these are designed for labelling dry or cold wet glass containers on rotary labelling machines with a capacity of up to 30,000 bottles per hour. Such adhesives are characterized by an average setting time. A relatively low cost makes it possible to use starch adhesives commonly when gluing labels.
    • Water-base casein glues: these are used for labelling bottles of beer, champagne and some types of wine. These glues are recommended to be applied with automatic paper label pasting on equipment with a capacity of up to 70,000 bottles per hour. Adhesives are characterized by high initial adhesion on a dry or wet surface, low consumption and a high label tacking speed. The adhesive film is colourless and retains elasticity when it dries. It is recommended for application on glass (including recycled) containers, as well as for attaching aluminium foil. This glue can be easily washed off in a bottle washer.
    • Semisynthetic and synthetic water-base adhesives: these are recommended for use on complex polymer surfaces such as PET, PVC, PE and PP. They are designed for automatic pasting of paper labels on rotary and linear equipment, and also for г- and п-shaped documentary stamps on rotational equipment.
  2. Hot-melt adhesives: these are glues which are heated to a specific operating temperature and soften to a liquid state and then return to a solid state when they cool.

If you choose the necessary hot-melt adhesive brand correctly, and with the help of specialized equipment, hot-melt adhesives can be used to glue a container label of any material type onto various surfaces and shapes.

Labelling hot-melt can be used:

  • on all types of high-speed equipment in idle mode up to 70,000 bottles per hour, while also keeping the equipment clean;
  • with different label feed systems;
  • on cold, wet glass bottles;
  • on hot, dry jars up to 85 ° C;
  • on PET bottles with carbonated drinks that expand after being filled;
  • on heat-shrinking labels that can be safely heated after applying glue.

Hot glues or hot-melt adhesives are divided into three types:

  1. Pressure-sensitive hot-melt adhesive based on caoutchouc (PSA) is glue that retains permanent tackiness on the surface where it is applied. This adhesive is ideal for materials that have a large area and are designed for a wide range of jobs with difficult-to-bond surfaces, and are used in manufacturing self-adhesive labels, labelling PET containers as well as other types of labels.
  2. Adhesive based on ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) is a widely used type of hot-melt. Suitable for bonding various substrates and is often used in the paper, packaging and assembly industries. Adhesives based on EVA have a wide range of formulations, as the adhesive’s composition directly affects its properties.
  3. Glues based on metallocene or alpha-olefins. Owing to their chemical composition, these adhesives are characterized by clean adhesive equipment operation; the injector nozzle and the bath always remain clean. Such glues are also called "self-cleaning". These are "unfilled" adhesives with a lower flow rate compared to EVA due to the high content of its main components that are responsible for adhesion.

Where can I buy labelling glue?

To buy labelling glue, familiarize yourself with the range of adhesive products on the “Lux-X" website. To order your preferred product and receive answers to your questions of interest, call the phone numbers listed on the site, or fill out the feedback form and our managers will return your call. Free delivery is offered throughout Ukraine and is available if you make an order of more than 30 kg. The price of the products will be specified by our manager. Use the "Order" button and managers will contact you as soon as possible!