Packaging pressure-sensitive adhesives

Pressure-sensitive adhesives are incredibly versatile. They can be found in everything from food labels and packaging to bandages and electronics.

Pressure-sensitive adhesives are a type of non-reactive adhesive which forms a bond when pressure is applied, to bond the adhesive with a surface. No solvent, water, or heat is needed to activate the adhesive. Surface factors such as smoothness, surface energy, and removal of contaminants are also important to proper bonding. Pressure-sensitive adhesives are designed to form a bond and hold properly at room temperatures. These adhesives typically lose their tack at low temperatures and reduce their shear holding ability at high temperatures.

Henkel is a trusted pressure-sensitive adhesive supplier. Our range of pressure-sensitive and pressure-activated adhesive products continues to grow, and our research and development enables some of the most advanced pressure-sensitive adhesive products on the market.

Pressure-sensitive adhesive chemistries

Henkel manufactures a range of pressure-sensitive adhesives. Our products allow businesses to improve efficiency and meet the demands of consumers. There are many different types of pressure-sensitive adhesive chemistries on the market. Currently, Henkel is the only supplier of all major types of pressure-sensitive adhesive:

• Solvent-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives
• Emulsion-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives
• Solvent-rubber pressure-sensitive adhesives
• Rubber-based hot melt pressure-sensitive adhesives
• UV-curable pressure-sensitive adhesives

Pressure-sensitive adhesives are commonly used to make various types of labels and tapes. These products are used across several industries including automotive, food production and packaging, electronics, and medical supplies.

Working with solvent-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive ensures products have a broad operating temperature as well as resistance to moisture, weathering, UV, and some chemicals. Manufacturers often choose a solvent-based pressure-sensitive adhesive for the production process because they offer strength and durability under challenging conditions. Resistant to weather and chemical exposure, and tolerant towards UV, solvent-based pressure-sensitive adhesives have a variety of applications including durable labels, pharmaceutical labels, removable and resealable labels, automotive tape, conspicuity tape, over-laminating films, vehicle graphics, exhibition graphics, wound dressings, surgical drapes, and ostomy care. These pressure-sensitive adhesives support applications which need to withstand extreme temperatures and chemical contact. Manufacturers need the adhesive to adhere to various substrates under the most extreme conditions, to protect their customers. Our LOCTITE^® DURO-TAK^® adhesives meet the needs of demanding environments. From car batteries and pipe marking to appliance identification and drum labels, these durable pressure-sensitive adhesives offer strong bonds under extreme conditions.

Consumers expect their purchases to perform – whether a bandage for a cut or the label on their beauty products, it needs to withstand the conditions of use. Emulsion-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives are versatile and provide lower operating temperatures, better UV stability, and improved clarity in relation to other formulations. Their applications will withstand moisture and temperature changes to deliver, no matter the application. AQUENCE^® PS, Henkel's range of emulsion-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives, is used across many industries. The adhesives are coater-ready and provide advanced bonding and excellent results. Henkel water-based pressure-sensitive adhesives are commonly used to manufacture products such as: clear labels, pharmaceutical labels, removable and resealable labels, foam tape, and mounting tape. Our emulsion-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives are also relied on by companies working in the graphics industry. Their high clarity, clean removability, and high cohesion make them ideal for a range of purposes including advertising graphics, removable protective film, exhibition graphics, and architectural and corporate graphics. Emulsion-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives can be used in the manufacture of medical products. These types of skin-safe adhesives are commonly used for applications where skin contact is essential. Medical uses for water-based pressure-sensitive adhesives include wound dressings, bandages, and medical tape. Another critical market for emulsion-acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives is where food contact is required. These adhesives are used for food-based applications and are 100% safe for the consumer. Our range of food-contact adhesives is tried, tested, and approved for use with a range of food products. These adhesives offer reliability and good adhesion and are safe for the consumer.

Rubber-based pressure-sensitive adhesives are designed to help optimise coater line speeds. They provide high tack while balancing adhesion and bonding for use in a number of industrial applications. Our rubber-based pressure-sensitive adhesive range offers products that are easily removable, as well as adhesives for permanent bonding options. Our TECHNOMELT^® PS range of products contains some of the most reliable hot melt adhesives on the market. Designed to optimise coater line speed in PSA applications, the adhesives offer superior cost-in-use and are known for their quality, reliability, and efficiency. The products in our hot melt pressure-sensitive adhesive range are suitable for use in many industries. However, TECHNOMELT^® PS hot melt adhesives for labels are ideal for the manufacture of food labels, packing list envelopes, fabric and tyre labels, removable and resealable labels, and speciality labels. Our TECHNOMELT^® hot melt adhesive for tapes offers a wide temperature application window, good adhesion to PE and PP, and very high tack and peel values. As a result, it's commonly used to manufacture automotive tape, security bags, construction and roofing tape, electronic assemblies, general purpose permanent tape, and insect sticky traps. Many of our adhesives, including our pressure-sensitive hot melt adhesives, are used in the manufacture of medical products. Our TECHNOMELT^® PS hot melt adhesives for medical applications are approved for skin contact, have good anchorage to various medical substrates, and clean removability. They are used in the production of wound dressings, bandages, medical tape, and personal hygiene products.

UV-curable pressure-sensitive adhesives enable more end-use options to attract the attention of consumers. UV-curable pressure-sensitive adhesives enable heavier coat weights at high line speeds, optimising productivity for thicker tapes. Superior clarity enables no-look labels with the coating benefits of 100% solids technology. Converting an existing system to a UV-curable setup requires additional care and maintenance to prevent cross-contamination and ensure proper equipment operation. UV-curable PSAs are reactive systems which can gel over time if they are not properly removed. Proper and regular cleaning of the melt tank and hoses will reduce adhesive buildup on equipment surfaces and minimise production downtime. LOCTITE^® DURO-TAK^® UV adhesives offer an alternative to process-constrained solution-acrylic options. These adhesives use a free radical or a cationic photo initiator to enable production of heavier coat weights at high line speeds. These products feature 100% solids to eliminate handling of hazardous solvents; they ensure faster curing to maximise manufacturing floor space and energy, offer effective packaging with no metal drum disposal, and have no residual monomers and photo initiator fragments – to eliminate the need for nitrogen inertion.