In most cases it makes a world of difference what material a product label is made of: laminated paper, vinyl, coated or uncoated paper, polyester, polypropylene, clear film, etc. Wrong choice of label material can cause the label to wrinkle, crack, the ink to smear, color to fade away, etc. The same goes for label adhesives. Inadequate label adhesive can destroy your product by peeling off and leaving sticky residue on the product.
There are four basic types of label adhesives that are combined with different label stock. Those are:
1) Permanent – most common and most budget-friendly label adhesive. It quickly sticks to the product’s surface and stays stuck.
2) Removable – it is used for products with a shorter shelf life. It can be removed without leaving sticky residue for a certain period of time. Afterwards it becomes permanent.
3) Repositionable – allows the label to be removed and repositioned on another application.
4) Freezer grade – aggressive label adhesive made specifically for cold storage conditions.
There is another way to classify label adhesives, and that’s based on their composition: acrylic adhesives, and rubber-based adhesives.
Acrylic adhesives are usually more costly because they offer more durability, UV resistance, resistance to solvents, heat and plasticizers, while rubber-based adhesives are more economical, perform better than acrylic for some types of plastic and are a good choice for removable labels.
How to Choose the Right Label Adhesive for Your Product
These categorizations are made for educational purposes. You should have a basic understanding of what’s important when it comes to creating labels. However, choosing adequate adhesive for a label is more complicated than simply reading label adhesive descriptions and choosing one based on that.
The choice of label adhesive will depend on a variety of factors, and these are the questions our team will be asking you to determine these factors:
- What is the product to which the label will be applied made of?
- What is the shape of the product? (square, curved, with sharp edges…)
- What is the texture of the product? (flat, rough, corrugated…)
- What temperatures will the product be exposed to throughout its life cycle?
- Will the product be exposed to moisture, UV, rough handling during shipping…?
- Will the product be exposed to low temperatures and freezing conditions?
- If used for frozen products, will the label be applied before or after freezing the product?
The answers to these questions will help Freezer Labels team determine the appropriate label adhesive for your product. We specialize in label adhesives for cold temperatures, and we have a deep understanding of everything that can go wrong if the label is not freezer proof.