Just this weekend, I was peeling off a bar-code sticker from a flower pot that I had recently purchased. And—aaargh—it did not peel off cleanly. The sticker ended up leaving residue on the product, and I had to find the orange oil and use some elbow grease to get it off. All time consuming and a bit frustrating for me.
This is the sticky situation that labels as the package bring to consumers. Obviously, a label’s adhesive must stick to an open-stock/package-less product so that it doesn’t fall off prior to being purchased by a consumer. But the part that is also important is when it gets to its end home. A consumer should be able to somewhat easily peel a label off of a product. But so many times, this is not the case.
Consider these factors ahead of time when determining and choosing the correct adhesive for your label:
--Explain the substrate that your adhesive will be sticking to (paper label, film label, etc).
--Communicate the product’s substrate that the adhesive will be sticking to (the open stock product that a label would be adhered to).
--Explain the purpose of the adhesive (i.e. adhering a label to an open stock product).
--Determine the desired strength for the adhesive.
--Determine ease of peel-ability for the label.
--Disclose any other relevant information that your adhesives supplier might request.
All of this information can help determine the correct adhesive for your end use. Be sure to communicate with your suppliers so that you can achieve the best adhesion possible.
Erin J. Wolford is editor in chief of Flexible Packaging magazine,
www.flexpackmag.com, a business publication for those in the flexible packaging industry. Wolford has been in publishing since 2005. Email her at
wolforde@bnpmedia.com.