Adhesives Glossary

Adhesives Glossary

Intense research and development go into creating our three families of adhesives: acrylic, hotmelt and emulsion. Each one has unique properties that are suitable for different purposes, and they can be used to label everything from frozen food to farming equipment. Browse this helpful glossary to learn terms that will help you understand more about how they are tested, applied and used.

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Apolar surface

A material with low surface energy (LSE) that is difficult to adhere to.

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Dwell time

The time required for an adhesive to develop ultimate adhesion to the substrate, which ranges from 20 minutes to 24 hours, depending on conditions.

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Edge lifting

When one or more of a label’s outer edges lifts away from the surface it has been applied to. This can occur on any kind of surface, but it is most commonly seen when a label has been applied to something curved, like a bottle.

Emulsion

An acrylic polymer adhesive that is suspended in water, emulsions have many uses, including insulation seaming tapes and beverage labels. They also offer good resistance to heat and chemicals.

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Hotmelt

An adhesive that may be made with either rubber or acrylic polymers. Oils, plasticizers and tackifiers can be added to improve performance. Both UV-cured acrylic and rubber-based hotmelts are available.

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Initial tack

The immediate holding power of the label upon contact with the substrate, initial tack is also known as “initial grab”, “quick stick” or “application tack.” Avery Dennison measures this using the FINAT Test Method No. 9 (FTM ).

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Mandrel hold

A label’s ability to adhere to a curved or tight radius surface while resisting lifting.

Minimum application temperature

The minimum temperature recommended for the application of a label.

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Peel adhesion

The force needed to make an adhesive bond fail, which we test using the FINAT Test Method No. 2 (FTM 2).

Permanent

An adhesive designed to stick to a surface without edge lifting, meaning labels cannot be removed without damaging them or the substrate.

Polar surface

A material with high surface energy (HSE) that’s easy to adhere to and has good wet-out, meaning the adhesive conforms well to the surface to which it has been applied.

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Reclosure label

A label made with a removable adhesive that is designed for applications where multiple open-close functionality is required.

Removable

An adhesive that sticks to a surface without edge lifting and can be removed without damaging either the label or the substrate.

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Service temperature

The range of recommended temperatures for storing a label that has already been applied to a substrate.

Shear resistance

A measure of the internal cohesive strength of an adhesive that is defined by how well it sticks to itself. Adhesive shear is an indication of how soft an adhesive is. A low-shear adhesive is soft, and has a greater tendency to flow.

Solvent

An adhesive made with polymers (which can be acrylic, rubber or silicone-based, or a hybrid) in an organic solvent. They are resistant to high temperatures and various environmental factors, including water and UV light.

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Ultimate adhesion

The maximum holding power that a label will achieve as the adhesive flows onto the substrate. The time required to obtain ultimate adhesion (dwell time) may depend on the stiffness (shear) of the adhesive, the roughness of the substrate and the temperature of the environment.

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Wet-out

The ability of the adhesive to conform to the surface where it has been applied.

Wash-off

Once exposed to hot water during the recycling process, wash-off adhesives ‘switch off’ and separate from the substrate. These adhesives are commonly used for PET products and returnable items, like bottles and crates.

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Types of packaging

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