The beverage industry is renowned for exceptional branding and marketing to catch the eye of the consumer and stimulate point-of-sale decision-making. Labels need to maintain a high-quality appearance and flawless performance in variable conditions during the lifecycle of the bottle.

During the bottling process, the adhesive must provide good tack in manual and automatic applications, possibly at low temperatures and in humid conditions. Areas where there is inconsistent contact between the label and bottle might not be visible immediately, but can lead to the development of bubbles or creases.

With clear filmic materials supporting a pristine ‘no-label look’ it’s vital that the adhesive remains clear during the life of the bottle. Excellent surface contact is required for good adhesive wet-out to prevent haziness. If exposure to moisture or water will be concerns after labelling, the adhesive needs to be resistant to water-whitening.

ADHESIVES

RP37

Multipurpose and multi-tasking

This multipurpose adhesive is for film label faces on. paper liners, and provides good adhesion on glass and even plastics. RP37 has good resistance to water and UV to retain reliable properties of adhesion for the entire label lifecycle. An optimal balance of high adhesion and high cohesion provides clean and stable performance in high-speed conversion and label dispensing, even in potentially moist and chilled conditions.

RP74

Quality, ultra-clear ‘no-label look’

RP74 is designed for a quality no-label look in combination with clear label faces and PET film liners,which encourage a smooth and clear adhesive wet-out. Long-lasting clarity is assured by excellent resistance to water-whitening once labelled. Good cohesion provides clean and stable performance in high-speed conversion and label dispensing.

RP76E

High-speed, high-productivity labelling

Specially designed for beverage and spirits labelling, RP76E provides good adhesion to smooth polar surfaces like glass bottles and metal and lacquered metal cans. It is supplied with clear film label faces on filmic liners. Excellent UV-stability plus resistance to water-whitening once labelled assures long-lasting clarity.

RP76E’s extra-high cohesion and the strength of a PET liner enable reliable high speeds and high productivity in label conversion and dispensing.

RC7B

Wet labelling clarity plus pasteurization

This UV-acrylic adhesive is designed for bottle labelling applications where excellent water and moisture resistance are required – providing good adhesion and retaining its clarity even on wet bottles. RC7B’s excellent temperature and water-whitening resistance also make ita good match for applications where bottles are labelled prior to pasteurization.

RC7W

Clean wash-off for recovering food-grade PET

RC7W is specially designed for wash-off film labels on PET beverage bottles destined for recycling. During the wash-off process in hot caustic, gravity separates label materials with RC7W from ground-up PET bottles. This produces pure, food-grade polyester suitable for re-use as bottles. RC7W has excellent performance in highspeed dispensing and is resistant to water-whitening once labelled.

Our pharmaceutical adhesives are developed, formulated and manufactured to meet industry regulations and safety requirements, including EMA, FDA, and IPAC-RS guidelines. We guarantee long-term stability of supply, with a minimum of 36 months’ rolling availability of unchanged materials and 12 months’ notice in advance of product changes. Full documentary support is provided for validation and approvals.

ADHESIVES

RP80 LT

Low-temperature storage down to -80C with multiple freeze-thaw cycles

RP80 LT is designed to perform in storage conditions down to -80 C. The RP80 LT adhesive also withstands multiple thawing and freezing cycles as samples are thawed at room temperature or in warm or iced water, and later returned to the freezer.

With good mandrel hold, this adhesive is recommended for identification labelling on laboratory vials, ampoulesand test tubes, as well as plates, slides, steel cabinetsand storage boxes. RP80 LT retains its adhesion for extended periods, on surfaces including glass, steel, cardboard and PP.

RP Cryo

Cryopreservation labelling down to -196 C

Cryogenic storage stops time for countless tissues, cell types and subcellular materials. But if these biological samples can’t be identified, they are lost forever.

UPM Raflatac label materials based on the RP Cryo adhesive withstand steam autoclave sterilization and cryopreservation conditions down to -196 C, in both vapour phase and liquid nitrogen. This adhesive is extremely resistant to thermal shock, and provides a strong and enduring bond to polypropylene (PP) cryogenic vials, tubes and storage boxes.

RP Cryo also withstands multiple thawing and freezing cycles, further ensuring that valuable biological samples are identifiable for the duration of their cryogenically extended lifetimes.

RP31 Purus

Migration-safe labelling for liquid drugs in plastic containers

RP31 Purus is a ‘migration safe’ adhesive with low leachable characteristics. Leachables are compounds that leach from packaging because of direct contact with the drug product under normal storage conditions and could potentially be dosed to a patient. Migration is a concern particularly for drugs in liquid or gaseous form, stored in containers made from plastic materials.

RP31 Purus performs well on small diameters and curved surfaces, and on a variety of labelling substrates including PP, PE and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). LDPE is widely used for squeezable nose or eye-drop containers, where migration safety is critical.

The FDA has assigned Drug Master file (DMF) number 25392, type III for RP31 Purus.

RP32 PB

Primary blood bag labelling

Regulatory requirements and the extreme conditions associated with blood storage and processing place stringent demands on labels for blood bags. RP32 PB has been developed and tested according to guidance from the ISO 3826 standard. It withstands temperatures of +121 C during steam sterilization, down to long-term storage conditions of -80 C. It also tolerates freezing in ethanol at -50 C.

RP32 PB has low-leachable characteristics on blood bags and is compatible with various plasticizers used in PVC blood bag manufacturing, including the most common, DEHP.

RP32 PB is supplied with a choice of non-PVC label faces according to market preferences.

RP31, RP31L, RC3P

Labelling small diameters

Small-diameter containers – such as syringes, ampoules, cartridges, pens, vials and test tubes – place special demands on label construction. UPM Raflatac’s research indicates that a diameter of 15 mm is the threshold at which the choice of label material becomes critical. Thin and flexible label faces are supplied with the following adhesives for optimal performance.

RP31 is formulated for labelling curved surfaces and small-diameter packaging. It offers a reliable solution for a wide variety of applications requiring excellent mandrel hold. RP31 bonds strongly to glass, HDPE and PP ubstrates.

RP31L is essential in applications where product identification must be secured by reducing the risk of missing labels to zero. Supplied with clear films, RP31L offers luminescent functionality for missing label detection on label dispensing lines and is a convenient and consistent solution compared to luminescent varnishing on-press.

RC3P is a UV-acrylic adhesive with excellent clarity for labelling on glass and is especially beneficial for visual checks of liquid container contents. Good water, heat and chemical resistance make RC3P suitable for a wide range of applications as well as end-uses requiring resistance to steam autoclave sterilization.

RP3H

Genuinely self-adhesive on surgical sterilization wraps and bags

ΤReusable surgical instruments leaving hospital operating theatres are cleaned, washed, packed on trays and wrapped in non-woven or crepe wrapping material, prior to sterilization by steam autoclave. Allpacks are individually labelled for identification and traceability.

RP3H retains excellent adhesion in the steam, pressure, and heat of the autoclave process, which is typically at 134 C for up to 18 minutes. This adhesive also accommodates swelling and shrinkage of various wrapping materials during and after processing.

Uniquely, RP3H labels are genuinely self-adhesive because no additional sealing tape is required to secure label adhesion. Light application by hand is both convenient and cost- efficient.

Retail labels are applied to goods in stores, from books and home d cor items to shoes and mattresses. They serve a range of purposes: promotional and decorative use, in-store pricing, weigh-scale labelling, size-marking and other informational needs.

Typically, general purpose adhesives are used. In cases, adhesives are dedicated to substrates such as textiles, or they have finely tuned properties for a particular application. Food labelling has a specific range of needs and regulatory requirements and is covered in its own chapter in this book.

For logistics and transport end-uses, self-adhesive labels are typically variable information printing (VIP) products which route, track and trace objects throughout the supply chain, support inventory management, and streamline operations. They often experience significant wear-and tear during their relatively short lifespans, and may require good low-temperature performance on various plastic and cardboard substrates.

ADHESIVES

RP51

Multipurpose performance

This multipurpose, strong permanent adhesive is suited to a wide range of retail and logistics applications. RP51 adheres well to packaging films, card and corrugated boards, and after labelling retains good adhesion even in chilled temperatures of 0 to 5 C.

RHR5

Convenient weigh-pricing on PE bags

The specially adapted RHR5 hot-melt adhesive has balanced performance for convenient tack at room-temperature on PE weigh-price bags, plus good resistance to bleeding for clean, low-maintenance label dispensing. RHR5 is well-matched for weigh-price applications in grocery departments and has the necessary approvals for indirect food contact.

RH6

Shipping and logistics

The RH6 adhesive covers an extremely wide range of shipping and logistics labelling applications. RH6 performs well in chilled and room temperature conditions, on substrates including cardboard and stretch film. Compared to RP51, it also has slightly better cold tack on cardboard.

RR23

Long-lasting removability

RR23 provides exceptional long-term removabilitywith paper labels on a wide variety of substrates in logistics and retail uses. It also performs well on curved surfaces. For food labelling applications, RR23 meets the requirements of EU frame regulation EC 1935/2004, and complies with EU 10/2011 regarding components of food packaging containing plastic in its layers.

RS29

Resealable and repositionable

RS29 is a long-lasting resealable adhesive for filmic open-closure labels on substrates including HDPE, PP and glass. Retail and product labelling with RS29 covers dry goods which are resealed for freshness and convenience. RS29 also provides short-term repositionability with paper labels on a wide range of substrates, making it possible to correct any mislabelling.

RP38 TXL

Residue-free removal from textiles

For textile labelling on retail goods, RP38 TXL balances good tack to keep the label secured with residue-free removal to protect the value of goods.

RP36

Stable performance for luggage tagging

RP36 has increased cohesion to withstand the heat of thermal printing applications while also adhering well to itself when tags are looped back onto themselves. These are ideal properties for luggage-tagging applications.

RP45 & RP45 LW

Wash-off and recirculation for multi-use containers

RP45 and RP45 LW cover numerous rotational applications for plastic and metal crates, boxes, pallets, kegs and other multi-use containers. These adhesives last reliably for the lifecycle of the label and wash off quickly and cleanly for trouble-free container rotation

RP45 is intended for retail as well as standard logistics applications such as plastic transport boxes with smooth surfaces and metal kegs used by breweries. RP45 LW provides greater endurance on challenging rough and patterned surfaces and also in chilled warehouses and deep freeze conditions.

Optimal wash-off is achieved with hot alkaline water, though RP45 is also washable with pure hot water.

ULTRA-REMOVABLE ADHESIVES

RR522U, RR523U & RR524U

UPM Raflatac’s ultra-removable adhesives offer decisive removability where cleanliness really shows and where damage-free surfaces are essential to an item’s value. Clean removal also assists fast and cost-efficient handling.

These adhesives consist of minute adhesive spheres in an adhesive emulsion. This produces uniform, noncontinuous adhesive contact with the labelled surface, resulting in low-tack adhesion and a smooth peel-away.

The RR522U, RR523U and RR524U adhesives offer varying levels of tack for labelling in a wide range of logistics, general branding and retail promotion end uses, on surfaces from glass and white goods to books and newspapers.

Safety, information, traceability, and the prevention of stock losses – the label transforms industrial chemicals stored in Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), steel and HDPE drums and many other container types into usable goods.

Adhesive selection needs to take into account the surface energy of polar surfaces like metals, paints and lacquers, and more challenging non-polar surfaces such as HDPE plastic. Other parameters include the smoothness or roughness of the labelled surface, the condition of the surface at the time of label application, and possible requirements for momentary repositionability.

After labelling, the adhesive needs to tolerate the conditions in which containers are stored and transported as well as any contact with the container contents. UPM Raflatac draws on decades of technical expertise to formulate adhesives for these highly demanding applications, for the lifetime of the labelled goods.