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.

Food safety is a key driver in the food industry. While the label must remain adhered in order to convey the brand, product or price and date information, it must also be a safe solution; there shouldn’t be any risk of the label contaminating the foodstuff. UPM Raflatacoffers solutions that protect the reputations of the label supplier and the brand, by meeting all regulatory requirements for consumer safety.

Food labelling is by far the biggest end-use for self-adhesive labels in terms of volume. It encompasses a wide variety of packaging substrates, from glass to hard and soft plastics, tofibre-based materials like paper and cardboard, as well as metals. Labels are also applied directly onto the surface of the food itself. Label application and service conditions vary widely, from room temperature, to chilled, to deep freeze, and in the dry or when moisture is present.

ΚΟΛΛΕΣ / ADHESIVES

NON-REFRIGERATED TO CHILLED

RP51

This multipurpose, strong permanent adhesive is suited to a wide range of food 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.

RP37

This multipurpose adhesive is for film label faces on paper liners. RP37 provides good adhesion on glass and even plastics, and in food labelling applications where conditions are potentially moist and chilled. RP37 has good resistance to water and UV once labelled. An optimal balance of high adhesion and high cohesion provides clean and stable performance in high-speed conversion and label dispensing.

RF37

This general purpose adhesive for applications in temperatures above chilled conditions is designed for film label faces in combination with filmic liners. RF37 provides good adhesion on smooth plastic surfaces, and has high UV-stability and water resistance once labelled. High cohesion provides good performance in highspeed conversion and dispensing, complementing the productivity of filmic liners.

RH6

ΤRH6 covers a broad range of food labelling applications due to good performance from room temperature down to chilled conditions, on substrates including cardboard and stretch film. These properties make RH6 an especially reliable choice for food logistics labelling.

RH9X

RH9X is specially developed for chilled (0 to 8 C) food labelling on multilayer barrier films typically used for vacuum and modified atmosphere food packaging. It also offers good adhesion to a wide variety of cardboards. For label printers, RH9X provides good matrix-stripping properties due to a smooth release, for fast label conversion and high productivity. For label endusers, RH9X performs reliably with all standard label dispensing methods, with good tack assuring reliable performance in high-speed label application even in demanding chilled temperatures.

RH9X is formulated with an increased proportion of biobased raw material sourced from sustainably managed forests, for improved environmental performance.

RH1

For more demanding conditions requiring aggressive adhesion to cold and moist substrates, RH1 can be combined with both paper and film face materials and is suitable for application to plastic and cardboard packaging in temperatures as low as -5 C.

DEEP FREEZE

RP48

Designed primarily for paper label faces, RP48 provides good adhesion at low temperatures on a wide range of substrates.

RH3

RH3 offers especially good performance in frozen food applications where good adhesion is required on wet and frosty surfaces – as is the case when products are frozen prior to labelling. RH3 is available with paper and film label faces.

149DF

With clear film labels, the water-based acrylic 149DF provides an improved level of transparency compared to hotmelt solutions to enhance shelf-appeal for frozen foods. 149DF also enables fast label conversion with minimal residue-cleaning on die tools for high productivity. Good UV-ageing resistance helps retain adhesive performance and clarity in the long-term. 149DF is supplied with a full range of face materials, both papers and films.

Labelling on durable goods emphasizes particular conditions in which the label must perform and the life-expectancy of the label.

Requirements for resistance to exposures including heat, chemicals and solvents, moisture and water, mechanical strain, outdoor weathering and UV light vary widely. But in all cases, information such as model identification, serial numbers and warnings needs to last the lifetime of the labelled product.

Durable labelling is therefore an end-use category where a cross-linked adhesive – for example UV acrylic or catalyst-activated – will likely be required.

This is regardless of how well the labelled surface favours bonding in terms of surface energy, though naturally the adhesive will be adapted to the polarity of that substrate.

ADHESIVES

Electronic and electrical devices and their components and casings are typical examples where select UPM Raflatac adhesives demonstrate excellent durable labelling capabilities – computers, white goods, sports and fitness equipment, power tools, industrial machinery and automotive parts.

Moreover, our advanced non-solvent solutions enable label printers and end-users to move their durables business forward sustainably – and achieve market differentiation through environmental responsibility.

UV-ACRYLICS FOR ENDURING RESISTANCE TO HEAT, CHEMICALS, WATER AND UV LIGHT

Our UV-acrylic adhesives have high internal strength(cohesion) which makes their properties of adhesion resistant to long-term exposure to high temperatures, water, chemicals and UV. This high cohesion is achieved by chemically locking together the molecules in the adhesive with ‘cross-links’, which form during our label stock manufacture when the coated adhesive is exposed to ultraviolet light.

RC15 is specially designed to provide outstanding adhesion on polar surfaces like glass, steel or ABS.

RC18 is designed for films in combination with paper or film liners, in end-uses requiring very good adhesion on polar and non-polar surfaces.

RC20 has a high coat weight for rough and demanding substrates, and has very good adhesion on polar and nonpolar surfaces.

CATALYST ACTIVATED FOR EXTREME RESILIENCE

UPM Raflatac has introduced a new, catalyst activated adhesive (CAA) technology. As with our UV-acrylics, the adhesive undergoes a cross-linking reaction on our coating lines to increase the adhesive’s internal strength. With the ‘RX’ adhesives we have achieved a very high density of cross-links, for extreme cohesion and resilience. The first of this new series is RX15.

RX15 offers label converters and end-users a unique opportunity to combine top-level technical performance with an excellent sustainability profile. RX15 has extremely high adhesion on polar surfaces, good heat resistance and excellent resistance to UV-radiation and chemicals. Applications range from dumper trucks to solar panels and wind turbines.

RP37S

General purpose

For some applications, a film label face such as PET combined with a selected waterborne acrylic adhesive provide sufficient resilience for shorter-term exposure to water, UV and some chemicals. RP37S serves this general purpose need for labelling on both polar and non-polar surfaces.