New wash-off label adhesive
Herma launched a newly developed label adhesive 72Gpw. It is claimed to offers approximately double the initial adhesion of standard wash-off adhesives with an equally high final adhesion and above all equally good washability. The company presented this development during LabelExpo.
The Cyclos-HTP Institute has certified the adhesive 72Gpw for use in combination with various film and paper label materials. “This gives label users another strong argument to switch to a wash-off solution now. It is no longer necessary to compromise on adhesion or washability,” says Hendrik Kehl, product manager at Herma. “This is particularly important under challenging conditions, for example in high-speed labelling systems or when humid or cool environments come into play.”
The new label adhesive is not only intended to ensure secure labeling but also to support recycling processes by enabling residue-free separation of PET material from label material, including adhesives and printing inks, resulting in purer granulate production.
Stricter recycling guidelines are likely
As part of the European Packaging Directive’s objectives, which were drafted at the end of 2022, there is a growing emphasis on closing material cycles and enhancing packaging recyclability. This is expected to lead to stricter packaging design guidelines. Special wash-off applications for labels have been around for some time – Herma solutions are also already being used in this respect. But market penetration has generally been relatively slow. The industry association Finat has now also provided an indication in this regard: “Although these options are available on the market, the majority of labels currently used are made with permanent adhesives rather than with specially developed wash-off adhesives,” a statement in July 2023 announced.
