ADVANCING ADHESIVES: A New Identity - Columns - Adhesives & Sealants Industry

Labels have become a critical component in today’s durable products, as OEMs strive to meet growing requirements for safety information, brand identity and product differentiation. FLEXcon’s COMPUcal^® EXCEL^™ series of pressure-sensitive films is designed to fulfill these needs in durable-goods applications, including automotive, appliance, heavy equipment, industrial, medical equipment, power tools and hand tools.

“COMPUcal EXCEL was developed in response to several market demands: the need for a cross-technology printable product, improved die wear and improved chemical and solvent resistance,” says Michelle Ostiguy, Product manager, FLEXcon. “With the continuous drive to reduce inventory/SKUs, converters were looking for a product that was printable across multiple print technologies. Our COMPUcal EXCEL line offers it all: thermal transfer, laser, impact, and electron-beam printability and imaging, in addition to conventional ink compatibility.”

A product-identification label is a brand extension, and builds and reinforces brand identity. Labels also protect the integrity of vital OEM product information and, ultimately, its overall brand recognition. COMPUcal EXCEL products ensure label consistency. The result is a high-performance line of products optimized not only for the end-use application, but also for the printing and converting process.

The COMPUcal EXCEL series provides solutions for a range of labeling applications: electronic part identification and tracking; warning/instruction labels on power and hand tools; healthcare diagnostics; emblem/decorative graphics on automotive exteriors; agency recognition; and compliance labels on appliances. The products, which are UL-recognized, offer superior resistance to smudging, scratching, moisture, chemicals, and solvents — crucial for automatic identification and data capture labels. The aggressive, high-performance permanent acrylic adhesive provides durability in harsh environments and adheres well to a variety of surfaces, including low- and high-surface-energy plastics. The adhesive is highly resistant to cold flow and ooze.

The COMPUcal EXCEL series products are durable films with print versatility. A matte topcoat provides compatibility with wax, resin and wax/resin thermal transfer, laser, impact, and electron-beam print technologies, as well as conventional UV screen, letterpress, and flexo ink systems. This topcoat also extends die life by more than four times compared to most traditional topcoats.

“The COMPUcal EXCEL product line offered the first resin-printable matte overlaminate option to the market,” Ostiguy says. The matte topcoat was designed to improve die wear and increase chemical and solvent resistance. It can provide more than four times as many die revolutions before retooling, increasing die life from 80,000 revolutions to 400,000 die revolutions.

COMPUcal EXCEL products are available as part of FLEXcon’s Value-Better-Supreme (VBS) product offering, a line of more than 400 pressure-sensitive film and adhesive products designed for the most popular end-use applications across a range of industries. VBS products meet a variety of price, performance and delivery needs, and represent the largest standard product offering in the pressure-sensitive film/adhesive industry. The products are available in 1.0 mil clear and 2.0 mil clear, white, and silver, and in roll and sheet form. The roll-form version is backed with a 50-lb. bleached Kraft liner suitable for label sensing equipment through most thermal-transfer printers. The sheet-form version is backed with FLEXcon's patented 91-lb layflat release liner with LAZRmatch^™ technology.