Once a fringe player, solventless adhesives have become a workhorse in the laminating industry. Coim’s Dave Engel discusses how this happened and why solventless is such an attractive alternative to solvent-based adhesives.
In the not-so-distant past, solventless adhesives were reserved for only low-demand applications, such as candy bar wrappers, bottle labels and snack foods. But lately, solventless has become more than just a fringe option. Solventless adhesives are now considered by many to be the only way to go in virtually every application.
“Solventless has mainstreamed. Traditionally, you couldn’t use solventless in things that had foil in it,” says Dave Engel, Coim USA Technical Sales. “And now, with the improvement of solventless adhesives, you can get into foil applications, high-slip films, and high-barrier films where you couldn’t before. Applications where you need high heat or high chemical resistance are possible now.
“It can do just about whatever you need it to do. The technology is still being developed as far as optimizing it for retort and high-end demands for chemical resistance.”