Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs) - Articles - Page 151

Green Material Profiles

February 1, 2011

The Green Material Profiles is a comprehensive listing of green raw materials and formulated adhesives and sealants. Use this guide throughout the year to find and formulate sustainable, green materials from renewable ingredients. To be included in the next edition, contact Managing Editor Teresa McPherson at mcphersont@bnpmedia.com.

Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives 101

This article explains what a pressure-sensitive adhesive is, how it is constructed and what adhesive options are available.

Kurt Schramer

October 1, 2009

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are used in applications ranging from labeling food packaging to assembling electronic devices to mounting graphics displays. Although they have been around for decades and their use is widespread, manufacturers, converters, and printers may not understand the key differences between the adhesive choices available, how they’re constructed, or which are best suited for a particular job.

Peel Adhesion Testing of Small or Problem Labels

Small labels can be tested using modified standard methods.

Don Eppink

October 1, 2009

A number of standard test methods are used in the U.S. to measure the peel adhesion or bond strength of pressure-sensitive labels.

Adhesive Tapes as Trace Evidence

When adhesive tape is found as evidence at a crime scene, it is the forensic scientist’s job to match it to its source with little or no knowledge of tape construction.

John Johnston

January 1, 2008

The criminal element has discovered the thousands of uses for adhesive tape, and it is being found more and more often as trace evidence at crime scenes. By far the most common tape found as evidence in two out of three cases involving adhesive tape is duct tape.

Biodegradable Polymers in Adhesive Systems

Many biodegradable polymers are suited for adhesive applications, such as environmentally friendly packaging, recyclable envelope adhesives and biomedical devices.

Edward M. Petrie

June 1, 2007

Significant advances have been made over the past 20 years in the development of biodegradable polymers. These materials have been developed in a variety of forms, and thus have potential use in a range of industries, including adhesives.

Safety First: Safe Handling of Adhesives and Sealants

While cured adhesives and sealants are generally considered safe, care must be taken with airborne particles, decomposition products, and uncured components.

Edward M. Petrie

March 1, 2007

Completely cured adhesives and sealants are generally considered safe and non-toxic, although caution must be exercised when machining or grinding joints due to airborne particles. Also, decomposition products may exhibit substantial vapor pressures that present health and safety issues. However, it is exposure to uncured components that can be the most harmful, and that is the subject of this article.

Manufacturing Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Products: A Coating and Laminating Process

How are pressure-sensitive adhesives made?

April 1, 2005

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are a combination of several materials that come together to form a "construction." A PSA construction is a combination of layers including a facestock (label) or backing (tape), an optional primer coat, an adhesive, and a silicone release coating on a protective liner. The PSA construction—whether a label, tape or transfer adhesive—is manufactured through several coating and laminating steps, including liner-release coating, adhesive coating/drying/curing, optional facestock or backing primer coating, and lamination of the facestock or backing to the liner.

An Overview of Emulsion Polymers Used in the Adhesives Industry

Demand for adhesive emulsions is forecast to expand 4.4 percent per year to 2.3 million metric tons in 2005.

Paul Ita

June 30, 2002

In 2000, demand for emulsion polymers in the global adhesives industry totaled 1.9 million metric tons (dry basis), valued at $3.4 billion.

Hot-Melt Polyurethane Reactive Adhesives Targeted for Specific Applications

What are hot-melt polyurethane reactive adhesives used for?

January 26, 2001

Although hot-melt polyurethane reactive (HMPUR) adhesives have been available for 25 years, their novel properties and the development of diverse products have accelerated their recent growth.

Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Testing

Testing pressure-sensitive adhesives under standard conditions of temperature and relative humidity is always a preferred means to compare data from lab to lab and from lot to lot, but it is sometimes necessary to evaluate the performance of an adhesive under conditions that it would encounter in the field.

September 11, 2000

Many adhesives exhibit different properties when subjected to variations in temperature. Some of these adhesives are thermoplastic. They soften when heated and become more brittle when cooled. [In the case of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), the nature of the bond is nearly always thermoplastic.] If for the sake of this discussion we limit our testing to tack, peel and shear, we can develop a series of observations that can be applied to most testing situations.