Small labels always love to "disobey", how to solve it from the root?
As a standard configuration of product packaging, self-adhesive labels are almost everywhere, from daily chemicals to food and beverage. However, in the process of labeling, there are often bulging or warping problems after labeling, which can even affect product shipment in severe cases, causing headaches for enterprises.
Normally, label warping is divided into two types: one is to appear immediately within 24 hours after labeling, or even "flange" on the spot; Second, it will gradually warp after 24 hours of labeling. For enterprises, if the label is warped on the spot, the production line can still be stopped in time; However, if the label starts to warp after 24 hours or even when the customer packs the box, the problem becomes serious, not only delaying delivery, but also requiring large-scale rework, resulting in huge economic losses.
So, why does label warping occur? What are the reasons for this?
The wrong choice of self-adhesive material leads to warping of the label
Bottles with a diameter of less than 30mm are usually called small bottles, and if the label material is used with a large stiffness, it is easy to warp the label. Therefore, the self-adhesive labels applied to small bottles generally use strong adhesive adhesives, and their adhesive strength on the bottle body is much greater than the elasticity of the label surface material itself to resist deformation, so as to ensure that it does not warp after labeling.
There are many types of self-adhesive materials on the market, most of which are not recommended for small bottles, but some end users lack expertise and mistakenly choose unsuitable label materials, which causes the label to warp after labeling. Often, small bottle labeling warping due to the wrong choice of self-adhesive material can begin at the latest a few hours after labeling, and the degree of warping will increase over time.
In view of this, label printing companies must carefully understand the customer's label body when undertaking self-adhesive label orders, if they find that the customer is applied to small bottles, then they must consult with professional self-adhesive material suppliers to choose the most suitable material for customer application to process labels.
Poor adhesive adhesion causes labeling warping
Some self-adhesive materials decay quickly after leaving the factory for a period of time, coupled with the finished self-adhesive label products leaving the factory, the end user may not use it at the first time, and the labeling will be warped. The labeling warping caused by this reason is usually manifested as no problem with the label processed with new materials, while the label processed with old materials will have problems, or there will be problems with the stock label, and the stickiness of the new and old label materials is very different.
Labeling warping due to this usually begins within a few hours of labeling, and the longer it takes, the more severe it becomes. Such problems can be complained to the raw material supplier and requested to replace the qualified material.
Poor adhesive cohesion causes the label to warp
Generally speaking, as long as the self-adhesive label is labeled for 24 hours without warping, there will be basically no big problem. Because the adhesive has been completely combined with the surface of the object to be pasted after 24 hours of labeling, the maximum viscosity value of the adhesive has been reached. But sometimes, the label does not warp after 24 hours of labeling, but there is warping after a longer period of inventory, why is this?
Usually in this case, we carefully observe the label and the label, and find that part of the adhesive on the label remains on the surface of the label, which is due to the lack of cohesion of the adhesive, resulting in the adhesive being separated under the stiffness tension of the label surface material after a period of time. One part of the separated adhesive remains on the label, while the other part remains on the surface of the applied. In this case, we can ask the adhesive material supplier to test whether the cohesion of the adhesive meets its quality standards.
Unreasonable process settings lead to labeling warping
Some labels that use the varnishing process, if they are attached to the object to be pasted, that is to say, there is no gap in the middle after the label is wrapped around the object for a week, and the two sides are stacked on top of each other. Therefore, it is not recommended to use the varnishing process for labels with the overlapping process, and it is best to change to the lamination process.
Unreasonable customer use leads to warping labeling
Some customers put the product in a cold storage with a very low temperature immediately after labeling; Some customers take the sticker out of the cold storage and label it when there is still condensation on the surface of the object; Some customers label steel or iron plates placed in the open air, or in dusty environments. These are all unreasonable applications, which can easily cause label warping.
Whether it is a label printing enterprise or an end user, you should choose the most suitable label according to the actual application of the label, if you do not understand the relevant knowledge, you can ask a professional self-adhesive material supplier to help solve the problem and find the most suitable self-adhesive material.
There are still many problems we encounter in actual production and application, but due to the limited space, the author cannot describe them all, and I hope to have the opportunity to communicate with you more in the future. In addition, for the same problem, there are many solutions, I believe that the problems mentioned in this article, there are also many peers with better solutions, I hope this article can play a role in throwing bricks and jade, so that more peers can share the valuable experience accumulated in their practice with everyone.