GET TO GRIPS / ADHESIVES AND TAPES 39 Issue 247 - June / July 2023 email: news@signlink.co.uk “It’s not always that the most expensive is the best; compatibility and ‘right for the job’ are of course key,” Sadler says, adding: “Many tapes and adhesives will give an instant bond, or appear super tacky to the touch, but this doesn’t mean they will work for your project. Long-term bond strength, temperature performance, flexibility, chemical resistance, and UV stability are just some of the criteria needed to be considered when selecting the type of product to use. “Indasol offers free-of-charge, on-site technical support to ensure the right type of product – tape or adhesive – and then the right product itself is used. We provide free samples to help facilitate this.” Sadler goes on to pick out some of the most popular products available at Indasol, beginning with the company’s range of UHB structural bonding tapes and ‘2-Part’ structural adhesive, which have been in service for almost 20 years. As the technology behind them has been around for a lot longer, Sadler says sign-makers can put complete faith in the products, providing they have been selected correctly and applied by following the preparation and application guidelines. To complement the extensive range, Sadler says Indasol is always looking at the materials the sign-maker is working with and as such over recent years has added products to work on new and emerging materials. “Such products are our UHBSF18XT which is a channel fixing tape where cost is a key consideration,” Sadler says, adding: “Or there is our 930LX 2 Part Structural Adhesive which offers excellent high strength bonding with very low read through on ACM, DIBOND, BCP, and more. “Through to our Indasol NCFR476, which is a revolutionary dichloromethane free contact adhesive for joinery work that also carries BS476 FR rating.” Planet Friendly Meanwhile, another supplier with its finger in a number of pies within the signage market is Avery Dennison. Offering a wide range of solutions to the industry, the company counts tape and adhesives among its collection of products, with one of the most recent additions to its portfolio being iA Tech, a new, solvent-free adhesive. According to Natascia Oprandi, product manager for signage in EMENA at Avery Dennison, the solution not only improves performance but reduces the environmental impact of the whole project. With sustainability now a key consideration for both sign-makers and their customers, Oprandi says this could offer a major advantage to users. “This innovation uses state-of-the-art Patented Advanced Acrylic Adhesive Technology (PAAAT) to eliminate solvents completely – a long-standing goal, with big benefits for brand owners and graphics users,” Oprandi says, adding: “It’s the latest addition to our growing sustainable graphics solutions portfolio.” Avery Dennison 777 Cast Film and Mactac MACal 9300 PRO are now available with this new solvent-free adhesive. According to Avery Dennison, both products offer longer dimensional stability, along with best-in-class weeding, while the adhesion is equivalent to solvent-based products. In addition, the manufacturer says the improved stability of iA Tech reduces the potential for ooze, so it allows more time between cutting and weeding. “We are especially pleased to have achieved not only a less environmentally impactful product, eliminating solvent use, but also one with so many extended benefits for applicators and brand owners,” Oprandi says. “We expect many users to switch to the new technology for a range of different applications including corporate branding, vehicle markings, and window graphics. In the near future, we will also be offering the new adhesive in a wider range of products.” Mark Gower, research principal at Avery Dennison who led the project team for this new innovative adhesive, adds: “This more reliable water-dispersed adhesive now gives users much better flexibility, with more time to manage projects. There are several improvements to conventional emulsion adhesives, such as temperature resistance, transparency, and whitening properties that match solvent-based alternatives. “Cohesion, durability, and resistance to plasticiser migration are even better than products with solvent adhesive.” To put it simply, if you do not get it right when it comes to selecting tapes and adhesives for sign-making applications, then you could be putting the whole job in jeopardy. To follow the advice of the experts featured here, you should pay careful attention to the attributes and features of each product before selecting a tape or adhesive for the job in hand. There is no such thing as a one-size-fitsall solution in this market, and something that may have worked well on one project may not be suitable for the next. Do your research, speak with your supplier, and identify the product that will work best for you. ▲Avery Dennison 777 Cast Film and Mactac MACal 9300 PRO are now available with the new iA Tech solvent-free adhesive
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