Are you still one of those people who go to shops and department stores to buy food, clothes, and electrical appliances, etc.? Or are you a user of the modern, virtual shopping malls that are open at any time of the day or night and whose range of goods far surpasses that of physical shops? Whichever group you belong to: just read on.

Online trading and shipping

Online trading is growing every year. Unlike in local shops, however, the customer cannot simply take the goods home after giving them a thorough inspection; instead, they must be brought to the customer. For large products, such as refrigerators, this is done by a forwarding agent, for smaller articles, in a parcel, and for small, flexible products, such as textiles, in an opaque plastic or paper envelope which is sealed with an adhesive.

Temperature-resistant adhesive for padded envelopes

This envelope has several functions at once, e.g.

• It must be opaque so that no one can see which product is contained within.
• It must protect the product against environmental influences.
• It must be closed in such a way that nobody can take or add anything unnoticed.

And this at any time of day or night and in summer as well as in winter!

These requirements also place high demands on the adhesive, which is responsible for the secure closure of the envelope.

On the one hand, the adhesive, which is simply coated onto the closure flap of the envelope as a narrow strip a few millimeters wide, must have a high initial adhesion. This is because the envelope is filled, sealed, labelled and shipped immediately. There is no time to press the closure tab of the envelope firmly and wait until the adhesive finally sticks. Afterwards, the envelope will go on journeys all over the world. In tropical regions with high temperatures and high humidity or in areas as cold as the Arctic. And the adhesive must always keep the envelope neatly sealed.

This requirement can only be met with carefully selected and tested adhesive formulations. An incorrectly selected adhesive will see the padded envelope open during transport. The goods will fall out and get damaged or get lost. Complaints are inevitable.

Although it is only a matter of sending goods or simple documents, the requirements placed on the envelope are already very high.

Adhesive applications for shipping in the security sector

Applications in the security sector have even higher requirements. Here we are talking about the dispatch of cash, highly valuable documents or forensic samples. You can read about the requirements placed on an envelope in this sector and the special solutions that exist in our blog “What is important when transporting money and valuable items?”

Summary

I'll sum it up:

• Padded envelopes made of plastic must fulfill several functions.
• The adhesive must ensure the secure closure of the envelope.
• It must do so in regions with extremely hot or cold conditions.
• Applications in security areas require special solutions.

Talk to our adhesive experts to find the right adhesive for your application. We look forward to hearing from you and are at your disposal.

UV curable adhesives are a modern adhesive technology that offers many advantages. We at artimelt can look back on more than 20 years of experience in the development of radiation curable UV adhesives and are happy to pass on our artimelt knowledge to you for the switch to UV technology. This artimelt blog is intended to help processors of adhesives make the decision to switch to UV technology.

Change from rubber-based hot melt to UV-curable adhesives

artimelt assumes that, up to this point, you have been processing classic rubber-based hot melt. In this case the step to UV curable adhesives is a small one. You will already be familiar with hot melt, know how it is processed and have the appropriate equipment, such as a barrel melter, buffer tank and a coating plant in-house. You will also be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of rubber-based hot melt, such as easy processing, good adhesion at low temperatures, or low weather resistance or temperature resistance. The first question to be answered now is whether you need the positive properties of UV curable adhesives for your products, such as:

• High temperature resistance up to 200°C
• High chemical resistance
• High UV resistance and therefore suitable for outdoor applications
• Approval for direct food contact
• Good punching properties

artimelt UV adhesives fulfill all these positive properties. In close cooperation, artimelt develops tailor-made UV adhesives for you, which are perfectly suited to your processing possibilities and fields of application.

Upgrade your coating systems with UV lamps

You can continue to use your existing coating system, but you will have to “upgrade” it. artimelt recommends the following: Talk to a UV equipment manufacturer and tell them what you want to do. Tell him you need UV lamps that emit in the UVC range so that artimelt adhesives can be cross-linked. Also consider the following points:

• How wide is my system?
• At what speed do I want to operate my system?
• How high is the coating weight going to be?
• How much space do I have on my existing hot melt system for UV lamp installation?
• Would I like to have the latest measurement and control technology that measures the UV output during system operation and adjusts it to the target value, or would I like to check and readjust it manually?

All these points ultimately have an influence on the entirety of the equipment and thus also on your investment costs.

Invest for the future: more UV lamps, separate barrel melting units, buffer tank and hose lines

A very important artimelt tip: Don't just have the UV system designed to meet your current needs. Think about the future and invest in more lamp units than you need today. This has the following advantages:

• You can coat a higher coating weight and network safely.
• You can increase the coating speed.
• If the existing lamp fails, you can switch on the spare lamp and continue production.

artimelt also recommends investing in separate barrel melting units, buffer tanks and hose lines to the application head. UV curable adhesives are not compatible with other hot melt systems and can lead to gel formation when mixed, resulting in a poor coating appearance.

With this additional equipment you can kill several birds with one stone:

• You can very quickly switch from classic hot melt to UV adhesives.
• You will save yourself the time-consuming cleaning of barrel melter, buffer tank and hose lines every time the adhesive is changed.
• You will avoid the risk of gel formation.

Summary

artimelt has summarized the most important points for you:

• First answer the question whether you need the properties of the UV adhesives.
• You will need lamps that emit in the UVC range.
• Think about the future and invest in more lamp units than you need today.
• Invest in additional peripheral equipment such as a barrel melter, buffer tank and hose lines.

artimelt has comprehensive know-how regarding UV adhesives and the best contacts to equipment manufacturers. Let your artimelt Key Account Manager advise you.

What is important when transporting money and valuable items?

 If you are a forward-thinker and are already using cashless payment methods, then you can stop reading here. If, however, you belong to the generation that thinks that “cash is king”, then this blog will definitely be interesting for you.

Money transporters

Although cashless payment methods using Maestro Cards, credit cards, smartphones and other means are on the rise, a large share of purchases made within Europe are still paid for using cash. As at the end of December 2018, there were 22.62 billion bank bills worth EUR 1,231.1 billion in circulation in the eurozone. Many of these bills change owners every day and are taken to banks to be stored securely. As an individual, you carry your bills in your wallet or purse and take them to the bank to be paid in. How though does a department store that takes tens of thousands of euros every day do this? This is the reason that money transporters exist. They pick up the cash and take it to the bank. However, they do not keep the cash in a normal envelope or a bag, but rather a specially designed and manufactured security bag. Stitched into this bag is a great deal of expertise and development work.

The security bag

You can think of the security bag as being similar to the jiffy bags in which items of clothing are sent – but with significantly more security features. After the cash is placed in the bag, it is sealed securely in the same way as a normal envelope – via an adhesive applied on the closing flap. The flap now has to form a seal so strong that it cannot be opened without being detected both immediately after being sealed and until the bag is delivered to its destination. This is achieved by using an adhesive that has a very strong initial bond, also known as the tack, and high adhesive strength. Once the bag is en route with the transporter, there are further dangers lying in wait for the contents of the bag. Resourceful people keep employing a wide variety of methods to try to open the bag without getting caught.

The security features of the bag

This is why it is important to equip the bag with a great many security features.

• Security printing
  If an attempt is made to open the bag without using any tools, the bag film will either become heavily distorted and even rip, or security printing applied to the bag will be triggered, displaying a legible message – frequently “VOID” or “STOP”. This provides clear evidence that an attempt has been made to open the bag. As simply tearing the bag open is not an effective method of opening the security bag without being detected, other tricks and tools are used.
• Color change when exposed to warm temperatures
  Anyone who has tried to remove labels from surfaces in the past knows that they are easier to remove if you use a hot air gun or a hairdryer. This trick works with both labels and shipping bags. Once applied, the heat causes the adhesive to melt and lose its adhesive strength and cohesion, which makes the bag much easier to open. A security feature is thus needed to reveal whether high temperatures have been used in an attempt to tamper with the bag. This feature is realized through the use of special imprints that change color irreversibly when exposed to high temperatures. Once the imprint changes color, it cannot be changed back to the original color, thus providing evidence that high temperatures have been used in an attempt to tamper with the bag.
• Color change when exposed to cold temperatures
  What happens to the bag if it is exposed to cold temperatures? Anyone who has placed an object bearing a label in the freezer will know that this can make the label easier to remove and it sometimes even falls off by itself. This is because the adhesive becomes hard and brittle, losing its elasticity and tack. This also holds true with the security bags, which is why security features have also been designed with this fact in mind. Specifically, a component included in the adhesive that changes color when exposed to cold temperatures. Once effected, this change in color likewise cannot be reversed. The use of such special components that change their color when exposed to high and low temperatures provides a high level of security against tampering.
• Imprints
  Attempts are frequently made to dissolve the adhesive using solvents. There are, however, some great solutions that show when solvents have been used in an attempt to tamper with the bag. An example of an ideal security feature in this respect would be an imprint that dissolves in the solvent.

There are a wide range of solutions available on the market which demonstrate whether attempts have been made to tamper with security bags using heat, cold, solvents and mechanical force. When selecting these solutions, it is extremely important to know that all of the security features used must be able to work properly together! This is the only way to ensure that attempts to tamper with the bags can be reliably detected. The aim of using all of these features is not to prevent the security bags from being tampered with, but to make it possible for the recipients of the bags to see when attempts have been made to take or add items from and to the bags.

Different uses of the security bags

These security measures are not only used for transporting money now. Have you ever bought a bottle of spirits or perfume from the duty-free shop in an airport? Such purchases are often placed in a security bag that is sealed with an adhesive tab. This prevents the liquid from being replaced with another kind of liquid. Premium replacement parts for vehicles are now also delivered in security bags that reveal when attempts have been made to tamper with them.

Summary

In summary:

• The transport of cash and valuable items is a sensitive matter that requires a high level of security
• Cash is sent in security bags that reveal when attempts have been made to tamper with them
• Security bags are designed in such a way that they can reveal when attempts have been made to tamper with them using heat, cold, chemicals and mechanical force
• All of the components must be able to function properly with each other
• Absolute security is not possible

If you require more information on finding the right adhesive for your application, our adhesive experts would be happy to help.

Strong adhesive label
We’re sure you’re familiar with the situation – a customer has requested a strongly adhesive label that is affixed to a cardboard box and is either destroyed or damages the underlying layer when removed. VOID labeling is not required in this case. With this in mind, you look for a self-adhesive laminate with the strongest adhesive available and are convinced that the customer will be happy with the results. The customer tests your label and discovers that the label – despite its strong adhesive qualities – can be removed without major difficulty. But why?

However an easy removal is possible - why?
Many cardboard boxes are not only used for packaging and protecting the product inside – such as a box of rice or cornflakes, for example. Instead, the packaging has another role to play, namely to look good, make a high-quality impression and entice the consumer to buy it.

This is extremely important, particularly for high-quality products such as perfumes or expensive cosmetics. If you take a look when shopping, you will see that the more expensive the product, the higher quality the packaging.

Paint at the packaging
In order for the packaging to appeal to the consumer, it has complex printing and also embossing in some cases. In addition to all the different paints used, the packaging is also given a gloss or matt coating. The role of this coating is to protect the paints from mechanical influences (such as scratches), not to mention repelling dust and dirt and preventing fingerprints. After all, who wants to buy something that is covered in fingerprints?

In order for the coating to meet the aforementioned requirements, it needs special additives. One of these components is often silicone. Silicone has a low surface tension and is thus extremely repellent against grease, dirt and dust. However, silicone is also extremely repellent against adhesives as well! This means that siliconized liners are also used when manufacturing labels. Put simply, adhesives do not stick well on surfaces that contain silicone – the bond is not strong enough and the label can be removed relatively easily.

Adhesive effect increases over time
We have found a solution to this problem in artimeltsurface, which is processed and coated just like a normal hot-melt adhesive. Labels with artimeltsurface are applied in the same way as conventional labels. Now comes the magic – the adhesive has been designed in such a way that the bond with a surface containing silicone becomes stronger and stronger over time. As demonstrated in laboratory tests on such surfaces, the adhesive strength constantly increases. After just a few days, it is then no longer possible to remove the label from the surface without leaving traces. Either the label tears or the surface of the packaging is destroyed.

We received a sample packaging from one of our customers with the task of finding a suitable adhesive – one that allows RF labels to be affixed so that they cannot be removed without damaging the surface (RF labels are used for the electronic safeguarding of goods using radio frequencies).

artimeltsurface was the perfect solution here. The RF label was destroyed completely when it was removed from the packaging. It was only possible to remove it from the packaging in small pieces. Moreover, the coating was also torn from the box at the point where the label was attached. It was thus clear that the box had been manipulated.

Tamper-proof sealing
The avoidance of manipulation of this kind will be of critical importance to all pharmaceutical manufacturers from February 9, 2019, when the EU directive for preventing falsified medicinal products (2011/62/EU) comes into force. This directive helps manufacturers, wholesalers and logistics providers in the pharmaceuticals industry in their fight against counterfeit drugs and thus also increases patient safety. Among other features, the packaging has to be protected against falsification in addition to clear identification via barcode. In other words, it must be possible for the consumer to determine whether the packaging has been sealed by the manufacturer at the factory or has already been opened.

This can be ensured with a closure label. However, packaging of this kind is also often treated with a protective coating containing silicone, which means a sufficient bond cannot be achieved using standard adhesives. The label can then be removed undetected, the contents replaced and the packaging resealed.

However, if artimeltsurface is used, the label or box is destroyed in most cases. This thus meets the EU directive for preventing falsified medicinal products in terms of tamper-proof sealing.

Adhesive bonds also under water
artimeltsurface can also be used for adhesive bonds under water. Examinations have shown that adhesive tapes with artimeltsurface achieve good adhesion on smooth surfaces underwater. For example, you can then seal cracks in your swimming pool from inside in summer without having to drain the water. The only thing you may require in this case is diving gear!

If you require more information on artimeltsurface, our adhesive experts would be happy to help.

Press release artimeltsurface, January 2019

You’re probably asking yourself what sepia has to do with adhesives. Isn’t this the Latin name of something you would usually find in the sea?

Read on to find out the answer in this blog!

First of all, you should be aware that artimelt is a manufacturer of hot-melt adhesives for niche applications. Commodities – in other words, run-of-the-mill adhesives – are not our thing. We are committed to finding the solution to your application problems with our adhesives. And these problems are many and varied.

But what does this have to do with artimeltsepia?
artimeltsepia is a range of hot-melt adhesives with a very special feature. In fact, this is the same feature that a cuttlefish (or in Latin, Sepia apama) has – it can change color.

Take a look at the this video.

Our products in the artimeltsepia range can do the same – a little slower, admittedly, but what counts is the end result.

But what do I need products like this for?
Imagine today was a hot summer’s day. The sun has been beating down for hours, and you start to feel thirsty. Time for a nice cool drink. But no, the bottle is too warm to enjoy properly. There’s nothing for it but to put it in the fridge to cool. But how can you tell when your drink is cold enough …

artimeltsepia color-changing adhesives can help here. A transparent label coated with adhesive from the artimeltsepia range shows when your drink has reached the right temperature. The adhesive is transparent at room temperature. However, as soon as the temperature drops below +8 °C, the label turns blue. A blue label is thus a sure sign that your drink is cool enough to enjoy!

How about another example?
Imagine you are a manufacturer of security products, with adhesives playing an important role in the overall security concept. As with many flexible products and components, adhesives become hard and brittle at low temperatures. In this case, the temperature is below the so-called service temperature. In extreme cases, this can lead to a loss of adhesion and the security function not working as it should. The result is product failure.

Let us explain here in more detail
Each adhesive has an optimal operating temperature. Firstly, the label or adhesive tape is applied. This is known as the application temperature. For adhesives used at room temperature, the minimum application temperature is approximately +10 °C. This means that the bond has to be made above this temperature, otherwise the adhesive does not achieve a sufficient initial adhesion and the bond is not made. If the bond is established successfully, adhesion can only be ensured within a certain temperature range. This range is known as the service temperature. For adhesives used at room temperature, this range is approximately -10 °C to +60 °C. Outside this range, the bond can fail – especially when it is subjected to force.

This is where the adhesives from the artimeltsepia range come into play. We have developed a product that is pink in color at room temperature. If the adhesive is now subjected to intensive cooling, it changes color from pink to violet and remains so when warmed back up to room temperature.

If the bond should fail, then you can determine whether the temperature has dropped below the service temperature of the adhesive according to the adhesive color.

A classic example of this can be found in sealing labels, which are used for maintaining warranty claims on electronic devices, among other applications. The consumer purchases an electronic device that is screwed together. If the screws are not sealed, then they can be removed and the device opened. If the device then no longer works properly, the consumer exchanges or returns it. Normal sealing labels can often be removed without noticeably affecting the sealing effect by subjecting them to low temperatures. The consumer can spray the label with cold spray, for example. The adhesive becomes brittle, loses its adhesion and can be removed undetected without leaving any residue. The label is reattached as soon as it has reached room temperature and the adhesive becomes sticky once again. The manipulation is undetectable.

cold

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This is not the case when using artimeltsepia. If the label is sprayed with cold spray, the adhesive color changes from pink to violet. While the label can still be removed undetected as before and reattached at room temperature, the change in color clearly indicates that a manipulation has taken place here.

These are just two of the possible applications for the artimeltsepia product range. We are sure that you will already have other applications in mind where artimeltsepia adhesives can be used.

Free selective adhesive properties
The adhesive properties can be freely selected here. You can choose between a strongly adhesive rubber-based adhesive with corresponding color-changing properties or a UV-curing product with moderate adhesive properties. When it comes to the possibilities, the sky is (almost) the limit.

Get in touch with our adhesive experts today.