7 Reasons Your Hot-Melt Adhesive for Consumer Goods Packaging Won’t Stick

Goods and packaging manufacturers know: You need your case and carton sealing processes to be efficient, effective, and worry-free. Even so, certain factors can prevent hot melts from adhering as designed. Our experts have compiled a 7-point list to help you keep your production lines moving.

When your packaging hot-melt adhesive fails to sufficiently bond corrugated paper-based substrates, it can be frustrating and time-consuming to pinpoint the root cause of the problem.

Here are seven reasons why your case and carton sealing glue may fail to bond as intended.

1. Your Substrate and Adhesive Are Not Compatible

Glue is meant to stick. But not all hot-melt adhesives work well with all materials. For example, some are designed for cardboard and won't adhere well to plastic. If you use a variety of hot melts for different applications, make sure you're choosing the right type of adhesive for the materials you're bonding. If you are looking to consolidate your glue usage to a single packaging adhesive that meets a wide range of case and carton sealing needs, Bostik KizenÒ adhesive technology is an efficient and reliable option.

2. Your Bonding Surface Is Contaminated

If the materials you're trying to adhere are dirty, greasy, or dusty, the adhesive may not be able to form a strong bond. Check your packaging materials to ensure they are clean before the hot melt is applied. If they are not, examine your packaging line to identify the source (or sources) of contaminants.

3. Your Compression Level Is Incorrect

With hot-melt glues, compression is key to achieving a successful bond. If you’re experiencing reduced adhesion, it may be because not enough downforce is being applied. When this happens, the adhesive is unable to sufficiently penetrate the substrate. To achieve proper bond strength without impacting substrate performance, be sure to apply the adhesive manufacturer’s recommended level of compression.

4. Your Application Temperature Needs to be Adjusted

In winter months, a common culprit for poor adhesion is a colder substrate, which may be far below typical production floor temperature. This is because the hot melt, once applied, can cool too quickly before you’re ready to bond. Ensure your substrate and adhesive are both at ideal temperature levels to allow for sufficient set time.

5. Your Adhesive Properties Have Been

Certain situations can change the properties of your packaging hot-melt adhesive. Primary among them is thermal and oxidative degradation, which can cause charring. This hardening hinders the adhesive’s ability to flow onto the substrate. The result is that your substrates fail to bond as intended.

To ensure your adhesive properties aren’t altered during the application process, refer to your product’s TDS and follow the recommended handling instructions.

6. Your Adhesive is Unable to Sufficiently Wet Out

Today, many brands prefer to use more sustainable corrugated substrates, including highly recycled content. The process can result in increasingly shorter paper fibers, which can make it difficult for packaging hot-melt adhesives to sufficiently wet out and achieve a bond.

If you’re experiencing bonding failure with highly recycled corrugate, consider an adhesive formulated specifically for challenging substrates such as highly recycled paper.

7. Your Adhesive Flow is Uneven

When using a nozzle to apply your packaging hot melt, an uneven flow can cause poor adhesion. There may be too much or too little adhesive in certain areas. Ensure your nozzle and chosen glue are compatible so that the right amount of adhesive flows through and is consistently dispensed every time.

Meet Your Bonding Needs With Kizen Hot-Melt Adhesive

Many of these issues can be minimized by choosing the right adhesive … and supplier for your packaging processes. Bostik’s high-performance hot-melt adhesive technology delivers operational efficiencies, environmental advantages, and a new level of comfort to you and your packaging operations. Our Kizen products are specifically designed to meet the varied packaging requirements of food, beverage, personal care, medical, and pharmaceutical products.

Contact a Bostik expert today to determine the right hot-melt adhesive for your corrugated paper packaging applications and consolidate your glue needs. We can also assist by performing line audits to determine the causes of your bonding issues.

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All information contained herein is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication, is provided “as-is” and is subject to change without notice. To review our full U.S. Legal Disclaimer, visit: https://bostik.com/us/en_US/privacy-policy/legal-disclaimer

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