Sep 12, 2024 - 3-5 minutes
Criteria for Selecting a Corrugated Packaging Adhesive
Much relies on your packaging adhesive: Process efficiency. Safe delivery into consumers’ hands. Even brand reputation. Making the right choice for your sealing glue depends on several factors, including the corrugate, environmental conditions, and details about your production line itself.
Corrugated packaging is a reality for several segments of the consumer packaged goods industry. Brand owners, converters, and online retailers alike need to ensure that packages remain safely sealed until the intended time of opening.
Bostik works with customers like you to determine the right corrugated packaging adhesive for your specific application. Here’s an overview of the criteria we use to help you choose which packaging hot melt is best suited for your needs.
Type of Substrate
Different adhesives are designed to work with specific categories of substrate. Fiber lengths and treatments, for example, both affect the glue’s ability to create a strong bond. Our team will ask whether your corrugate is:
- Virgin material, recycled, or highly recycled
- Bleached
- Printed, coated, or metalized
This will allow us to determine which adhesive will be required for your particular packaging solution.
Environmental Conditions After Production
Not all adhesives are suited to enduring a wide temperature range through distribution and storage. Some maintain bond strength in refrigerated or frozen environments. Other grades may better withstand elevated heat.
Prior to recommending an adhesive, Bostik ensures we understand the environmental temperatures your products are likely to experience. These ranges can include:
- Warm to hot temperatures (120°F and above)
- Moderate temperatures (45°F to 100°F)
- Cool temperatures (20°F to 40°F)
- Freezing temperatures (-20°F to 20°F)
In addition, the amount of moisture the adhesives may encounter should also be considered. Hot-melt glues in general display resistance to humid or wet conditions. Even so, the degree to which this may be required could affect our final recommendation.
Manufacturing Parameters
There can be a great deal of variation in production line configurations, and these may suggest certain adhesives over others. The following parameters are key elements in determining the right fit for your specific needs.
Compression, Open Time, and Application Temperature
To create a strong bond, the hot-melt adhesives must be able to penetrate both the upper and lower substrates. This requires that the glue be able to wet-out and is sufficiently compressed within the setting time. Our experts will confirm the values on your line before making our recommendation.
- Compression Time
- .5-1 second
- 1-5 seconds
- 5-10 seconds
- Open time:
- .5-1 second
- 1-3 seconds
- 3-5 seconds
- 5-15 seconds
- Application Temperature
- 250°F-300°F
- 300°F-350°F
- 350°F-400°F1
The balance of these mutually dependent factors, along with your chosen substrate, helps our experts to identify adhesives that can meet your needs. But keep this in mind: A change in one parameter may require changes in one or more of the others.
Add-On Level and Pattern
We also consider your application equipment to determine whether a given adhesive will run efficiently and effectively. Some key areas of consideration include:
- Nozzle type and configuration
- Application pattern and placement
- Bead dimensions before and after compression
Manufacturers rely on a wide range of Bostik adhesives for applications including case packing and case sealing.
1Please note: Bostik does not typically recommend application temperatures above 350°F, unless a longer open time and/or deeper penetration into the corrugate is necessary. More rapid adhesive degradation will occur at higher temperatures; consult your tech service representative for more information.
Sustainability and Other Specifications
Advise Bostik if there are any other qualifications the product or its packaging needs to meet. These can include:
- Sustainability considerations regarding
- EPA regulations
- Post-consumer recycling or composting
- Independent label certifications
- FDA requirements for food packaging and/or direct food contact
- Customer-specified tests
Looking for the right corrugated adhesive for your end-of-line packaging applications? We can help you make the right choice. At Bostik, we enable brand owners to provide customers with breakthrough recyclable or compostable absorbent hygiene products as well as food, beverage, personal care, medical, and pharmaceutical packaging. For more information, talk to us today.
©2024 Bostik, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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
CODE: EOL-24B14