What You Need to Know to Make the Switch to UV Acrylic PSAs   

What to Expect if Switching from Solvent Acrylic to UV Acrylic PSAs in Your Production 

While solvent acrylic and UV acrylic PSAs are based on acrylics, UV acrylic PSAs do not require burning off solvents. Therefore, the equipment you have for solvents cannot work for UVs. Instead, to make the switch, you will need to invest in a hot melt PSA coating line with UV lights. This equipment is designed for PSA technologies that are comprised of 100% solids, which hot melt and UV acrylic PSAs have in common with one another. The hot melt PSA coater will provide the coating capabilities needed for UV acrylic PSAs, and the addition of UV lights will help cure them. 

Unlike solvent coating equipment, a hot melt PSA coater does not require drying ovens, thermal oxidizers and ventilation systems to account for solvent or volatile organic compound VOC evaporation. 

While you will have the upfront investment, hot melt PSA coaters are less expensive than solvent coating equipment in the long run and can help reduce overall costs by: 

• Decreasing energy usage: No longer accounting for solvents burning off can help you reduce energy usage by approximately 85%**. This will also help reduce your monthly energy expenses. 
• Increasing production efficiencies: Without the need to evaporate solvents, you will be able to run coat weights five times faster or more, depending on adhesive deposition and number of UV lights**. 
• Reducing plant footprint: With the combination of no longer evaporating solvents and running a more streamlined production, your overall carbon footprint will decrease, allowing you to run a more environmentally-friendly operation. 
• Simplifying storage complexities: Unlike solvents, UV acrylic PSAs do not require storage that follows EPA regulations to prevent flammability or safety risks, resulting in reduced costs for additional or complex storage methods.  

What to Expect if Switching from Rubber-Based Hot Melt PSAs to UV Acrylic PSAs in Your Production

While UV acrylic PSAs and rubber-based hot melt PSAs are based on different chemistries, they require similar equipment, because they are both comprised of 100% solids. Therefore, switching to UV acrylic from rubber-based hot melt will require minimal capital investment. You already have a hot melt PSA coater; you only need to incorporate UV lights with these components: 

• Drum unloader 
• Buffer tank 
• Feed lines  
• Slot-die coating head (optional) 

However, you can also continue to run rubber-based hot melts and don’t need to stop doing so simply because you want to run UV acrylics. You will need to keep in mind the following: 

1. You'll need a separate delivery system (drum loader), since UV acrylic PSAs and rubber-based hot melt PSAs have different chemistries.  
2. These adhesives are sometimes processed at different temperatures. It’s recommended that you have dedicated transfer lines and buffer tanks to avoid mixing. 
3. If you plan to run UV acrylic and rubber-based hot melt PSAs on the same coating line, separate equipment and special care will be required to avoid cross-contamination of the molten adhesives in your coating equipment, since the two chemistries are not compatible with each other.  

Without much of an upfront investment, incorporating UV lights with a hot melt PSA coater will help you: 

• Increase application capabilities: By using one coating machine for two PSA technologies that offer different levels of adhesion and durability, you can provide a broad portfolio, including solutions for permanent and removable applications. 
• Promote solventless production: Your ability to manufacture products with two PSA technologies that are both comprised of 100% solids will enable brand owners to show end-users they are heightening sustainability features throughout their processes.  
• Decrease carbon footprint: By eliminating steps to evaporate solvents and incorporating fast processing speeds, you’ll be able to deliver end-use applications at a faster rate compared to a production involving solvents.