What Are Low-Temperature Adhesives?

It’s an all-too-familiar problem: winter comes around, and with it, reports from the field of, “My labels won’t stick!” These are the same labels you’ve always used and haven’t had problems with before.

Is the adhesive different? Is it a bad batch? What changed?

The problem isn’t that the adhesive is different or defective. You need a dedicated cold weather label, made from material with a low temperature adhesive that is designed to be applied in frigid conditions.

For those unfamiliar with low temperature adhesives, here are five things you need to know.

1) Understanding Application vs. Surface Temperature

When we talk about low-temperature adhesives, we mean the ambient and substrate (surface) temperatures at which adequate initial adhesion can be achieved when a label is applied.

This is not to be confused with service temperature, which is the range of temperatures the label will endure over its useful service life without affecting adhesion.

Confusing these two can lead to label failure. When you require cold weather labels, make sure they have a low application temperature adhesive.

2) Understanding Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs)

To understand what makes cold weather labels different, you need to understand how label adhesives work.

Peel-and-stick labels use what we call pressure sensitive adhesives, or PSAs. Adhesion is accomplished by nothing more than rubbing in place with firm pressure.

Standard PSA formulations are designed for adhesion in specified temperature ranges, generally above 50-65°F. This is because PSA’s are viscoelastic; they exhibit the ability to change and return to shape when force is applied to them, but also exhibit a viscosity factor that allows them to flow to a certain degree over time.

It is this viscoelastic property that allows the thin adhesive layer to make ‘intimate’ contact with and fill in the micro-surface irregularities of the substrate. This maximizes the contact area and, therefore, the strength of the bond.

3) Understanding Low vs. Standard Application Temperature PSAs

PSAs are thick enough so as to be able to hold a shape, but they still remain sticky at typically comfortable ambient temperatures. ‘Gummy‘ might be a term that describes their form.

At temperatures lower than a standard PSA is engineered for, it becomes very stiff and resists the ability to flow and take the shape of the surface texture to which it is applied.

We see this property exhibited in thick fluids like honey or heavy petroleum oils, which behave as thinner fluids and flow easily in warm temperatures, but behave as thicker fluids and flow very poorly in cold temperatures. “Slower than molasses in January” comes to mind.

What makes low-temperature adhesives special is that they are engineered to remain soft and flow readily at nearly freezing or even freezing temperatures—some down to 0°F or below. These are often called “freezer-grade adhesives” and are the key component of a reliable cold weather label.

4) Understanding The Limits Of Material Sourcing

Getting your preferred standard label material swapped with a low temperature adhesive isn’t as simple as just asking your decal manufacturer to switch the adhesive.

That’s because the manufacturer who prints your labels doesn’t actually coat the adhesive to the material. Label manufacturers source their materials from specialty label and plastic film ‘converters,’ who coat the adhesive onto the film. These materials often come in large rolls or sheets as pre-configured product offerings. Custom configurations using specialty low temperature adhesives usually require large-quantity and long-term purchase commitments.

The market for cold weather labels is not large—certainly not as large as the market for standard labels. This is especially true of retroreflective traffic sheeting materials, which are almost entirely engineered for use in the traffic sign industry, where these materials are applied by sign manufacturers in controlled, indoor shop conditions.

5) Low application temperature decal materials can be more costly

The specialty market demand usage of label materials with low temperature adhesives makes their manufacturing and stocking less efficient for the material converters that configure them, and therefore their sourcing and stocking by label manufacturers more costly.

This leaves specifiers and buyers with three alternatives:

• Option A: Simplify the process by utilizing a low temperature adhesive in all applications, regardless of temperature relative to the season of application. This, however, can result in limited options, performance compromises, and higher expenditure where decals don’t require the low temperature adhesive.
• Option B: Specify and stock different materials for normal and low-temp use. This, however, can add complexity to inventory and directed use.
• Option C: Specify and use standard temperature materials and refrain from applying in cold weather. This minimizes cost and widens available material choices, but it limits operational flexibility.

Choose Electromark’s Cold Weather Labels

Electromark understands the challenge of applying labels in cold weather. We have standard offerings designed to solve this problem:

• A non-reflective vinyl label material with a freezer-grade adhesive that can be applied in temperatures down to -20°F.
• A retroreflective high-intensity material that can be applied in temperatures down to 14°F.

We also source materials outside of our standard offering and can research and offer custom cold weather label alternatives.