Water-Based Acrylic Label Adhesives
A label adhesive is specified by the surface it ends up on, the temperature at which it is applied, and what has to happen at the end of the label's life. Those three decide more than the chemistry name does — and they are what a peel figure on a steel panel does not tell you.
An application we assess on request. Share your substrates, process and target requirements and we will confirm suitability, available documentation and sourcing feasibility — no stock grade is listed yet.
Discuss Your Application
Three Label Jobs, Bought Differently
"Label adhesive" covers three requirements that fail in different ways. Find yours, then send the conditions listed with it — those are what make a trial mean something.
Permanent labels
- What it must do
- Build adhesion over the first hours and keep it for the life of the pack, on the surface it is actually applied to.
- What decides it
- The final surface and its energy — glass and PET behave differently from HDPE and PP — plus the curvature, the surface condition at labelling and how soon the pack is handled or chilled.
- How it usually fails
- Edges lift on a curved container, or the label holds on the test panel and flags on the real bottle.
- Send us
- Face stock, container material and diameter, surface condition when labelled, what the pack goes through next.
Removable labels
- What it must do
- Come away cleanly after a stated time, from a stated surface, without residue or paint lift.
- What decides it
- Dwell time before removal, temperature and UV in between, and the surface itself. Removability is a formulation property, not a thin coat of a permanent adhesive.
- How it usually fails
- Peel force climbs with time or heat, so a label that lifted cleanly in week one tears or leaves residue in month six.
- Send us
- How long the label stays on, the surface, indoor or outdoor exposure, and what counts as clean removal for your customer.
Chilled and frozen packs
- What it must do
- Wet the surface at the temperature it is applied at, then hold at the temperature it lives at — two separate requirements.
- What decides it
- Whether the container is warm or already chilled when labelled, whether there is condensation or frost on it, and whether the pack cycles in and out of the freezer.
- How it usually fails
- The label is applied to a cold, damp bottle, never bonds properly, and lifts in the case.
- Send us
- Temperature at labelling, storage temperature, whether the container is wet or frosted, and whether packs are removed and returned to the cold store.
Three Temperatures, Not One
| Which temperature | What it governs | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Application temperature | Whether the adhesive can wet the surface at the moment of labelling | Labelling a container straight out of the chiller with a room-temperature grade |
| Service temperature | How cold or hot the labelled pack can get afterwards | Read as if it were the application temperature |
| Surface condition at labelling | Whether anything is between the adhesive and the container | Condensation or frost, which the datasheet cannot see |
Test the combination rather than the parts: apply at your labelling temperature, onto the container in the state it is really in, then store at service temperature through the chill and thaw cycles the pack actually sees.
Comparing Figures Between Suppliers
Tack, peel and shear are each measured by several published methods that do not give interchangeable numbers, and each is stated at a coat weight and dwell time. Our acrylic adhesives page sets out which method measures what, including the difference between FINAT FTM 1 at 180° and FTM 2 at 90°. Before comparing two quotations, check that the method, test surface, dwell time and coat weight match — otherwise the larger number is just the easier test.
What to Tell Us
| Parameter | Why it matters | What to tell us |
|---|---|---|
| Face stock | Paper, film and their coatings change how the adhesive anchors and how the label conforms. | Material, thickness, coating or topcoat |
| Liner and release | Release level has to suit the die-cutting and dispensing speed, or labels tear or fail to strip. | Liner type and dispensing speed |
| The final surface | This is what the adhesive has to hold, and it is rarely the panel a datasheet quotes. | Exact material, finish and curvature |
| Application temperature | The lowest temperature at which the adhesive still wets the surface. | Temperature of the container at labelling |
| Service temperature | A separate limit from application temperature, and usually wider. | Storage and distribution range |
| Surface condition | Condensation, frost, dust or release agents defeat an otherwise suitable adhesive. | Wet, dry, frosted, dusty |
| Coating method and dry coat weight | Tack, peel and shear are all stated at a coat weight; changing it changes them. | Coater type, target dry coat weight, line speed, oven |
| Removal requirement | Permanent, removable or wash-off are different formulations, not settings. | What must happen at end of life |
Applying paper labels with glue on a bottling line is a different purchase — see wet-glue labelling. For film that protects a surface and then comes off, see protective film adhesives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a label that passes on a steel panel fail on an HDPE bottle?
Is the minimum service temperature the same as the minimum application temperature?
Can I just use less permanent adhesive to make it removable?
What does condensation do to a label?
Do you supply label adhesive?
Sources
- BASF, Label adhesives
- BASF, Acronal 3760 — acrylic dispersion for removable labels
- H.B. Fuller, Which adhesive is best suited for my container labeling needs?
- Dow, Acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives
These references describe the technology in general. Performance figures from other manufacturers apply to their products, not to PACT grades, and a citation does not imply endorsement. Content reviewed September 16, 2026.
Before you commit to a label adhesive
- Check which method produced the peel figure
FINAT, PSTC and ASTM methods are not interchangeable, and each value carries a coat weight and dwell time.
- Protective film, where removal is the requirement
The neighbouring job: peel force that builds with time, heat and UV.
- Wet-glue labelling is a different purchase
Glue applied at the labeller on cold, wet glass — not label stock.
- Cold-chain labels in the selection guide
Candidates, what rules each out, and the test that settles it.
- Read tack, peel and shear properly
Three figures that pull against each other, each meaningless without its conditions.
- Where labelling sits among packaging processes
Which packaging jobs we supply, assess on request or do not carry.
- Check the VOC limit for your destination market
Which instrument actually governs adhesives in the US, EU and China — and which ones are wrongly cited.
- Send a specification and get a quote
Substrate, volume and destination market are enough for us to price it.
Share Your Materials and Process
Share the materials you need to bond or coat, your application process and any target specification. We will review the request and confirm sourcing feasibility, available documentation and next steps.
