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Second Edition
Developments in
Pressure-Sensitive
Products
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Second Edition
Developments in
Pressure-Sensitive
Products
Edited by
István Benedek
Boca Raton London New York
A CRC title, part of the Taylor & Francis imprint, a member of the
Taylor & Francis Group, the academic division of T&F Informa plc.

Published in 2006 by
CRC Press
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Developments in pressure-sensitive products / edited by Istvan Benedek.-- 2nd ed.

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Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57444-542-1
1. Pressure-sensitive adhesives. 2. Adhesives. I. Benedek, Istvan, 1941-
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Preface to the Second Edition
Over the short time since the first edition of this book, advances in macromolecular science
and engineering have led to new pressure-sensitive products and applications by using multiple
ways to design them. Practice has confirmed that my attempt to integrate the various pressure-sen-
sitive products — that may differ in their manufacturing technology, but not in their use — in a sole
category of self-adhesives was correct and necessary. Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs)
represent only a part of the science and technology of pressure-sensitives. The whole domain
includes them as well as other engineering solutions. There are few books addressing pressure-
sensitive adhesives and this one is unique in discussing the competitive technologies also.
This is the first comprehensive book bridging the gap between the fundamental concepts of
pressure sensitivity and its application. As stated in the previous edition, this is the first attempt
to examine comparatively the various products with or without adhesive that have pressure-
sensitive behavior during their application. Therefore, this book simultaneously addresses the
pressure-sensitive adhesives, the products based on pressure-sensitive adhesives, and the
adhesiveless products which work like pressure-sensitive adhesives (due to their various chemical
or physical characteristics). The scope of this investigation is to establish their end-use parameters
that must be generally valid. Although the competition in application practice of adhesive- and
plastics-based pressure-sensitive products is a reality, because of their composite structure, their
mechanism of functioning can vary. Therefore, a strong emphasis is placed on establishing a
clear understanding of the complex interaction between the fundamentals of pressure-sensitive
adhesion and the manufacture and application technology of self-adhesive products.
Economic considerations forced the development of pressure-sensitive products without
adhesives. These products have a growing industrial application especially in the packaging
industry and are based on self-adhesive polymer films which replace adhesive-based products
for several applications where removability is required. Unlike classical pressure-sensitive
adhesives that are viscoelastomers, such products are based on plastomers. They are developed
from common plastics and have special macromolecular characteristics. On the other hand,
certain classic plastomers without self-adhesivity can be transformed into pressure-sensitive
adhesives using simultaneous plasticizing and crosslinking. The classic approach to manufacture
pressure-sensitive adhesives uses hydrophobic elastomers that are tackified (and crosslinked).
The new technology tackifies hydrophilic plastomers. Thus pressure-sensitive hydrogels are
manufactured, which at a first glance, do not confirm the common theory of pressure sensitivity,
but work like pressure-sensitives. Such developments confirm the conviction of the author about
the necessity and opportunity of a global examination and explanation of pressure-sensitive products.
Pressure-sensitive adhesives were described in the previous works of the author: Pressure-
Sensitive-Adhesives Technology (1997, Dekker), Pressure Sensitive Formulation (2000, VSP)
and Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives and Applications (2004, Dekker). Pressure-sensitive products
were discussed in the first edition of this book: Developments in Pressure-Sensitive Products
(1999, Dekker). Recent advances in both domains (that is, pressure-sensitive adhesives and
pressure-sensitive products) make possible the formulation of general principles concerning
pressure-sensitive behavior. Therefore, in this book a new chapter is included that discusses the
“Molecular Fundamentals of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesion” (see Chapter 4). This is a phenomeno-
logical analysis of the relationship between pressure-sensitive adhesion and the characteristics of
molecular mobility and cohesive strength of PSA polymers. In this way, our work becomes the
first global theoretical approach to pressure-sensitives.

Manufacture- and application-related developments made it necessary to insert a new chapter
describing the features of “Crosslinking of Solvent-Based Acrylics” (see Chapter 6) that constitute
the most important class of special products; this chapter also includes radiation-curing technology.
A special segment of the book is dedicated to application-related formulations. The quite new class
of pressure-sensitive hydrogels and their special high-level end-use is investigated in Chapter 9,
“Molecular Design of Hydrophilic Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives for Medical Applications.”
Although this book is based on its first edition and includes a large amount of the published
and unpublished data arising from the fundamental and application-related research work of the
author, the rapid expansion and diversification of pressure-sensitive products and the development
of macromolecular science and technology imposed a cooperation with scientists and engineers,
specialists in their domains. The author is very grateful for their precious contribution.
István Benedek

Preface to the First Edition
Over the last two decades, the manufacture and application fields of pressure-sensitive products
have developed from a largely empirical body of accumulated practical knowledge, to an
increasingly sophisticated science, utilizing the most advanced techniques of physics, chemistry,
and engineering. Pressure-sensitive labels, tapes, protective films, seals, business forms, etc., are
used in medicine, pharmaceutical applications, electronic circuits, assembly of machine parts, as
well as in product promotion, coding, and packaging.
Due to the wide utility and consumer acceptance of these products, a high level of basic
research and product development has evolved over the last few years and is continuing to
grow. Pressure sensitivity, the main performance characteristic of these various products, possesses
a common scientific basis in macromolecular chemistry and physics. The ways and means,
however, to achieve it differ, and include the technology of adhesives and plastics as well. In
the final use, no one asks about the construction of the product whether it is pressure-sensitive,
or with or without adhesive. The technical solution should work. This book is an attempt to
integrate the different technologies to give the same result, a pressure-sensitive product.
This is a book about pressure-sensitive products. This work is intended as a companion volume
to the book I wrote earlier with L.J. Heymans, Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives Technology
(Dekker, 1997). My main aim in writing this work was to bridge the gap between theory and
practice, between engineering of plastics, the technology of adhesives, and the conversion and
integration of the practical aspects including the engineering fundamentals. This work is a guide
to the entire field of pressure-sensitive products, with or without adhesives, and discusses the engin-
eering steps (of paper, plastics, adhesives, and other materials) required for their manufacture.
This monograph covers a broad spectrum of knowledge, and is designed for production and
manufacturing managers, production engineers, material scientists, chemists, new product
specialists, and other technologists involved in the efficient producing or use of pressure-sensitive
products and in new process and product developments. I discuss the whole complex of buildup,
manufacture, testing, and application of pressure-sensitive products. The focus of the description
of the technology is on specific examples of application rather on theory. The basic principles of
this technical domain, however, are always presented, and the book summarizes our present
understanding of the construction and functioning of pressure-sensitive products.
It is not the aim of this book to give a detailed discussion of the science of adhesives or plastics,
nor does it constitute a practical vade mecum. It is an attempt to integrate technical domains which
are belonging together, as an aid for those involved in the understanding, design, and use of
pressure-sensitive products.
István Benedek

Contributors
István Benedek
Pressure Sensitive Consulting
Wuppertal, Germany
Gary W. Cleary
Corium International
Redwood City, California
USA
Zbigniew Czech
Szczecin University of Technology
Polymer Institute
Poland
Mikhail M. Feldstein
Topchiev Institute for
Petrochemical Synthesis
Moscow, Russia
Nicolai A. Platé
Topchiev Institute for
Petrochemical Synthesis
Moscow, Russia

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
István Benedek
Chapter 2 Buildup and Classification of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

István Benedek
Chapter 3 Physical Basis of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

István Benedek
Chapter 4 Molecular Fundamentals of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Mikhail M. Feldstein
Chapter 5 Chemical Basis of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

István Benedek
Chapter 6 Developments in Crosslinking of Solvent-Based Acrylics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Zbigniew Czech
Chapter 7 Adhesive Properties of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

István Benedek
Chapter 8 Manufacture of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

István Benedek
Chapter 9 Molecular Design of Hydrophilic Pressure-Sensitive

Adhesives for Medical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Mikhail M. Feldstein, Nicolai A. Platé, and Gary W. Cleary
Chapter 10 Converting Properties of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

István Benedek
Chapter 11 End-Uses of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

István Benedek
Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Abbreviations and Acronyms
I. COMPOUNDS
AA acrylic acid
AB a-allyl benzoin
ABP 4-acryloiloxy benzophenone
ABS acrylonitrile – butadiene – styrene copolymer
AC acrylic
ACDB 4-acrylamidocabonyldioxy benzophenone
AlAcAc aluminium(III) acetylacetonate
AN acrylnitrile
APAO amorphous polyalphaolefine
APO amorphous polyolefin
APP atactic polypropylene
B butadiene
BA benzoin acrylate
BBBF butanediol-1,4-bis-benzophenoxy formiate
BBPF butanediol-1,4-bis-propylene imine formiate
BMN-s-T 2,4-bis-trichloromethyl-6[1-(4-methoxynaphtyl)-s-triazine
BMP-s-T 2,4-bis-trichloromethyl-6(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-s-triazine
BN-s-T 2,4-bis-trichloromethyl-6(1-naphtyl)-s-triazine
BOPP biaxially oriented polypropylene
BPAA N,N0 -bis-propylene adipic acid amide
BPAD N,N0 -bis-propylene phenyl phosphonic acid diamide
BPFA N,N0 -bis-propyleneoctafluoro adipic acid amide
BPIA N,N0 -bis-propylene isophtalic acid amide
BPO benzoyl peroxide
BR butyl rubber
i-BT tetraisobutyl titanate
n-BT tetranormalbutyl titanate
BuAc butyl acrylate
BVCN 4-benzophenyl vinyl carbonate
CIPCB 4-chloro-40 -propylene imine carbonyl benzophenone
CoACA cobalt(II) acetylacetonate
CrACA chromium(III) acetylacetonate
CSBR carboxylated butadiene rubber
Cymel 1123 highly alkylated benzoguanamine resin
Cymel 1170 highly n-butylated glycoluril resin
Cymel 303 highly methylated melamine resin
Cymel 370 partially methylated melamine resin
DBP dibutyl phtalate
Desmodur TT uretdione of 2,4-diisocyanate toluene
DMAEMA dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate
DMPA 5-dimethyl maleininimidyl-N,N0 -bis-propylene isophtalic acid amide
Dynomin partially n-butylated urea resin
UB-24-BX
597
598 Developments in Pressure-Sensitive Products
EAA ethylene-acrylic acid

EBA ethylene-butyl acrylate
EHA ethylhexyl acrylate
2-EHT tetra-2-ethylhexyl titanate
EMAA ethylene-maleic anhydride
EPDM ethylene – propylene –diene multipolymer
EPR ethylene propylene rubber
EPVC emulsion PVC
ET tetraethyl titanate
EVAc ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer
FeAcAc iron(III) acetylacetonate
HDPE high density polyethylene
HIPS high impact polystyrene
HMDI hexamethylene diisocyanate
HMHDPE high molecular weight high density polyethylene
I Isolene (plasticizer)
IBMA N-(isobutoxymethylene)acrylamide
IPDI isophorone diisocyanate
IPPU isophorone dipropylene urea
KT tetracresol titanate
LDPE low-density polyethylene
LLDPE linear low-density polyethylene
Lupranate 4,40 -diisocyanatediphenyl methane
A270
MAA methacrylic acid
MAGME methyl acrylamidoglycolate methyl ether
MDI methylene diisocyanate
MDPE medium-density polyethylene
MeP methyl pentene
MMA methyl methacrylate
MnAcAc manganese(III) acetylacetonate
MOST 2,4-bis-(trichloromethyl)-6-p-methoxystyryl-s-triazine
Neocryl tris-methylolpropane-tris-N-methylaziridinyl) propionate
CX-100
NiAcAc nickel(II) acetylacetonate
NMA N-methylol acrylamide
NR natural rubber
NRL natural rubber latex
NVP N-vinylpyrrolidone
OPP oriented polypropylene
OPS oriented polystyrene
PA polyamide
PAC phenyl-(1-acryloyloxy)-cyclohexyl ketone
PB polybutylene
PC polycarbonate
PCA 4-propylene imine carbonyl benzophenone
PCF 2-propylene imine carbonyl-9-fluorenone
PE polyethylene
PEG poly(ethylene glycol)
PET polyethylene terephtalate

Abbreviations and Acronyms 599
PIB polyisobutylene
PP polypropylene
PS polystyrene or pressure-sensitive
i-PT tetraisopropyl titanate
n-PT tetranormalpropyl titanate
PUR polyurethane
PVA polyvinyl alcohol
PVC polyvinyl chloride
PVE polyvinyl ether
PVP polyvinyl pyrrolidone
R Regalite (tackifier) or gas constant
SAN styrene – acrylnitrile
SBC styrene block copolymers
SBR styrene – butadiene – rubber
SBS styrene – butadiene – styrene
SEP styrene – ethylene– propylene
SIS styrene – isoprene – styrene
SPVC suspension PVC
T tackifier or temperature
TBPO tris-benzophenyloxy phosphine oxide
TEC triethyl citrate
TiAcAc titanium(IV) acetylacetonate (TiACA-75)
TMDI isomeric mixture (1:1) of 2,2,4- and 3,4,4-trimethyl-1,6-hexamethylene
diisocyanate
TPAT 2,4,6-tris-propylene propionic acid amide)-1,3,5-triazine
TPU thermoplastic polyurethane
VAc vinyl acetate
p-VB p-vinyl benzophenone
VC vinyl chloride
VLDPE very low-density polyethylene
VP vinyl pyrrolidone
VTAS vinyltrimethylaziridinyl silane
XeF xenone fluoride
XL-353 2,4-bis-trichlorometly-6(4-methoxy-phenyl)-s-triazine
XR 5551 polycarbodiimide, Permutex XR-5551
XR 5580 polycarbodiimide, Permutex XR-5589
ZLI 3331 2-hydroxy-1-[4-(2-acryloyloxyethoxy)phenyl]-2-methyl-1-propanone
ZnAcAc zinc(II) acetylacetonate
ZrAcAc zirconium(IV) acetylacetonate
II. TERMS
A area or a constant
aT temperature-dependent shift factor
A0 reference area
AFERA Association des Fabricants Européens de Rubans Autoadhesifs
ASTM American Society for the Testing of Materials
B constant
BGA Bundes Gesundheitsamt
BWB German military procurement office

BWB-TL German military norm

BUR blow up ratio
C constant or cuttability or cohesion
Cw coating weight
CC carbon– carbon
cf cohesive failure
CI cuttability index
CD cross-direction
CH carbon-hydrogen
CLC carcass-like crosslinker
COF coefficient of friction
DDI dart drop impact
DIN German standard
DMA Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
DPI dots per inch
DSC Differential Scanning Calorimetry
E modulus
EB electron beam
EDP electronic data processing
EN European norms
EPSMA European Pressure Sensitive Manufacturers Association
eV electron volt
EV viscosity test method
FDA food and drug administration
FFP film forming polymer
FINAT Federation Internationale des Fabricants Transformateurs d’Adhésifs et
Thermocollants sur Papier et Autres Supports
FTIR Fourier-transformed Infrared Spectroscopy
FTM FINAT Test Method
G0 storage modulus
G00 loss modulus
GID gear-in-die
HC hydrocarbon
HD high density
HI high impact
HM hot-melt
HMA hot-melt adhesive
HMPSA hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesive
HS hot shear
HSG hot shear gradient
IPN inter-penetrating network
IR infrared
ISO International Standards Organization
kp kilopond
LLC ladder-like crosslinker
LT loop tack
MD machine direction
MFI melt flow index
MFT minimum film forming temperature
Mn number average molecular weight
MP melting point

Abbreviations and Acronyms 601
mPa sec milliPascal second

MPR melt-processed rubber
MW molecular weight
Mw weight average molecular weight
MWD molecular weight distribution
NMR nuclear magnetic resonance
P pressure or plasticizer
PALS Positron Annihilation Life-Time Spectroscopy
PEG poly(ethylene glycol)
PEGDA poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate
PEGMMA poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate
PN plasticity number (Williams)
Ppt parts per thousand
PS pressure-sensitive or polystyrene
PSA pressure-sensitive adhesive
PSP pressure-sensitive product
PSTC Pressure-Sensitive Tape Council
Pts parts
PTS Papiertechnische Stiftung
Q heat
R universal gas constant
RB rolling ball
RBT rolling ball tack
R&B ring and ball softening point
RCT rolling cylinder tack
RF radiofrequency
RH relative humidity
RR rubber–resin
RT room temperature
RVT known Brookfield viscosity method
SAF self-adhesive film
SAFT shear adhesion failure temperature
SB solvent-based
SF solvent-free
SH shear
SL solventless
SP softening point
T temperature or tackifier
Tg glass transition temperature
TD transverse direction
TLMI Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute
TMA thermomechanical analysis
TPE thermoplastic elastomer
UV ultraviolet
VIP variable image printing
W work
Wa work of adhesion
WB water-based
WBA wet bonding adhesion
WLF William – Landel –Ferry
ZN Ziegler – Natta

Introduction
1 István Benedek
Pressure-sensitive tapes were first used about 150 yr ago. Pressure-sensitive labels came to the
market 90 yr later. About 10 yr after that pressure-sensitive protective films were manufactured.
Pressure-sensitive products (PSPs) such as pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coated web have
been defined by the special nature of this adhesive although the definition of PSA is not completely
clear. The German technical term Haftkleber (i.e., adhesive which adheres) supposes that it is
possible to differentiate between adhesion and building up of an adhesive bond. In English the
term pressure-sensitive adhesives (i.e., adhesives that bond when pressure is applied) admits
pressure as an indispensable condition for their function. In reality, as known from loop tack
measurements and touch blow labeling, almost no pressure is required for label application but
high pressures are needed for protective films in coil coating. Autocollants, the French name
does not define the application conditions. It refers only to the bonding behavior. The common
characteristic of these products is ensured by their special viscoelastic behavior, manifested as
permanent cold flow, where the chemistry of the adhesive plays only a secondary role [1]. The
development of PSPs without a coated PSA layer (in the classical sense known from the converting
industry) makes the definition of this product group more difficult. Adhesive-free PSPs have been
developed some decades ago. In this case adhesive-free means that the self-adhesive component is
not coated on the product surface. It is included in the carrier, that is, the carrier per se is pressure
sensitive. In some cases, an adhesive-free composition is used and pressure sensitivity is provided
by physical treatment of the carrier surface or application conditions (temperature, pressure).
According to the definition given in Ref. [2], PSAs are adhesives “which in dry form are aggres-
sively and permanently tacky at room temperature . . . and adhere without the need of more than
finger or hand pressure, require no activation by water, solvent, or heat.”
Most PSPs do not meet these requirements. However, they manifest self-adhesivity and, under
well-defined conditions, can be applied like a PSA-coated classical PSP, that is, like an adhesive
acting via viscous flow and debonding like a viscoelastic compound. Such behavior is achieved
by a complex buildup and reciprocal interaction of the product components and in some cases
by special application or deapplication conditions. Obviously, a physically treated hot laminating
plastomer film applied under pressure or a warm laminating film based on a partially viscoelastic
olefin copolymer and applied under pressure cannot have the same chemical basis as a PSA-coated
product or a plastic-carrier material that includes PSA. As mentioned, their application conditions
are quite different also. However, all these products work as viscoelastic bonding elements and are
used in application domains of classical, PSA-coated products. Therefore, they can be considered as
PSPs. Plastic processing specialists possess the know-how of the manufacture of plastic-based
PSPs. Specialists in converting/coating are skilled in the design and testing of PSPs. They
control the market also. Therefore, from an economic point of view, both domains belong together.
PSAs have been used for about a century for medical tapes and dressing. Natural adhesives
mixed with natural resins, waxes, and fillers were applied as the first PSPs in the form of
medical plasters [3]. In 1845, Horace H. Day prepared and patented a plaster composed of a
mixture of natural rubber and tackifier resin coated on a cloth [4]. According to Refs. [5,6], the
first tape patented by Paul Beiersdorf was a zinc oxide/rubber-based plaster. At the end of the
1
19th century, masking tapes and cellophane tapes were the early nonmedical PSPs. For such pro-
ducts, natural rubber was preferred as the raw material. In this period of time, PSAs were used for
plasters, labels, and tapes [7]. Industrial tapes were introduced in the market in the 1920s and 1930s
and self-adhesive labels in 1935– 36 [8,9]. In the 1930s, Stanton Avery developed Kum-Kleen
labels [10]. In 1955, the firm Sassions of York was licensed by Avery to produce PSA labels in
Europe [11].
Tapes are self-adhesive, self-wound web-like materials used (mainly) as a continuous web.
Generally, tapes are produced by coating of a nonadhesive web with PSA, but some tapes have
a self-adhesive carrier material. The pressure-sensitive layer is protected by the back side of the
carrier material. The permanent web-like character of tapes allows the use of higher forces in
their application. The lower converting degree of common tapes permits their design mainly for
their adhesive properties. In this case, the adhesive performances need not be balanced. Therefore,
theoretically, tapes may also be formulated as PSA-free products.
Labels are self-adhesive, laminated carrier materials. Generally, they possess continuous web-
like character only during their manufacture. Labels can also be produced as separate items. Quite
unlike tapes, labels are used as discrete objects with a well-defined geometry. Because of their
adhesive- and surface characteristics, the self-adhesive layer of labels must be protected with a sup-
plemental solid-state abhesive material (release liner). The first release material was wax, as used
by Stanton Avery [12]. Silicone release coatings have been in the market since the mid-1950s
[13,14]. Labels preserve their laminate character until their application. Because of their discon-
tinuous character, limited contact surface, high application speed, and low application pressure,
labels have to exhibit well-balanced adhesive characteristics. Therefore, most of them are manufac-
tured in the classical way, by coating a nonadhesive carrier material (face stock) with a PSA.
Protective films are removable, self-adhesive webs based on a carrier material that possesses
built-in or built-on self-adhesive properties. The role of protective films is to protect a product
by adhering to it, covering its surface with a mechanically resistant supplemental layer. This is a
time-limited function, that is, the bond should be removable, allowing the protective sheet to be
separated from the protected surface. Protective films are packaging materials, not so much in a
legislative sense as in a functional one. Unlike classical packaging materials, where functionality
concerns protection of the product during transport and storage and aesthetic, marketing-related
design characteristics are determinant, protective films are technological components of a
product, attached in many cases to the raw product, and passing through the entire manufacturing
process up to the finished product, that is, undergoing the working steps of fabrication. Such pro-
ducts are applied by lamination/delamination of large surfaces. Therefore, the resultant bonding/
debonding forces are much higher than those applied for labels or tapes. In contrast, protective films
have to be removable. Therefore, the instantaneous adhesive performance of protective films plays
only a secondary role. It is evident that in this case adhesive-free constructions may be equivalent to
PSA coated products.
The development of different product classes has been conditioned by the development of the
raw materials and of the coating and application technology. Pressure-sensitive labels, stickers, and
other products have seen considerable development over the years with the appearance of new
materials and combinations of materials, as well as new processing technologies. By the end of
the 1920s, acrylics (ACs) had been synthesized. Acrylics possess adequate die-cutting properties
and do not manifest migration (they contain no low molecular products). Their introduction
made possible the development of label manufacture. Acrylics display resistance to aging and plas-
ticizers, which allowed their use on transparent carrier materials. Tapes and protective films on
polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyolefin carriers have been produced. Envelopes, wall covering,
forms etc. have been manufactured. The nonirritating behavior of acrylics permits their use for
medical tapes. Fixing, transfer, carpet, or electrical insulating tapes are also made with acrylics.
The development of thermoplastic elastomers allowed the use of less expensive coating equip-
ment via hot-melts. Styrene –olefin block copolymers have been developed in 1965 [15].

Introduction 3
Hydrocarbon-based resins have been introduced as tackifier around 1935 [16]. Polyvinyl acetate
emulsions have been produced since 1940 [17]. Vinyl acetate copolymer dispersions together with
water-based acrylics allowed the development of water-based technology. In 1960, ethylene –
vinyl acetate copolymers were introduced in the market. The first class of raw materials versatile
enough to be used as hot-melt, nonadhesive, and adhesive carriers appeared. Owing to this
development, new ways were opened to manufacture products having pressure-sensitive properties
without coating and without PSAs. Some years before, the plasticizing technology of PVC had
made possible the manufacture of plastomers, elastomers, and adhesives on the basis of the
same raw material. Parallel advances were made in the field of plastomers and elastomers. The
development of cling films, tackified carrier films, sheet-like laminating adhesives, etc. confirmed
the possibility of manufacturing self-adhesive products without PSA. The nonPSA-related PSP
technology gained an important market segment (especially in the field of protective films and
tapes). In contrast, the curable prepolymer technology advanced from the experimental to the indus-
trial domain. In this situation, the PSP technology became a complex field of industrial procedures
from the adhesive manufacture (synthesis and formulation) to coating and from the plastomer/
elastomer manufacture to processing. The development of plastomer-based pressure-sensitive
hydrogels opened new ways for the formulation of hydrophilic PSPs [18]. Some of the most import-
ant features of PSAs, their chemistry, formulation, coating technology, and test methods are
described in companion volumes of the author [19 – 22]. The goal of this book is to discuss the
PSPs technology as a whole, relating adhesive and adhesiveless manufacture to their common
background, macromolecular science.
REFERENCES
1. I. Benedek, Eur. Adhes. Sealants, (2), 25, 1996.
2. J.H.S. Chang, 0,179,628/Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, EP 1984.
3. J. Andres, Allg. Papier Rundschau, (16), 444, 1986.
4. R. Jordan, Adhäsion, (1/2), 17, 1987.
5. Coating, (11), 46, 1990.
6. Coating, (11), 307, 1990.
7. R. Gutte, Reichold Albert Nachrichten, (4), 26, 1970.
8. P. Foreman and P. Mudge, EVA-Based Waterborne Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives, in Proceedings of
Tech 12, Technical Seminar Proceedings, Itasca, IL, USA, May 3 – 5, 1989, p. 203.
9. M. Fairley, Labels Label. Int., (5/6), 76, 1997.
10. Etiketten-Labels, (3), 8, 1995.
11. Der Siebdruck, (3), 70, 1986.
12. C.M. Brooke, Finat News, (3), 34, 1987.
13. H. Brus, C. Weitemeyer, and J. Jachmann, Finat News, (3), 84, 1987.
14. Adhes. Age, (8), 28, 1986.
15. D.J. St. Clair and J.T. Harlan, Adhes. Age, (12), 39, 1975.
16. D.R. Tucker, Adhäsion, (7), 248, 1971.
17. F.M. Rosenbaum, Adhes. Age, (6), 32, 1972.
18. A.A. Chalykh, A.E. Chalykh, M.B. Novikov, and M.M. Feldstein, J. Adhes., 78, 667, 2002.
19. I. Benedek and L.J. Heymans, Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives Technology, Marcel Dekker, Inc.,
New York, 1997.
20. I. Benedek, Pressure-Sensitive Formulation, VSP, Utrecht, 2000.
21. I. Benedek, Development and Manufacture of Pressure-Sensitive Products, Marcel Dekker, Inc.,
New York, 1999.
22. I. Benedek, Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives and Applications, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 2004.

Buildup and Classification of
2 Pressure-Sensitive Products
István Benedek
CONTENTS
I. Construction of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A. General Buildup of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
B. Particular Buildup of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1. Monoweb Constructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
a. Uncoated Monoweb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
b. Coated Monoweb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
c. Comparison of Uncoated/Coated Monoweb Constructions . . . . . . . . . 18
d. Comparison of Coated Monoweb Constructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2. Multiweb Constructions-Laminates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
C. Components of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1. Carrier Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
a. The Role of the Carrier Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
b. The Carrier as Adhesive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
c. Other Functions of the Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2. Coating Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
a. Adhesive Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
b. Abhesive Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
c. Printing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
II. Classes of PSPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
A. Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1. Buildup and Requirements for Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
a. Face Stock Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
b. Adhesives for Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
c. Release Liner for Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2. Principle of Functioning of Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3. Special Characteristics of Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4. Classes of Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
a. General Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
b. Special Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
B. Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1. Buildup and Requirements for Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
a. Carrier for Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
b. Adhesives for Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
c. Release Liner for Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2. Principle of Functioning of Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3. Special Characteristics of Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5
4.
Classes of Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
a. General Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
b. Special Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
C. Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
1. Buildup and Requirements for Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
a. Carrier for Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
b. Adhesives for Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
c. Release Liner for Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2. Principle of Functioning of Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
a. The Self-Adhesive Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
b. Removability of Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3. Special Characteristics of Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4. Classes of Protective Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
D. Other Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Pressure-sensitive products (PSPs) may have a simple or sophisticated construction, depending

on their end-use. More or less expensive products can be used in the same application field;
therefore, the buildup of PSPs differ according to their product class and special use. For a
better understanding of their function, we first consider the buildup of the PSPs.
I. CONSTRUCTION OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

Generally, PSPs are sheet-like constructions which exhibit self-adhesion. In principle, such pro-
ducts include a component that ensures the required mechanical properties and a component that
provides adhesivity.
A. GENERAL BUILDUP OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

Supposing that, in principle, a pressure-sensitive laminate is built up from a carrier material, an
adhesive, and a release liner, such product may be defined as shown in Figure 2.1. The complex,
CARRIER
ADHESIVE 1
RELEASE LINER
CARRIER 2
ADHESIVE
3
CARRIER
FIGURE 2.1 Buildup of the main PSPs. (1) Label; (2) extruded protective film; (3) tape.

Buildup and Classification of Pressure-Sensitive Products 7
multilayer structure of labels containing separate, solid-state carrier and release components
bonded by an adhesive can be simplified for tapes. Tapes and adhesive-coated protective films
possess only one solid state-carrier component, and it is coated with adhesive. The new generation
of protective films is built up from an (adhesive) carrier without a pressure-sensitive adhesive
(PSA) layer (Figure 2.1).
As can be seen in Figure 2.1, theoretically such protective films are the simplest PSPs, built up
as one-component pressure-sensitive (self-adhesive) carrier material. Tapes have to be more
aggressive; therefore, generally, they need a PSA layer coated on a nonadhesive carrier material.
Labels with balanced adhesive performances and high speed machine application require a separate
release liner. Because of the discontinuous (nonweb-like) character of labels their handling and
automatic application require a continuous, supplemental carrier material, that is, a release liner.
The liner allows the labels to be processed as a continuous web and protects their adhesive
layer. It can be concluded that PSPs, generally, have either a carrier and a PSA layer, or a
pressure-sensitive carrier. Other constructions are known also.
Some PSAs may be used as PSP per se, without a carrier material. In other cases, such as
decalcomania, transferable letters, etc., the PSA layer also plays the role of information carrier.
However, because of its discontinuity and for mechanical resistance it also requires a release liner.
The main characteristics of PSPs are their pressure-sensitive bonding and debonding. Such per-
formances have to be ensured by one of the product components or by the assembly as a whole. In
classical PSA-coated products adhesivity was given by the PSA. As discussed earlier, generally,
application of PSPs requires a solid-state carrier material too. The simplest classical PSP can be
designed as an adhesive coated carrier material. Such product has to adhere on the substrate
surface. Theoretically, the PSA is the bonding component of the PSP; the carrier should only
allow its application.
Depending on its end-use, the nature of the solid-state carrier material and the character of the
bond of a PSP can be quite different. Therefore, supposing the classical construction of a label as
shown in the Figure 2.1, the nature and geometry of both components (solid-state carrier material
and PSA) vary. Because of different manufacturing possibilities the construction of PSPs is more
sophisticated. The particular buildup is a function of required performance and manufacturing
procedure.
For instance, certain tapes have to be primed to ensure good anchorage of the adhesive on the
carrier. For some tapes a release layer should be coated on the back side of the carrier. Such a layer
is not necessary if the material of the carrier exhibits abhesive properties, like certain nonpolar
plastic films. For special tapes a separate release film should be interlaminated (Figure 2.2).
B. PARTICULAR BUILDUP OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

The buildup of labels has been described in a detailed manner in the companion volumes [1,2]. His-
torically, the production of the PSPs started with the manufacture of tapes, that is, with the
production of monowebs coated with PSA. The development of removable PSAs allowed the
manufacture of removable labels, tapes and later the manufacture of large surface PSPs displaying
permanent adhesion during processing of the laminate and removability after. Such products are
protective films. Generally, the adhesive layer of tapes and protective films is protected by self-
laminating (self-winding) only. Such products are manufactured and used as constructions
having only one solid-state carrier material, that is, as monowebs. Labels, tapes, and protective
films are generally designed as products having a continuous solid-state carrier coated with a
continuous adhesive.
Special tapes exist that have an adhesive with a carrier-like character. Such behavior can be
achieved by crosslinking, foaming, filling, or reinforcing the adhesive layer (Figure 2.3). The
adhesive can contain a metallic network to ensure electrical conductivity [3].The adhesive (if
coated on a carrier) can be discontinuous also. Producers are looking to produce their own base

ADHESIVE
CARRIER 1
ADHESIVE
PRIMER
CARRIER 2
ADHESIVE
PRIMER
3
CARRIER
RELEASE LINER
FIGURE 2.2 Buildup of tapes. (1) Adhesive-coated carrier; (2) adhesive-coated primed carrier; (3) adhesive-,
primer-, and release-coated carrier.
FIGURE 2.3 Carrier-less pressure-sensitive constructions. (1) Crosslinked adhesive; (2) foamed and
crosslinked adhesive; (3) filled and crosslinked adhesive; (4) reinforced adhesive.

label stock or special stripe-, patch- or spot-coated adhesive construction and liner-less labels,
labels having adhesive-free zones, form and text combinations [4]. Figure 2.4 presents the main
pressure-sensitive constructions.
1. Monoweb Constructions
Classical monoweb constructions (tapes, protective films, etc.) possess a PSA adhesive layer coated
on a nonadhesive carrier material. As discussed later (see Chapter 8), the adhesive layer can be
applied using various coating techniques such as those used in the converting (coating or printing)
industry or in plastics manufacture (extrusion). The development of macromolecular chemistry and
extrusion technology allowed the manufacture of carrier materials with built-in pressure-sensi-
tivity, that is, PSPs constructed like an uncoated monoweb but behaving when applied, like a
coated web (see also Chapter 5).
a. Uncoated Monoweb
PSPs which are built up like an uncoated monoweb are composed of a carrier material only. This
carrier must have a special chemical nature or undergo special physical treatment to allow self-
adhesion under special application conditions (pressure, temperature, and surface treatment).
Generally, such conformable, auto-adhesive monowebs are plastic films (see Chapter 11). Accord-
ing to Djordjevic [5], “films are planar forms of plastics, thick enough to be self-supporting but thin
enough to be flexed, folded, or creased without cracking.” The upper dimensional limit for a film is
difficult to define and is situated between 70 and 150 mm depending on the polymer used as raw
material. Uncoated monowebs used as PSPs can have a homogeneous or heterogeneous structure.
The whole carrier can be auto-adhesive (e.g., ethylene –vinyl acetate (EVAc) copolymers or very
low density polyolefin based films) or it may possess an adhesive layer defined by manufacture
(coextrusion) or by diffusion of a self-adhesive, built-in component (see Figure 2.5).
The manufacture of an uncoated self-supporting adhesive material is a complex procedure. One
possibility is the production of a self-supporting film. It is known that the adhesive bond is the result
of chemical attraction, as well as physical anchorage. Both require contact surface and interpene-
tration, that is, flow. Cold flow depends on chemical basis, products geometry, and application con-
ditions. Unfortunately, mechanically resistant, self-supporting products exhibit only a limited flow
(see Chapter 3, Section II). Owing to its plasticizing ability, polyvinylchloride (PVC) is an ideal
material to achieve self-adhesive performance and to conserve mechanical strength. Decorative
HOMOGENEOUS
↑
ADHESIVE MONOWEB DISCONTINUOUS
↑ ↓ REINFORCING
↑
HETEROGENEOUS
PRESSURE- ↓
SENSITIVE → CONTINUOUS
PRODUCT REINFORCING
HOMOGENEOUS
↓ ↑
CARRIER MONOWEB LAMINATE
↓ ↑
HETEROGENEOUS
↓
BLEND
FIGURE 2.4 The main pressure-sensitive constructions.

FIGURE 2.5 Buildup of self-adhesive PSPs. (1) Homogeneous adhesive carrier; (2) heterogeneous partially
adhesive carrier; (3) heterogeneous adhesive carrier.
decals (e.g., adhesive films based on PVC with a very high plasticizer level) possess a monoweb
construction too. Depending on its formulation and softness, PVC can be used as self-adhesive
medical tape (carrier) or as an adhesive coating [6]. “Hardening” of an adhesive can also lead to
a carrier-like product. Sealing tapes (without carrier) based on tackified butyl rubber, are applied
with an extruder. Sheet-like hot-melts are used for thermal lamination of various web-like
materials. EVAc, and ethylene –propylene copolymers, copolyesters, copolyamides, vinylchloride
copolymers, and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) have been developed for such applications.
Transfer tapes are another class of uncoated and self-supporting monowebs (see Chapter 11).
Such carrier-less tapes are prefabricated glues having more than sufficient dimensional stability
to permit high speed lamination. In actuality, such products are adhesive layers that have a
higher mechanical resistance that allows their transfer during application, but does not allow
their manufacture, storage, and handling (see Chapters 8 and 11). Therefore, before use they
must have a laminate structure. An adhesive material in film form (without surface coating) can
display many advantages during its application. Additional benefits are: cleanliness, controlled,
uniform thickness compared with a liquid system, and positionability. Such carrier-less glues are
also used for nonpressure-sensitive applications also. For instance, a modified heat-curable
epoxy adhesive-based film (25 mm) has been manufactured as a carrier-less adhesive sheet for
printed circuits [7]. In order to achieve better mechanical performances, the adhesive can be
reinforced. As an example, for liquid crystal-based thermometers the (repositionable) acrylic
(AC) adhesive is a 2 mil fiber reinforced free film [8].
Acrylic foam has been developed as a carrier-free adhesive construction for mounting tapes [9].
Such products are transfer tapes. As mentioned earlier, transfer tapes have a temporary solid-state
component that forms the release liner, supporting the adhesive core (Figure 2.6).
The adhesive core may be a continuous, homogenous, or a semicontinuous heterogeneous
adhesive layer. The heterogeneity of the latter may be due to included solid, liquid, or gaseous par-
ticles (holes), that is, the adhesive layer can be a foam also [10]. Such structural adhesives are used
in carrier-free adhesive tapes for bonding dissimilar substrates [11]. Structural tape combines the
properties of classical tapes and those of PSA [12,13]. It should be mentioned that virtually
carrier-less sealing tapes based on butyl rubber have been used in the automotive industry also.
Such “carrier-free” tapes are reinforced with a metallic wire included in the elastomer.
Transfer tapes without carrier can have a core of pure adhesive, or include a reinforcing
material. The reinforcing component can be a continuous web (e.g., a network) or a discontinuous
filler-like material. For instance, thick PSA tapes (0.2 to 1.0 mm) have been prepared by ultraviolet
light (UV)-initiated photopolymerization of acrylics. In this case, the PSA matrix can contain glass
microbubbles [14]. The filled layers can be laminated together with the unfilled layers. Such acrylic
formulations can be polymerized as a thick layer (up to about 60 mils) or the thick layer may be

RELEASE LINER
PSA
FIGURE 2.6 Buildup of a transfer tape.
composed of a plurality of layers, each separately photopolymerized (Figure 2.7). The thickness of
the layer is a main factor, a thicker layer requires a greater degree of exposure. Thick multilayered
PSAs or PSPs are made in this way. If the thick layer is sandwiched between two thinner layers, it
may be considered a carrier, although it has pressure-sensitive properties also. The support or
carrier layer is of 25– 45 mils thick, it conforms well to substrates that are themselves not flat.
The thick layer may include a filler, such as glass microbubbles as disclosed in Ref. [15]. The
thinner layers are about 1– 5 mils thick. Thick, triple-layered adhesive tape can also be manufac-
tured, with fumed silica as filler material in the center layer. The viscoelastic properties of the
layers are regulated using different photoinitiators and crosslinking monomer concentrations. A
plastomer (polyvinyl acetate) can be used as filler for the “carrier” layer too (see Table 2.1).
Such a carrier may be nonadhesive but for certain applications the carrier itself possesses some
pressure-sensitivity.
A carrier-less, self-sustaining pressure-sensitive film can be manufactured by laminating
together an adhesive-based film and a rubber-based film. Such a tape is produced by bonding a
5 mil acrylic adhesive-based film with a 5 mil rubber compounds-based film (application tempera-
ture 1808C) [16]. The adhesive strength of this type of tapes was found to have decreased 10– 45%
after 1 year. The use of EVAc copolymers for carrier-less self-adhesive films (tapes) applied for
bonding roofing insulation and laminating dissimilar materials was proposed by Li [17]. Such for-
mulations contain EVAc – polyolefin blends, rosin, waxes, and antioxidants. They are processed as
PSA 1
PSA 2
PSA 3
PSA 4
FIGURE 2.7 Multilayer pressure-sensitive composite manufactured by photopolymerization.

TABLE 2.1
Fillers for the Pressure-Sensitive Layer
Filler
Product Nature Function Reference
Transfer tape Glass micro-bubbles Mechanical reinforcing [14,15]

Plastomer particles Mechanical reinforcing [15]
Plastic scrim Mechanical reinforcing [153]
Removable tape Expanded polymer particles Stiffening and contact surface reduction [38]
Elastic polymer particles Contact surface reduction [79]
Thermometer label Continuous fibers Mechanical reinforcing [8]

Medical tape Inorganic filler Reinforcing, crosslinking [28]
Crosslinked polysiloxane Reinforcing —
Water Electrical conductivity [81]
Air Porosity [30]
Antimicrobial agent Medical [81]
Ironing labels Plastic powder Sealability [129]
hot-melt and cast as 1– 4 mm films. Soft solid PSA has been prepared from high carbon number
fatty acid metal soaps containing 20 –200% tackifier [18].
In some cases, the self-supporting adhesive layer is really a reinforced one. Such constructions
are called tape prepreg because the fiber-based reinforcing matrix is impregnated with the adhesive.
In such tapes without backing strength can be enhanced with a tissue-like scrim (cellulose or poly-
amide (PA)) included and coextensive with the adhesive layer. Such tapes behave like classic,
adhesive-coated, carrier-based products. Foam-like carrier-less tapes can be considered as a devel-
opment of tape prepregs.
Generally, constructions having porous carrier materials in which the adhesive can penetrate
into the carrier, that is, it can impregnate, can be considered always as partially impregnated, par-
tially carrier-less, and partially adhesiveless tapes. Such PSPs have layers with both carrier and
adhesive characteristics. In reality, transfer tapes with a carrier need the carrier as technological
aid only. During manufacture they are carrier-based; during application they are carrier-less.
Monoweb labels without built-in carrier have also been manufactured [19].
In some cases, the tape is an adhesive monoweb, but behaves before or after use like a
nonadhesive product. Such behavior is due to its superficial crosslinking. According to Meinel
[20], in this way a carrier-less PSP can be obtained (the adhesive layer possesses adequate strength
to permit it to be used without a carrier material), that has better conformability. The product
exhibits both adhesive and adhesion-free surfaces. The tack-free surface is achieved by superficial
crosslinking of the adhesive. This crosslinked portion of the adhesive has greater tensile strength
and less extensibility. In some cases, the polymer can be crosslinked only along the edges of the
adhesive layer. The tack-free edge prevents oozing and dirtiness. The superficially crosslinked
adhesive layer may be stretched to fracture the crosslinked portions, exposing the tacky core in
order to bond it. The surface of the adhesive becomes virtually nontacky under light pressure,
but becomes tacky when the product is pressed against the adherent surface (Figure 2.8).
Such monoweb tapes are mostly special or experimental products. It should be emphasized that
only the production of superficially soft plastic film carrier materials and the development of ther-
moplasts having elastic (rubber-like) and viscoelastic properties allowed the manufacture of non-
coated PSPs.

FIGURE 2.8 Buildup of a virtually adhesive-free tape. (1) Stored tape; (2) applied tape.
b. Coated Monoweb
Coated monowebs are PSPs based on a solid carrier material and an adhesive (Figure 2.9). For most
applications, PSPs must have special adhesive characteristics. As discussed later (see Chapter 5),
because of the broad range of raw materials available for PSAs and the sophisticated adhesive
coating technologies now in use, the adhesive properties of a PSP can be easily regulated by
coating of a solid-state carrier material with a low viscosity PSA. Therefore, special requirements
for aggressive PSPs or removable products can be fulfilled only by coating.
Because of the balanced character of their adhesive performances (see Chapter 7) and their low
pressure, high speed application technology (automatic labelling), it is very difficult to manufacture
labels without a separate release liner, that is, labels with a monoweb structure. However, special
monoweb labels (roll labels) have also been developed. Liner-less labels are supplied as a continu-
ous tape-like monoweb material. A special coating on the top surface of the label prevents blocking
of the adhesive layer [21]. John Waddington in the UK launched monoweb in the 1980s; its appli-
cation equipment is more expensive and its printing is more complex than those of the other types of
label manufacture [22].
ADHESIVE ADHESIVE ADHESIVE

PRIMER
CARRIER
CARRIER CARRIER
PRIMER
RELEASE LINER
RELEASE LINER
INK
1 2 3
FIGURE 2.9 Schematic buildup of a coated monoweb. (1) Adhesive-coated carrier; (2) adhesive- and release-
coated carrier; (3) primed, printed, adhesive- and release-coated carrier.

Tapes were the first PSPs to have a coated monoweb construction. Theoretically, pressure-
sensitive tapes have the same construction as wet adhesive tapes. Wet tapes are not adhesive
before humidification, that is, they do not need an abhesive layer. For PSA tapes based on poly-
meric films, the release is usually the surface of the polymeric film remote from the adhesive,
thus enabling the tape to be conveniently stored in the form of a spirally wound roll. The develop-
ment of such products has been enhanced by the use of PVC polymerized in emulsion (EPVC). The
surface of films based on EPVC is coated with a thin layer of emulsifier. This layer acts as an abhe-
sive substance and allows low resistance unwinding of the rolls. In practice, for pressure-sensitive
tapes with high tack adhesive a coated release layer is required. This is not necessary if the carrier
itself is abhesive, like certain nonpolar plastic films or those containing slip or other abhesive addi-
tives. It is evident that the abhesivity of the carrier depends on the nature and geometry of the
coated adhesive also. As stated by Kuminski and Penn [23], different unwinding behavior is to
be expected for a tape based on a hard acrylic or a soft hot-melt PSA (HMPSA). There is a
trend in the market to provide customers with printed packaging tapes. The text or graphics are
imprinted on the nonadhesive side of the carrier material before the tape is made. The problem
with HMPSA is that a release coating has already been applied to the backing material before it
is imprinted. Such coating is necessary because hot-melts do not release easily from the non-
adhesive side of the carrier material. In some cases, a separate release film (paper) should be inter-
laminated. Double side-coated tapes are products of this type (Figure 2.10).
At the beginning of their introduction in the market, protective films have been tape-like pro-
ducts with a special removable adhesive. Masking tapes are really narrow web, masking (protec-
tive) films. Such products can also be manufactured as coated monoweb (Figure 2.11). The
buildup of special tapes is more complex. Although most tapes are monowebs, laminated and
double-laminated constructions are also manufactured (see in a later chapter). Transfer PSAs (so
called adhesives from the reel) coated temporarily on a siliconized release liner (double-side sili-
conized) can be considered as adhesive-coated monowebs. In this case, their solid-state carrier
material is the release liner. Transfer printing materials like Letraset can be considered carrier-
less or temporary laminates having (after application) a monoweb character. In such cases, the
printing ink includes a pressure-sensitive component and (sometimes) a release component also
(Figure 2.12). It may also contain a vinyl polymer with a high tensile strength. This type of
product is applied under pressure.
The number of coated layers on a monoweb depends on its end-use requirements. For instance,
a laminated PSA tape having good chemical, heat, and water resistance that is to be used for
soldering portions of a printed circuit board is manufactured using a craft paper carrier material
RELEASE LINER
PSA
PRIMER
CARRIER
PRIMER
PSA
RELEASE LINER
FIGURE 2.10 Buildup of a double sided-coated tape.

UNTREATED CARRIER FILM → PLASTIC

↑ SURFACE PROTECTION
WITHOUT
ADHESIVE PLASTIC
↑ SURFACE PROTECTION
↓ ↑
TREATED CARRIER FILM →
↓
METAL
SURFACE PROTECTION
PSP
PLASTIC
SURFACE PROTECTION
↑
↓
WITH → ADHESIVE IN CARRIER → METAL
ADHESIVE ADHESIVE ON CARRIER SURFACE PROTECTION
↓
PROTECTION OF
OTHER MATERIALS
FIGURE 2.11 Buildup and end-use of protective films.
impregnated with latex, treated with a primer or corona discharge, and coated one side with a
rubber-resin adhesive, and on the other side with a polyethylene (PE) film and release [24].
Special coated monowebs can have quite different construction characteristics (Table 2.2).
Continuous or discontinuous carrier materials or adhesive layers having a special geometry and
multilayer composite buildup can be used.
The discontinuity of the carrier and adhesive may serve to fulfill special mass or heat transfer
requirements or to allow regulation of the adhesive performance. Some monoweb tapes include
a partially discontinuous carrier material, a discontinuous adhesive, or both. For instance, a
carrier for tapes for low temperature application has transverse holes [25]. A porous carrier may
also be required [26]. As a carrier for medical tapes, porous PE has been applied in order to
allow the diffusion of humidity and blood [27]. In this case, the adhesive should be porous also.
Air- and moisture-permeable nonwovens (polyester nonwoven, embossed nonwoven, etc.) or air-
permeable tissue are used for medical tapes for prolonged application of a medical device on the
human skin. Such products are developed for pharmaceuticals companies, ostonomy appliances,
PSA
LACQUER
INK
LACQUER
CARRIER
FIGURE 2.12 Buildup of a decalcomania.

TABLE 2.2
Constructive Characteristics of Special PSPs
Product Component
Characteristic Carrier Adhesive Manufacture Method
Porosity Textile, nonwoven

Plastic foam
Perforation
Discontinuous coating
Foaming
Shrinkage
Special geometry Special cross section
Discontinuous web
Profilated coating
Special filler
Special carrier
Multilayer structure Coextrusion
Lamination
Noncompatible blend
Lacquering
Superficial crosslinking
Crosslinking
Noncompatible blend
Multilayer coating
Primer
diagnostic apparatus, surgical grounding pads, transdermal drug delivery systems, and wound care
products. They minimize skin irritation due to their ability to transmit air and moisture through the
adhesive system. The air porosity rate has to meet a given value. A fluid-permeable adhesive useful
for attaching transdermal therapeutic devices to human skin for periods up to 24 h is based on an
acrylic, urethane, or elastomer PSA mixed with a crosslinked polysiloxane. The therapeutic agent
passes through the adhesive into the skin. Uninterrupted liquid flow through the adhesive has to
occur over a prolonged period (6 – 36 h) and at a constant rate [28].
Polyvinyl ether is recommended for medical tapes alone or with polybutylene with titan
dioxide as filler. Such compounds are coated warm (like a transfer mass without solvent) on the
carrier web. Thus a porous adhesive is achieved by cooling [29]. A porous adhesive can also be
manufactured making a latex foam [30]. Tissue tapes are used as temporary holders for the back
section of the seat upholstery [31]. Such carrier materials may include a textile network. In this
case, the fibers carry the forces and the matrix acts to stabilize the filaments and to introduce the
forces into the fiber.
The carrier can have an asymmetric construction (geometry, surface quality, etc.) also. A pat-
terned PSA transfer tape may possess an asymmetric carrier material, which has one surface with a
series of recesses and another that is smooth [32]. In some cases, the cross section of the carrier
differs from a usual parallelpiped. Masking tapes have special carrier constructions to allow
conformability. According to Lipson [33], a masking tape carrier has a stiffened wedge-shaped,
adhesiveless, longitudinal section (the thickest away from the tape centerline) extending from
one edge, with a pleated structure to conform to small radii.
There are various possibilities to reduce contact surface between the adhesive and the substrate.
Figure 2.13 presents the main ways in which an adhesive surface with reduced contact area can
be achieved.

1 2 3
ADHESIVE
CARRIER
4 5 6
FIGURE 2.13 Adhesive surface with reduced contact area. (1) Contoured surface; (2) patterned surface;
(3) filled surface; (4) release patterned surface; (5) partially crosslinked surface; (6) foamed surface;
(7) textile inlay.
Peel resistance and removability can be controlled by regulating the ratio between adhesion
surface and application surface [34] (see also Chapter 7). For a removable product their ratio
should be smaller than one. In order to achieve such conditions the adhesive layer should be dis-
continuous or should also have a virtually discontinuous surface. Pattern or strip coating allows
the use of nonremovable raw materials for removable applications.
Natural rubber (NR) latex as adhesive layer with a profiled surface can be used on paper to give
removable protective web which is adequate for acrylic items [35]. A pressure-sensitive removable
adhesive tape useful for paper products comprises two outer discontinuous layers (based on tack-
ified styrene – isoprene – styrene (SIS) block copolymer) and a discontinuous middle release layer
[36]. The tape can be manufactured with less adhesive than conventional tapes and its top side
can be printed and perforated. Adhesive tapes with a narrower adhesive coated width than that
of the substrate, and one edge with an adhesive-free strip have easy untie property and are
useful for bundling electronic parts, building materials, vegetables, and other commodities [37].
Removable pressure-sensitive tapes containing resilient polymeric microspheres (20 –66%),
hollow thermoplastic expanded polymer (acrylonitrile – vinylidene copolymer) spheres having a
diameter of 10 –125 mm, a density of 0.01 –0.04 g/cm3, and shell thickness of 0.02 mm in an iso-
octyl acrylate – acrylic acid copolymer, have been prepared [38]. The particles are completely sur-
rounded by the adhesive, having a thickness of at least 20 mm. When the adhesive is permanently
bonded to the backing and the exposed surface has an irregular contour, a removable and reposi-
tionable product is obtained, when the PSA forms a continuous matrix, that is strippable bonded
to the backing, having a thickness of more than 1 mm. A foam-like transfer tape or foam tape is
manufactured. The (40 mm) cellulose acetate-based tape could be removed from paper without
being delaminated.
An embossed coating cylinder can coat a PSA in pattern on a paper face stock material. A
discontinuous adhesive layer can be achieved by spraying also. For instance, polyurethane
(PUR) foam alone or with film is used for medical tapes, for fractures. For this product, the adhesive
is sprayed achieving a 25 –75% adhesive-free back-side [39]. The adhesive layer can have a rough
surface also, with channels to enclose air flow between the adherent and the sheet. The surface

roughness of the sheet has a 50 – 1000 mm width and a 10 –1000 mm height of convexes [40].
An adhesive tape may have an adhesive only along the lengthwise edges (to allow easy perforation)
[41]. A removable display poster is manufactured by coating of distinct adhesive and nonadhesive
strips on the carrier [42]. The adhesive strips are situated on the same plane, the plane being
elevated with respect to the product surface. A multilayer adhesive construction can be manufac-
tured also. Here, the PSA coated carrier material functions as a transfer base for a heat-activatable
adhesive. After application of the heat-sensitive adhesive the PSA-coated tape can be peeled
off [43].
c. Comparison of Uncoated/Coated Monoweb Constructions

As a result of the continuous development of the PSAs technology the adhesive coated monoweb
constructions fulfill the most sophisticated end-use requirements. Such products can be used for
almost all PSP classes. Therefore, it was mainly economic considerations that led to the develop-
ment of uncoated self-adhesive PSPs. It is evident, that a coated fluid pressure-sensitive layer
having a thickness of minimum 1.0 –1.5 mm allows better conformability for better contact with
a solid surface than a self-supporting plastomer (or plastomer/viscoelastomer) with a minimum
thickness of 7– 25 mm (see Chapter 3, Section I). The more conformable carrier-less (transfer)
tapes are also manufactured by coating technology. Coating allows the combination of adhesive
and nonadhesive areas on the same surface, this is not possible for extruded PSPs.
In some cases, a coated PSP can have an enclosed adhesive layer also. For certain products, an
adhesive modification of the bulky carrier material is required in order to improve the anchorage
of the adhesive coating, without a supplemental primer coating. In such cases, the improved
self-adhesivity of the top layer requires the use of an adhesive repellent (release) layer also. Biaxi-
ally oriented multilayer polypropylene films for adhesive coating have been manufactured by
mixing the polypropylene (PP) with particular resins to improve their adhesion to the adhesive
coating. To prepare an adhesive tape which can easily be drawn from a roll without requiring an
additional coating on the reverse side, at least two different layers having different compositions
are coextruded with the thin back layer containing an antiadhesive component [44]. In some
cases a primer is necessary for the anchorage of the adhesive (see Chapter 5). Theoretically,
primer thicknesses approaching a single molecular layer are required, but in reality a 0.5 to
1.0 mm layer is coated [45]. According to Ref. [46], tapes are generally 80 mm thick constructions,
with 1– 1.5 mm accounted for the primer. Polymer analogous reactions can be used also to modify
the carrier surface before coating. In certain applications the PSA is coated first on a flexible PUR,
acrylic (AC), or other foam, and then is laminated on the carrier surface. The opposite surface of the
foam may also be provided with a PSA layer. The polyolefin surface of the carrier can be polarized
by graft polymerization using an electron beam (EB) with a higher than 0.05 Mrad dosage level. A
special composite PSA construction is made with the adhesive on the lateral portions of the carrier
only and with a longitudinal split in the carrier [47]. Such sophisticated constructions can be
manufactured using the coating and laminating technology only.
It should be emphasized that generally noncoated monowebs allow lower bond strength than
coated products. Because of the bulk monolayer nature of the adhesive and its limited flow in
such constructions the nature of the adhesive break can be easily controlled.
d. Comparison of Coated Monoweb Constructions

The coated monoweb constructions can have many different application conditions and end-uses.
Within the same class of labels, tapes, or protective films the end-use requirements may also differ.
Therefore, coated monoweb constructions are various also. The main representatives are described
in Chapters 8 and 11.

2. Multiweb Constructions-Laminates
Among the PSPs, multiweb constructions were first introduced as labels and special tapes. Labels,
generally, need a separate release liner. Their face stock and release liner are laminated together by
PSA to form a multiweb construction. Tapes include double-sided products and transfer tapes
which need a separate solid-state release or carrier layer. As seen from the Table 2.3, a multiweb
construction can include multiple solid-state components (face stock and release liner) or multiple
adhesive components. For instance, double-sided mounting tapes may have different adhesives on
each side of the carrier [48] (see Chapters 8 and 11). Masking tapes may also have a special con-
struction in order to allow conformability. According to Djordjevic [5], a masking tape has a
removable release liner. Abrasion-resistant automotive decoration films also have a separate
release liner [49]. Such products are made on PUR or poly(EVAc) – PVC (EVAc/PVC) basis.
The carrier is coated with a PUR primer. Self-adhesive wall covering consists of a layer of
fabric having a visible surface, a barrier paper that has one surface fixed to another fabric layer,
a PSA coated on the barrier paper, and a release paper [50]. The release liner itself may also
have a multilayer construction. Different degrees of release are achieved for a double-sided liner
and a release paper coated on one side with PE and using the same release component.
Multiweb products are not new. They were developed in the packaging materials industry. The
introduction of new face stock materials, especially of film-like face stock materials, required the
improvement of certain carrier characteristics, such as dimensional stability, cuttability, and
temperature resistance. This has been possible partially due to the development of laminated
face stock materials. Such multiweb constructions have been produced by bonding the solid-
state components via adhesive coating or extrusion. Theoretically, such adhesive coated laminates
differ from PSPs with respect to the nature of the adhesive and the character of the adhesive bond.
They are manufactured using a permanent adhesive. Generally, both temporary and permanent
laminates are used in buildup of PSPs. Permanent laminates serve as carrier materials; temporary
laminates as PSPs (Figure 2.14).
Multiweb constructions can include solid state components and adhesives that differ in their
chemical nature and buildup (e.g., paper, plastic films, fabrics, nonwovens, foam etc). For instance,
double-sided coated tapes can have a PSA on one side and a reaction mixture of uncrosslinked PUR
on the other side. A PVC tape applied on a PUR foam reacts with the adherent and adheres to it
chemically [51]. Business forms include permanent and temporary laminates also (see Chapter
11). A thermal tag is produced as a reinforced laminate construction for subsequent conversion
by label producers. Taking an airline luggage as an example, a central plastic layer gives its
strengths, the self-adhesive layer allows wrapping around luggage handles, and the upper layer
is a top coated thermal paper onto which the data are printed as barcode [52].
TABLE 2.3
Multiweb PSPs
Multiweb Status Components
During During
Product Manufacture Application Solid-State Coated
Label Yes No Carrier, release liner Adhesive, primer

overlaminating film release, ink lacquer
Double-sided Yes No Carrier, release liner Multiple adhesive primer
coated tape
Transfer tape Yes No Multiple release liner Adhesive
Form Yes Yes Multiple carrier Multiple adhesive,
multiple liner primer, multiple release

OVERLAMINATING
FILM
INK
COEX CARRIER
PRIMER
2
1 PSA
RELEASE
COEX LINER
FIGURE 2.14 Laminates used for PSPs. (1) Permanent laminates; (2) temporary laminates.
The PSP laminate manufactured in order to protect the adhesive coated surface of a tape or a
label is a temporary construction. In such a product, the release liner may protect the adhesive or the
solvent incorporated in the adhesive layer also. Another role of the separate release liner is that of a
continuum passing through the coating, converting, and labeling machines carrying the discontinu-
ous label. Decals or labels applied per hand do not need this function. In some cases, such as the
manufacture of transfer tapes, the use of a solid-state component is a technological modality
only to buildup and apply the product. A patent [53] describes the photopolymerization (UV) of
acrylic monomers directly on the carrier to manufacture a tape. This patent uses a temporary
carrier, an endless belt, which does not become incorporated in the final product. The tapes have
PSA on both sides of the carrier. In this case, the laminate is an auxiliary construction built up
in order to allow the construction of the final laminate from the label or tape and the substrate.
Labels and certain tapes are built up during manufacturing and application as temporary laminate
and are used as permanent laminates.
Theoretically, labels are built up by coating a solid-state face stock material with a PSA, and
covering the adhesive surface with an abhesive one. In the praxis transfer coating is common,
that is, the release liner is coated with the adhesive and laminated together with the face stock
material. The result is a temporary sandwich. During conversion, the continuous web-like face
stock material is die-cut, and during labeling the discontinuous face stock material is transferred
from the release liner to the substrate and the temporary laminate is destroyed. In the case of
double-sided coated tapes, first, one of the release liners is taken away, then the other.
Forms are labels that have a multiweb, multilaminate structure, where continuous and
discontinuous carrier materials and PSAs with different adhesive performances are laminated
together, in order to allow a time- and stress-dependent controlled delamination (Figure 2.15).
Their delamination is carried out in several steps during manufacture and application.
Some PSPs are constructed with both types of laminates, temporary and permanent. Security
labels may have a complex buildup. Such labels are used for hangtags, that are printed with
advertising text, product information, and a barcode and include an electronic security element
[54]. Some forms also include both temporary and permanent laminates.
C. COMPONENTS OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

As discussed earlier, during their application PSPs have to be laminated. Therefore, they need a
carrier component. In order to bond they have to display adhesivity; therefore, they contain an adhesive
component also. Theoretically such products possess at least a carrier and an adhesive component.

CARRIER 1
ADHESIVE 2
CARRIER 3
ADHESIVE 4
RELEASE 5
CARRIER 6
FIGURE 2.15 Buildup of a form. (1) Carrier; (2) adhesive; (3) carrier; (4) adhesive; (5) release; (6) carrier.
The technical requirements concerning the components of a pressure-sensitive laminate have

changed in parallel with the development of PSPs. Table 2.4 lists the requirements for the
components of a pressure-sensitive laminate.
It is evident, that in the first period of development of pressure-sensitive labels and tapes the
main quality of the adhesive was its adhesion force, that is, peel resistance. The carrier used for
labels had to allow their conversion of printing and cutting. Therefore, its mechanical properties,
dimensional stability, and surface quality played an important role. For tapes the main requirement
was mechanical resistance. Productivity increase forced the improvement of converting perfor-
mances. Some performance characteristics are needed during processing of the temporary laminate;
others are required after its application. Therefore, the components of the PSPs play a special role in
their design and manufacture.
1. Carrier Material
Most PSPs are web-like constructions laminated together during their manufacture or application.
Exceptions include some special cases where the adhesive layer itself carries information or plays
TABLE 2.4
Requirements for PSP Components
Technical Requirements
Initial Actual
Laminate
Components Label Tape Label Tape Protective Film
Adhesive Peel level Peel level Peel level, Peel level, Peel level,
substrate peel control, substrate peel substrate
time dependent peel control time removability
control, removability dependent peel
control,
removability
Carrier Printability, Mechanical High quality printability, Printability, Printability,
mechanical resistance mechanical resistance, mechanical mechanical
resistance, dimensional stability resistance, resistance,
dimensional deformability deformability
stability,
die-cuttability
Release Removability Removability Controlled release Release Release

an aesthetic or protective role and the carrier is the laminate component with a packaging and
protection function, that is, the component with special aesthetic and mechanical characteristics.
Generally, the carrier acts as a face stock material or as release liner. In some special cases it
also plays the role of the adhesive. Table 2.5 summarizes the role of the carrier material in PSPs.
a. The Role of the Carrier Material

The carrier should have adequate mechanical characteristics that satisfy the end-use requirements
of the product. In practice, such requirements may vary considerably. Dimensional stability of the
carrier material is required for labels and to some extent for certain tapes (e.g., packaging and
mounting tapes). For other tapes (e.g., masking or wire wound tapes, hygienic products, deep-
drawable protective films), carrier deformability is needed [55]. Tamper evident labels should
display excellent conformability and destructibility (low internal strength) [56]. Except for labels
and some common packaging tapes, application requires regulating the dimensions and dimen-
sional stability of the carrier material (i.e., control of its plasticity, elasticity, elongation, shrinkage
etc.). If dimension stability is required, ideally it should not depend on the product geometry. Low
gauge carrier materials have to display the same characteristics as thick or reinforced products.
Isotropy is another desired property (see Chapter 3, Section II).
Cuttability of the carrier material is required for labels during their manufacture. For tapes it is
needed during their lamination also. For protective films it is necessary after their application in
laminated status (e.g., laser cuttability). For all these products cuttability is also required in the
converting conversion phase of manufacture.
Generally, the carrier plays the role of a face stock material. It is the most important solid-state
part of the product, functioning as a packaging, protecting, and information carrying component.
This is a general role of the carrier material in labels, tapes, and protective films, and there are
only a few web-like PSPs without a solid-state face stock material (e.g., transferable letters,
decalcomania, transfer tapes, etc.) [57].
According to the end-use of the PSPs, quite different performance characteristics are required
for the carrier used as face stock material (i.e., adhesive-coated permanent top layer) or release (see
also Chapter 8). Therefore, the nature of the carrier materials also differs. According to Ref. [58], a
tape carrier can be any reasonably thin, flat, and flexible material. Thus it may be woven, non-
woven, metallic, electrically-resistant, natural or synthetic, tear-resistant or fragile, water-resistant
or water-soluble (see also Chapter 8). For instance, carrier materials used for tamper evident labels
should display low mechanical resistance. Fragile pressure-sensitive materials are either very thin
or have low internal strength [59]. They are coated with a very aggressive PSA. Slits or perforations
improve the tamper evident performances. For such products, the mechanical properties of liner
TABLE 2.5
The Role of the PSP Carrier Material
Product
Function Label Tape Protective Film
Mechanical strength x X x
Protection — x X
Information carrier X x x
Dosage x x x
Adhesion — x X
Note: X, primary function; x, secondary function.

complement the low mechanical properties of the face stock material during manufacture and
application.
The carrier geometry also influences end-use performance. For instance, masking tapes can have
special carrier constructions to allow conformability. A masking tape carrier has a stiffened, wedge
shaped, adhesiveless longitudinal section (the thickest away from the tape centerline) extending
from one edge, with a pleated structure, to conform to small radii. An adhesive carrier material
can be perforated along the centerline of the long direction; it is suitable for tying together
printer paper [40]. The carrier for tapes can be reinforced; a special buildup (folding) of the rein-
forcing fibers ensures extensibility [60]. A study in the early 1990s found that reinforced tapes
made up 4% of European packaging tape production [61]. Fiber reinforced tapes include biaxially
oriented polypropylene (BOPP), release, adhesive, filaments, and a hot-melt adhesive. For a
pressure-sensitive label having a wrinkle-resistant, lustrous, opaque facing layer for application to
collapsible wall containers (squeeze bottles), the carrier has a thermoplastic core layer, with upper
and lower surfaces and voids, a void-free thermoplastic skin layer fixed to the upper surface and
optionally to the lower surface of the core layer, and discrete areas of PSA. As the core layer a
blend of isotactic PP/polybutylene terephtalate, with PP as skin layer, and circular dots of HMPSA
as the adhesive [62]. Woven plastics have been proposed as carrier material for double layered PSA
tape [63]. Paper is suggested as extensible carrier for medical tapes [64]. Polymer impregnated
paper can also be used as the carrier for tapes. For automotive masking tapes, pleated paper is
applied [65]. Woven fiberglass scrim has also been recommended as carrier material for tapes.
The face stock material can repel, absorb or, contain chemicals, such as solid-state water-
absorbent particles. For such application it serves a dosage and storage function. The carrier
materials can also act as protective surfaces. Stain-resistant, nonpaper face materials help with
the staining problem. For temperature-resistant tapes, PE, polyester, and Teflon are suggested.
Modified poly(ethyl methacrylate) can be used as a protective film for various substrates such as
PVC, acrylonitrile – butadiene – styrene and polystyrene (PS), wood, paper or metal [66]. It is
weathering-resistant and UV-absorbent.
It is evident that independently from the special end-use requirements the main surface-related
performance required of a face stock carrier material is anchorage of the adhesive. The role of the
carrier as the basis for adhesive anchorage is illustrated by the data of Haddock [67]. The same
medical adhesive coated on cloth backing gives an average adhesive transfer index of 1.5 in
comparison with a vinyl carrier displaying a value of 3.5.
As discussed earlier, labels need a separate solid-state abhesive component (release liner). In
this case, the abhesive layer is coated on a carrier material. The need for a continuous, solid-
state, separate abhesive laminate component for labels arises from their aggressive adhesivity
and discontinuous character. Such a liner can also act as an information carrier. A large variety
of products, for example, common paper, satinated craft papers, clay coated papers, polymer
coated papers, and plastic films are used as raw materials for liners [68] (see Chapter 8). For
tapes and protective films the backside of the self-adhesive (coated or uncoated) materials can
act as liner. This function may be ensured by a supplemental release coating or by the choice of
an adequate carrier material with low level of adhesivity (e.g., nonpolar polyolefins or EPVC).
The abhesive layer can be coated on the backside of the carrier material, or included in it, generally
as a separate layer. For instance, for a biaxially oriented multilayer PP film used as carrier or liner
for tapes, the second layer of the film which faces the adhesive has a thickness of less than one-third
of the total thickness of the adhesive tape and contains an antiadhesive substance [69]. Another
construction includes the release substance randomly distributed in the carrier material. Abhesive
substances can also be built into the carrier material. For instance, a self-adhesive tape for thermal
insulation used to secure a tight connection between heat exchange members (metal foils) and PUR
foam-based thermal insulation materials, is prepared by applying an adhesive that is able to adhere
to refrigerated surfaces on an olefin copolymer carrier material (containing fatty acid amides or
silicone oils as release agents or lubricants) that is bonded to the PUR [70].

b. The Carrier as Adhesive

The first application domain of adhesive-free laminates was the lamination of packaging films. This
development continued in other areas and led to PSPs without a coated adhesive layer. Hot lami-
nated corona treated common plastic films and special plastic films have been introduced on
the market. These films do not contain special viscous components (tackifiers) or viscoelastic
components (thermoplastic elastomers or low molecular weight (MW) elastomers) and are
applied at a temperature above or near the softening range of the products (see also Chapters 8
and 11). Later plastic films having viscoelastic properties (e.g., very low density polyolefins,
copolymers of ethylene with polar vinyl or acrylic monomers) or containing viscoelastic additives
(e.g., polybutylene copolymers, thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs)) were developed for use at lower
or room temperature [71]. It is evident, that classical plastic films without an adhesive layer cannot
possess the tack of PSA. Plastics can flow, but such flow is a time (stress)- or temperature-related
performance (see high pressure hot laminating in Chapter 11, Section IV). It should be mentioned
that high application pressure, temperature, or special surface treatment alone are not sufficient to
allow hot laminating of plastic films. A special chemical or macromolecular composition that
ensures an improved flow is also required. That means, that really adhesive-free hot laminating pro-
tective films are products with a special carrier film composition.
The need for an “adhesive” carrier film having improved adhesive anchorage became evident
during the development of polyolefin carrier materials. In this case, an adhesive level is required
that ensures the anchorage of the adhesive on the carrier. Monolayer and multilayer PP carrier
materials with imbedded special resins have been developed for this purpose.
c. Other Functions of the Carrier

The carrier can function as a storage or dosage system. Its surface characteristics can be modified by
built-in additives. In some cases, the carrier contains special ingredients for certain purposes. For
instance, cover tapes for bathroom use are made with a bacteriostatic agent (which inhibits bacterial
growth) incorporated in the vinyl formulation [72]. Tackifier resin can be included in the carrier
also. A butadiene –styrene elastomer is mixed with a colophonium-based tackifier and coated
(impregnated) on a paper carrier. This carrier is coated with a PSA on NR. Special paper is required
for direct thermal coating. Common organic type direct thermally printable papers include a colour-
less leuco dye and acidic colour developer [73]. These are coated and held onto the surface of the
paper with a water soluble binder. During printing the two components melt together and react
chemically to form the colour. Inorganic fillers such as calcium carbonate, chalk or clay are
used to limit this image to the heated area. The problem of image stability (protection again chemi-
cals) is solved by applying a topcoat, as a transparent film forming layer. It is also possible to apply
a barrier coat to the underside of the paper to prevent the migration of adhesive or plasticizer from
the opposite side.
2. Coating Components
The classical way to produce PSPs uses coating as the main manufacture step. A carrier material is
coated with a PSA. The manufacturing process may include multiple coating, where different surface
coated layers are built up, that have various (e.g., adhesive, abhesive, machining, aesthetic) functions.
a. Adhesive Components
Generally, pressure-sensitive adhesivity is provided by a PSA component built into the product. In
some special cases, (e.g., protective or decorative films) pressure sensitivity can be a characteristic
of the carrier material or may be the result of special physical treatment and of the application
conditions (pressure and temperature).

In the first stage of PSP development, PSAs were used to impart pressure sensitivity. Therefore,
the adhesive was the most important component of PSPs. Classical self-adhesive products are
pressure-sensitive. Really good PSAs do not need a measurable application pressure. In blow
touch labeling operations, labels fly through the air and land without pressure on the substrate.
This is possible because of their high instantaneous adhesivity called tack (see Chapter 7). Tack
is the result of molecular mobility, and is based on a complex chemical formulation (see
Chapter 8). The PSA can be coated on or built into the bulk carrier material. Coated adhesives
are such components that are deposited on the surface of a carrier material. As discussed later
(Chapter 8), there are various coating methods, depending on the adhesive, the carrier and end-
use requirements. Built-in adhesives are chemical compounds that can be mixed in with the com-
ponents of the carrier material and processed as a homogeneous or heterogeneous (i.e., laminate)
composite. Such adhesives are processed together with the main thermoplastic component of the
carrier material and, therefore, in this case no supplemental adhesive coating is necessary.
A number of raw materials display (alone or in a mixture with viscous components) pressure-
sensitive properties. In the classical recipe, PSAs are (at least) two-component formulations com-
posed of elastic and a viscous component. Later, one-component viscoelastic raw materials were
developed (see Chapter 5). The bonding function of the adhesive is supplemented with other func-
tions. In some cases, the adhesive has to display the role of a porous carrier material too. For
instance, one such adhesive is manufactured from a thermoplastically deformable composition
that is calendered using a release-coated embossed cylinder that perforates the adhesive layer
[25]. Fluid-permeable adhesive is required for transdermal applications; such an adhesive must
not irritate the skin [74]. The irritation caused by the removal of the tape was overcome by includ-
ing certain amine salts in the adhesive [75,76]. The role of the adhesive as storage place for different
end-use components may be various. Postapplication crosslinking is proposed to improve shear.
This is achieved by storing latent crosslinking agents in the adhesive [77]. An antimicrobial
agent such as iodine can be incorporated in the skin adhesive as a complex also [78]. As filler to
reduce the contact surface and decrease buildup, elastic polymer particles having a diameter
of 0.5– 300 mm can be included in the adhesive [79]. To improve their detackifying effect, the
particles may include an ionic low tack monomer [80]. The adhesive used for bioelectrodes
applied to the skin contains water, which affords electrical conductivity. Electrical performances
can be improved by adding electrolytes to the water [81].
The adhesive can also have a multilayer structure. Such structure may serve as a modality to
control creep compliance according to Gobran [82], with a plurality of superimposed adhesive
layers having different gradients of shear creep compliance. Multilayer heterogeneous adhesive
is obtained by UV crosslinking of 100% solid acrylics [83]. The radiation is partially absorbed,
partially transmitted, and partially reflected. The maximum radiation level is experienced at the
top of the adhesive layer, therefore, the crosslinking degree is maximum on this side. Therefore,
direct and transfer coating give different adhesive characteristics. A uniform, isotropic adhesive
layer can be achieved only by using a UV-transparent face stock (backing) and double-sided
irradiation. As discussed earlier, a thick, triple layered adhesive tape (having filler material in
the center layer) can be manufactured by photopolymerization also. This is really a carrier-less
tape that has the same chemical composition for the “carrier” (i.e., self-supporting and adhesive)
middle layer and the outer adhesive layers. The second adhesive layer has the same composition
as the first one [18]. A tape made according to a patent [19] by superficial crosslinking of the
adhesive also has a heterogeneous multilayer adhesive. The formulation of PSAs was described
in detail in Ref. [84].
b. Abhesive Components
Because of the high tack of many PSAs or PSPs, an abhesive layer should be used as a protective or
intermediate component. In the first period of PSA, development paper was used as carrier material.

Because of its texture and polarity most PSAs give a permanent bond with paper. Therefore, it was
necessary to coat the surface of paper with an abhesive coating to buildup a protecting material
(release liner). For labels, the abhesive properties of the liner have to be exactly controlled. For
tapes and protective films, such performances play only a secondary role. In the actual stage of
development the precise regulation of the release force is made possible by use of a separate, abhe-
sive-coated, solid-state laminate component only. This is an expensive and environmentally
inadequate technical solution. In addition, it does not satisfy some special requirements (resistance
to abrasion, lubrication, etc.) for tapes and protective materials.
c. Printing Components
To improve the adhesive performances of the PSA layer or the surface characteristics of the carrier
material, other nonadhesive or abhesive coatings can also be applied. These include primers, print-
ing inks, antistatic agents, and other materials (see Chapter 5).
II. CLASSES OF PSPs

The major product areas in flexible coatings market are plastic coatings, PSPs, coated laminated
film composites, and magnetic media. A general classification of the laminates would be possible
on the basis of their carrier materials: paper, film, and laminates with other carrier materials.
According to Merrettig [85], the most important PSPs based on films are: packaging tapes
(based mainly on “hard” films); office and decorative tapes (based mainly on “hard” films); insula-
tion tapes (based on soft films); corrosion protection tapes (based on “hard” and “soft” films), and
decoration films (on printed “hard” film, laminated on paper).
The most important paper- and textile-based PSPs are [85]: labels; crepe tapes, and textile tapes
(for technical and medical use).
Depending on their bonding characteristics, laminates may be permanent, removable, or wet
removable. PSPs can be divided into classes according to their end-use. Some of these classes
contain well-known products having a broad range of representatives (e.g., labels, tapes, etc.);
others are special or one-of-a-kind products. Because of the continuous expansion of their appli-
cation field, the number of special products is increasing.
Labels and tapes are the main PSPs (Table 2.6). Both have been developed by replacing
classical wet adhesives with PSPs. PSAs have been used since the late 1800s for medical tapes
TABLE 2.6
The Main PSPs
Buildup
Product Monoweb Multiweb Adhesiveless With Adhesive
Label — —
Tape
Protective film
Decalcomania — —
Form — —
Decor film —
Envelope —
Separation film —
Wall covering —
Note: —, not used; , used.

and dressing. Industrial tapes were introduced on the market in the 1920s and 1930s, self-adhesive
labels in 1935 [86]. Another product class including protective, cover, and separation films has been
developed to replace carrier-free protective coatings. A comparison of the requirements for these
product classes shows that labels and tapes have similarities with respect to the nature of the
adhesive, and protective films and tapes exhibit common features concerning the nature of the
carrier. In 1983 about 11% (w/w) of European adhesives were used for the primary pressure-
sensitive applications (tapes, labels, and postage) and the annual growth (3.2%) of this segment
has been higher than the mean value for the adhesives industry (2.5%) [87]. According to
Ref. [88] in the mid 1980s, the most obvious applications for traditional pressure-sensitive poly-
mers were labels, tapes, and decals. A decade later 55% of PSAs have been used for tapes, 34%
for labels, and 11% for specialties. Now, about 60% of PSAs are coated on tapes.
A. LABELS
In 1987, labels have been the most important PSPs in Europe, their proportion in the global
pressure-sensitive market was estimated at 72% and it was forecast, that by 1990 it would be
76% [89]. As coated carrier material the label/tape ratio attained 7/1. Label production continued
to increase and 7 mrd m2 were produced each year [90]. It was forecast, that self-adhesive labels
will cover about 60% of the label market and glue applied market share will continuously decrease
[91]. Actually self-adhesive labels are used for more than 80% of the labeled products.
The definition of this successful product is difficult. Is it a packaging material? Packaging
materials have to fulfill the following main functions [92]: They have to (1) contain, (2) preserve,
and (3) present.
Containing is a mechanical function. Labels (except for some special dermal dosage products)
do not fulfill this requirement. Although there are some antitheft or closing labels, the function to
preserve is not a general requirement for labels. Their principal function is presentation. As
stated by Fust [93], the main function of labels is to carry an image such as information for a
special product. According to Pommice et al. [94], packaging is used not only as a protection
for the products, but also as a support for advertisements and sales aid. This is also true for
labels. The computer label business is one of the fastest growing segments of the label market
[95]. Variable data bar-coded labels (routing labels for mailing, inventory control labels, document
labels, individual part and product labels, supermarket shelf labels, and health sector labels) are the
most important sector of nonimpact printing. Stanton Avery developed Kum-Kleen labels in the
1930s [96]; these were the first pressure-sensitive labels. Other types of labels have been used
for almost 100 years. The growth in the use of PSA labels has been a result of substitution.
Labels are discontinuous items that serve as carriers of information and can be applied on
different substrates. Their geometry, material, buildup, processing, and application technology
can vary widely. Materials weighing up to 350 g/m2 are used. Fan-fold material can be processed.
Single labels, strip labels, and label strips can be printed. Labels between 30.2 and 164 mm wide
cover almost all areas of application. In the 1970s, the major types of labels were wet adhesive
labels, pressure-sensitive labels, gummed labels, heat adhesion labels, and shrink labels.
In Europe the traditional labeling techniques are [97] roll feed labeling (wrap around labeling),
cut-and-stack labeling, and self-adhesive labeling. The types of labels now produced include wet
glue applied, pressure-sensitive, gummed, heat seal, shrink sleeve, and in-mold. Pressure-sensitive
labels have a higher manufacturing cost than wet adhesive labels, but their application is easier.
Wet adhesive labels are suggested for application fields with very high speed, but low quality
requirements (metal cans, glass and plastic bottles, etc.) [98]. Shrink labels use a shrinkable
40 –70 mm film. In-mold labeling inserts the label in the mold prior to molding [99]. The insertion
of chip cards is also recommended [100]. Heat adhesion labels and papers have been used in the
packaging industry. Some heat adhesion labels adhere immediately and others have a delayed
adhesive affect. The advantages of the heat-activatable or heat applied labels are that they can

be applied at high speed, they require no preliminary operations before application, they are rapidly
activated, their use requires no solvent (no pollution) and no humidity, there is no chemical yellow-
ing, they give good permanent adhesion, they need short sealing times, and they exhibit no edge
splitting. On much the same principle hot stamps, that is, labels without a solid-state carrier.
Dormann [101] classified pressure-sensitive labels as cold sealing agents. Generally, sealing
agents can be divided into hot seal and cold seal systems. Hot seal systems include hot seal disper-
sions, hot seal varnishes, hot seal films, and extrusion coatings. Cold seal systems include PSAs and
cold seal dispersions.
Certain label functions such as removability can be provided only by pressure-sensitive labels.
As discussed earlier, labels are not packaging materials per se, but they are used together with
packaging materials, to which they are applied to present the product, to advertise, to serve as
decoration and to provide information about the product [102].
1. Buildup and Requirements for Labels

Labels are temporary laminates composed of a face stock material with an adhesive pressure-
sensitive surface that is protected by a separate abhesive component, the release liner. According
to Havercroft [103], such products can be considered a special case of soft laminates that allow reci-
procal mobility (shrinkage and elongation) of the solid-state components. The nature, geometry,
and buildup of the carrier material; the nature and geometry of the adhesive; the nature and geome-
try of the release liner; and the buildup of the finished product may vary greatly. Labels can be
round, square, rectangular or elliptical, or irregular in shape. Their purpose may be to impart essen-
tial information, that is, company address, product description or weight statement. In addition,
depending on the product, they may give instructions and warning statements. Base labels are
almost without exception printed in one colour and coated with permanent or removable adhesive.
Decorative labels are printed in many colours, on various materials. The larger ones are coated with
a so-called semipermanent adhesive, with low initial tack.
Labels may have a very complex construction. A label construction contains seven layers as
follows: release liner, release layer, adhesive, primer, face stock, ink, and top coat [104]. Multi-
layer self-adhesive labels comprise a carrier label containing silicones, an adhesive layer, a
printed message, a carrier layer (e.g., polyester) a release layer (e.g., silicones), a second adhesive
layer, a second carrier layer (e.g., PE) and a printed message. Labels may have more than two
adhesive-carrier layer-message layer units [105]. A German label manufacturer [106], has suc-
ceeded in placing original perfume oils in a special two layer label structure (scent labels). The
pharmaceutical industry requires the use of so-called wrap around labels with a flag, that is, an
overlapping part. Such multilayer labels may display supplemental information, constant
message on one side, and variable message on the other side. In contrast, the flag can be used
for the bill [107]. Decalcomanias can be built up as labels also. Decalcomanias are manufactured
using screen printing. First a clear carrier lacquer is printed; this layer provides the mechanical
resistance of the product. The image is coated (mirror printing) on this layer with screen or
offset printing. The next layer is transparent and is followed by a screen printed PSA [108]. In
an other procedure, the PSA is coated on release paper and the PSA coated liner is laminated
together with a printed film [109].
a. Face Stock Material

Because of the different substrates used and the various requirements concerning the aesthetic,
mechanical, and chemical characteristics of the label material, various raw materials have been
developed as face stock for labels. Fabric, PVC, cellulose acetate, and polyester films have been
suggested for labels [110] (see also Chapter 6). Material combinations are also used. For instance,
a PE/paper laminate with the PE layer enclosed between the paper layers is recommended for a
special application where the product should be partially transparent after delamination [111].

Concerning the face stock, changes in label usage have to be taken into account. The develop-
ment of reel labels and of nonpaper labels is faster than the average growth [112]. Label form and
function can also change. For instance, some special pharmaceutical labels may have take-off parts
to allow multiple information transfer; parts of the label remain on the drug or on the patient [113],
that is, such label works like a business form. Advances in document security and identification
affect the label market (identification systems, document security, anticounterfeiting, corporate
fingerprinting, copyable labels, etc.) and label construction. According to Thorne [65], labels are
used mainly to provide information on packs (83%), information on cases (71%), for design
purposes (32%), for off-pack promotions (20%), to carry bar codes (20%), and for security
(15%). Unlike consumer goods, the promotional function does not have to convince the purchaser
of the need to buy. Now, bar code labels cover more than 30% of label market; security labels attain
20% of the label end use.
It is also possible to classify labels according to type of carrier and application domain. For
instance, according to Waeyenbergh [97], self-adhesive labels printed on oriented PP are used
for: metal cans (preserves, paints and drinks); glass bottles (champagne, wine and cosmetics); card-
board containers (foodstuffs); flexible packaging (food and nonfood items); technical uses (labels,
stickers and rating plates), and special domains (pocket labels).
b. Adhesives for Labels

Because of the broad range of bonding forces required in label application, the differences in types
of bonding, debonding speed, and bond break nature; and various possible types of coating a
number of different adhesives are used for labels. The main PSAs applied in this field are acrylics
and rubber-resin formulations. First rubber-resin PSAs based on natural raw materials (NR and
rosin derivatives) were used to produce PSPs. As adhesives for labels they possess the advantage
of having well-balanced adhesive properties, easy regulating of adhesive performances and low
costs. Unfortunately, they have a limited resistance to aging. Later acrylics and carboxylated
styrene – butadiene dispersions and HMPSAs based on styrene – butadiene block copolymer
(SBC) were introduced as competitors to acrylics. For special applications a broad range of com-
mercial and experimental low volume products are available (see Chapters 8 and 11). Acrylics are
applied as solvent-based, water-based, or hot-melt formulations for labels having various buildup
and end-use. Labeling is the most important field of water-based pressure-sensitive adhesives
(WBPSA) [114]. Removable price labels used almost exclusively a paper carrier coated with
rubber-resin adhesive [115]. Two decades ago in Europe about 30 –40% the amount of HMPSA
were used for labels [116]. First SBCs, later acrylate-based HMPSAs were introduced. The
manufacture of UV-crosslinkable (100% solids) acrylates is more expensive than that of acrylic dis-
persions. Such products are an alternative to solvent-based adhesives, where without too much
capital investment a common hot-melt coating line can be equipped with UV curing lamps [83].
Although EVAc-based adhesives are produced as hot-melt, solvent-based or water-based for-
mulations, because of their unbalanced adhesive performance they have been used more in other
than web coating applications [117]. Water-based EVAc copolymers have been tested for labels,
as a less expensive alternative to acrylics. The adhesives for labels are described in detail in
Ref. [84].
c. Release Liner for Labels

The release liner for labels is a separate carrier-based component of the laminate. It has to display
abhesive characteristics. These are (generally) given by a coated abhesive layer. Therefore, the con-
struction of the release liner is similar to the face stock buildup. A solid carrier bears a coating layer.
Various carrier and coating materials and various coating techniques are used for the manufacture
of the release liner.

2. Principle of Functioning of Labels

Labels are sheet-like pressure-sensitive items that carry an information, made to be applied (lami-
nated) on a solid-state adherend surface. In comparison with other PSPs, such as tapes or protective
films which are manufactured and applied as a continuous web, labels constitute the temporary
component of a laminated web, applied as discrete discontinuous items. The main requirement
towards labels are the following: flexibility, aesthetic value, low cost, quality, ease of application,
speed of application, strength, and moisture resistance [96]. It has been stated [96], that of the
technical criteria, ease and speed of application have been the most difficult to fulfill.
It should be mentioned that the technical functions of labels have also changed, with the
development of the labeled products. As an example, price labels in addition to communicating
such information as product name, weight, composition, expiration date, and manufacturer’s
name, must be able to capture the potential buyer’s attention. For such effects labels had to
become more and more brilliant and bigger. They had to replace direct conversion of the packaging
material. Also, the direct printing of bottles is limited by the quality of the image [99]; here labeling
is recommended.
3. Special Characteristics of Labels

As mentioned earlier, like other PSPs, labels are manufactured as a continuous web, but applied as a
discontinuous item, that is, discrete parts of this web. Therefore, their construction must allow them
to be separated from the rest of the laminate and applied on the adherend surface. To allow them to
be separated labels have to be die-cut and must have an abhesive layer on the backside. They must
possess sufficient mechanical stability and adhesivity to be applied. As information carriers, labels
have to fulfill aesthetic, coating, and mechanical demands.
4. Classes of Labels
The diversity of labels is astonishing. According to Ref. [104], 30 years ago more than 100 paper
label laminates have been produced. In 1993, the main application domains of labels were compu-
ters, foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and miscellaneous markets. Pressure-sensitive booklets,
coupons, and piggy-backs can also be considered labels [118]. There are various principles used
to categorize labels according to their buildup, dimensions, labeling methods, end-uses and so on.
Principally, they can be grouped as general labels and special labels. Within each class there are
a wide variety of products. The adequacy of a label is judged for a particular use by the customer.
According to Ref. [96], the marketing department has a major say in the type of label to be used.
a. General Labels
Labels are manufactured as web-like products, but they can be applied in other forms. One main
classification of labels concerning their application technology divides them in roll and sheet
labels. Roll labels are those manufactured in roll form and applied from the roll, where their con-
tinuous web-like backing allows them to be handled as a continuous material after their confection-
ing (die-cutting) as separate item. Sheet labels are those manufactured in roll form, and cut in
discontinuous sheet-like finite product (as finite laminate) that cannot be applied with a common
labeling gun. According to Ref. [119], roll labels constituted 66% of the labels produced in 1988
in the US. The proportion of roll labels is growing [89]. According to a market survey in 1990
[120], about 95% of the label printers in Europe were reel label printers; only 54% also had
printed sheet-like products. Although home – office printing and desk top printing slightly increased
the amount of sheet-printed labels, actually reel labels cover more than 95% of the printed labels.
Using another general classification based on the nature of the carrier material, labels may be
considered as paper or film labels. Labels are also classified as permanent and temporary labels,
according to the character of the adhesive bond. Repositionable labels are a special class of

removable labels, which stick to different surfaces, but remove cleanly and can be reapplied. The
final adhesion builds up over a few hours. The major production of labels (75 – 80%) uses perma-
nent paper label stock [121].
b. Special Labels
Special labels are manufactured according to one of the general label classes discussed earlier, but they
have to satisfy certain special end-use criteria (e.g., water resistance or water solubility, mechanical
resistance or loss of mechanical strength, etc.). The special requirements for different labels and
their end-use characteristics are discussed in Chapter 11). Special labels can also be classified accord-
ing to the type of adhesive, as permanent, repositionable/semipermanent, or removable. The hot-melt-
coated products are classified according to the labelstock manufacture into computer, thermo, price
marking, freezer, film, airline luggage, office and retail labels, and shipping documents. Special
labels can be classified according to their processibility, application field, function, and so on. The
main class of postprocessible labels includes computer labels and copyable labels.
Generally, writability and printability are common features of labels. Postprintability using
computer, that is, digital printing is a performance characteristic of a separate label class called
computer labels. Other special labels like table and copy labels may also belong to this product
group. For table labels, printability and lay flat are required. Such labels are computer-imprintable.
Computer-imprintable labels may be transferable or nontransferable and based on paper, Tyvek,
PVC, cardboard, aluminum, or other carrier material (see Chapters 8 and 11). There are different
digital postprinting methods; therefore, the construction of computer labels can also vary. Laser
printable labels are a special class of computer-printable labels. Computer labels can be classified
as label sheets, endless labels, and folded labels (with pinholes for transport) [122]. They are
manufactured as printed or bianco, nonprinted labels. Their printing is carried out using dot
matrix, ink jet, laser or thermo-transfer printers, or with copying machine. In 1995 in Europe,
about 40% of labels were computer labels; now they cover more than 50% of the market. According
to their end-use, they are applied in addressing, marking, organizing, logistics, and other fields.
The original requirements for computer labels included machining and printing quality, appli-
cation-related properties, and environmental performance. Starting from these requirements the
most important development concerns printing quality; modern labels must accept 600 dpi (dots
per inch). Release properties have also changed. Some years ago, slow-running machines allowed
very slight release forces of 0.1 N/25 mm. Actually at high speed a better mutual anchorage of
the laminate components is required, so the release force has increased to more than 0.2 N/25 mm.
Copy labels have to allow light to penetrate through the face stock in order to achieve a copy of
the image on the liner. Drop on demand printing devices for product coding are able to print logos,
barcodes, auto-dating, numbering, graphic program, and have a printing speed of up to 5 m/sec
[123]. Suppliers for labeling technology offer software for label printing, label printer, printing
and labeling systems, and materials. For instance, a supplier offers 25 printing systems and 15
types of printing – labeling units, which use more than 100 standard materials [124].
Medical labels can be defined as sterilization labels also [22]. Like medical tapes and bio-
electrodes they have a special conformable, removable, porous, skin tolerant adhesive, with
well-defined water solubility and electrical properties, and a special, porous carrier material (see
Chapters 8, 9 and 11) or a carrier-less construction.
Tamper evident labels are special permanent labels with a sophisticated construction that does
not allow debonding. Tamper evident cast films ensure that the printed label will fracture if
remova is attempted. For this purpose low strength carrier materials are combined with high
strength adhesives and optically working printed elements [125]. Their design shows similarities
to that of special closure tapes. Special labeling machines allow the labeling of pharmaceutical pro-
ducts with labels and with a closure for originality [126]. The optical display of temperature

sensitivity is applied in temperature labels also. Common end-use areas are airline tags, caution
labels, automotive labels, police forces, and gaming machines [127].
Temperature labels are used as thermometer. They possess a conformable, heat- or cold-, water-
and oil-resistant carrier material and a special temperature indicating component. Such products
can be applied between 37.8 – 2608C [128].
There are quite different application fields where labels having water resistance or water solu-
bility are used (see Chapter 11). Solubility or dispersibility in alkaline or neutral aqueous solutions
at hot or room temperature and resistance to humid atmospheres or immersion in water are desired.
Applicability on wet or condensation covered surface or frozen surfaces is related to water solubi-
lity of the PSAs. Although they are more expensive than classical wet glues in such applications, the
industry appreciates the fact that PSA labels can be applied at high speed from roll stock, elimin-
ation of the need for cut label inventories and glue applicators.
Some special labels are applied as PSPs, but use other bonding mechanisms (e.g., iron-on
labels) or are applied as alternatives to pressure-sensitive labels (e.g., in-mold labels). For iron-
on labels, used mostly for marking textile products, the final bonding is achieved via molten
plastomer (PE, polyamide, etc.) embedded in the PSA [129]. In-mold labeling (IML) allows the
manufacture of the plastic item (via injection molding) and its labeling in the mold with a
special label placed in the mold. Form fill and seal cups can also be labeled using this procedure
[130]. Classical in-mold labels are not pressure-sensitive. They are coated with a heat-activatable
(210 –2308C, for injection molding, 100– 1108C for deep drawing). Now, film insert molding can
add a soft touch soft feel surface, using a flexible TPU film. One of the strengths of the elastic TPUs
is that, in many cases, they do not have to be formed prior to injection molding [131]. New in-mold
labels that work like self-adhesive films have also been developed [132].
IML is a special case of injection molding with in-mold parts. In-mold fixing techniques
[133] include (1) insert molding, (2) outsert molding, (3) back melting of textiles, (4) removable
tool technology, (5) in-mold decoration, and (6) IML. In these cases, part of the finished product
is fixed in or out of the mold by the molten polymer. In-mold decoration and IML are used to
fix a nonfunctional part of the item. The principle of the method is simple. The label is placed in
the mold, and its back side is fixed with the molten polymer. For this fixing no PSA is needed.
The handling of the label is difficult. Special apparatus is used to place the labels in the mold.
Stacker systems have been developed to feed the label into an in-mold production machine
[134]. IML is used for injection molded items, but it can also be applied with thermoformed
plastics too [135]. No supplemental postlabeling or postprinting of the finished item is necessary.
The label is made from the same polymer as the labeled item, and both are recycled together.
Taking into account the increasing number of requirements concerning environmental
considerations, labels could also be possibly classified as repulpable and non repulpable (see
Table 2.7). There are many applications where recyclability is desirable (e.g., address and franking
labels, magazine supplements, etc.) [136].
It is evident that the existent range of labels — printed circuit board labels, library labels, ware-
house labels, floor labels, retro-reflective labels, magnetic labels, asset labels, tamper evident
labels, decorative labels, multifunctional labels, bar code labels, imprinted labels, scented labels,
rub-off labels, labels with a no label look, aluminum labels, harsh environment labels, ceramic
labels, titanium labels, UV protective labels, textile labels, laboratory labels, etc. — will
broaden, as the result of new label applications and new engineering concepts [137]. Taking into
account the growing importance of hydrophilic, hydrogel-based pressure-sensitive systems,
Chapter 9 discusses this product class.
B. TAPES
PSA tapes have been used for more than half a century for a variety of marking, holding, protecting,
sealing, and masking purposes. Industrial tapes were introduced in the 1920s and 1930s

TABLE 2.7
Classification of Labels
Product Classes
Classification
Criterion Main Special
Form Sheet Reel — —

Carrier Paper Film Others —
Adhesion Permanent Removable Repositionable Permanent, destructible;
Permanent, nondestructible
Dry removable, wet removable
Recycling Repulpable Nonrepulpable — —
Web number Monoweb Multiweb — —
Printability Classical Digital — Thermal, laser, ink jet, dot matrix
Image Label look No-label look — —
Labeling Manual Automatic — —
Application field General Special — Medical; security; office;
food; logistic; computer
followed by self-adhesive labels in 1935 [86]. Single-coated PSA tapes were used in the automotive
industry in the 1930s [138]. Self-adhesive packaging tapes replaced gummed tapes on paper basis
[139]. According to Ref. [140], the main tape markets in the US have been packaging tapes (mostly
HMPSA coated), electrical tapes (solvent-based), industrial tapes (HMPSA- and solvent-based),
health care tapes (HMPSA and WBPSA), masking tapes (water-based and solvent-based), and
consumer tapes (HMPSA, solvent-based, and water-based).
Tapes are continuous web-like PSPs applied in continuous form. Generally, their role is to
assure the bonding, fastening or assembling of adherend components due to their mechanical
characteristics. PSA tape is defined as a PSA-coated substrate in roll form, wound on a core, and
at least 0.305 m (12 in.) in length [141]. PSTC developed a guide of pressure sensitive-tapes
[141]. The guide covers their significance, standard width, labelling, test, units of measurement,
and tolerances. The advantages of tapes as an adhesive system are discussed by Bennett et al.
[142]. They are positionable, have a controlled coating weight, allow automatic use by having
die-cut parts, distribute stress, and exhibit a low level of cold flow. Tapes constitute the largest
group of PSPs [143,144].
1. Buildup and Requirements for Tapes

Generally, tapes are PSPs that have a solid-state carrier with a coated (built-in) pressure-sensitive
layer. Some tapes also have a release layer. Tapes were the first PSPs to be produced with a coated
monoweb construction. Theoretically, pressure-sensitive tapes have the same construction as wet
adhesive tapes. For PSA tapes based on polymeric film carrier, the release surface is usually the
surface of the polymeric film remote from the adhesive, which allows the tape to be conveniently
stored in the form of a spirally wound roll. In practice, pressure-sensitive tapes that have a high tack
adhesive (or coating weight), for example, double-sided tapes or transfer tapes, need to have a
separate solid-state release component.
The development of the carrier materials and adhesive components made it possible to manu-
facture special tapes as a continuous web, which facilitates applications, that are not used for
bonding in a classical sense.
Double-sided mounting tapes may have a primer coating on the back-side to allow the
anchorage of a postfoamed layer [86]. They must have a separate release-coated liner. A tape

with a good adhesion on in situ foamed PUR includes a PVC carrier coated with a crosslinkable
PUR adhesive, which cures in use.
Masking tapes may have special carrier constructions to give them conformability. According
to Ref. [33], a masking tape carrier has a stiffened, wedge-shaped, adhesiveless longitudinal
section extending from one edge, with pleated structure, to conform to small radii. This region is
formed of a material different of that of the main tape. The nonadhesive face of the tape is heat-
reflective. Conformability is also required for medical tapes. A pleated carrier (which gives exten-
sibility) is needed for some mounting tapes too. Medical tapes require the adhesive, carrier, and the
tape construction as a whole to be porous. Electrical conductivity or nonconductivity may be
required for insulating, packaging and medical tapes (see Chapter 11). Temperature-dependent
adhesion and temperature-independent bonding are needed for certain tapes. The temperature at
which a PSA tape is laminated is critical [145]. Unwinding resistance is also important for
tapes. Shrinkage and elongation of the tape during unwinding and deapplication; peel force,
fresh and aged; weathering at low temperature; peel from back side, shear resistance at various
temperatures are also measured (see Chapter 11). Water resistance or water transmission and oil
resistance are required. Tear and dart drop resistance are needed. Some standards for tapes
specify requirements with respect to unwinding resistance and unwinding behavior, water
permeation, and water vapour permeation.
Electrical tapes have to possess high dielectric strength and good thermal dissipation properties.
They are used for taping generator motor and coils and transformer applications, where the tape
serves as over-wrap, layer insulation or connection, and lead-in tape. The carrier is woven glass
cloth impregnated with a high temperature resistant polyester resin or impregnated woven polyester
glass cloth. This last variance is used where conformability is required. For some applications trans-
fer tapes are die-cut [146]. In other cases (e.g., special packaging tapes and masking tapes), an easy
tear carrier or high strength carrier (closure tapes) is required. Carrier-less mounting tapes may have
monolayer or multilayer, filled or unfilled, foamed or unfoamed construction.
a. Carrier for Tapes

Different web-like materials can be used as carrier for tapes. Films, woven and nonwoven textiles,
foams and combinations of these materials are applied (see also Chapter 8). Woven fiberglass can
be used for special tapes. PUR-coated PVC can also be used [147]. PUR foams were the first foam-
like carriers [148]. Acetate films are used as carrier material for self-adhesive tamper-evident
products. A 50 mm cellulose acetate film has been modified to be a brittle film, with a low tear
strength, but it has to be die-cut [149]. Extensible, deformable paper is required for medical
tapes [150]. Well-defined mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties are necessary for insulation
tapes [151]. Elongation, shear and, peel resistance are also needed. In some cases, shear resistance
should be measured after solvent exposure of the PSP. Thermal resistance and low temperature
conformability and flexibility are required. Bacteriostatic performance may also be necessary.
Cover tapes for bathroom are made on special PVC basis, with a bacteriostat (which inhibits
bacterial growth) incorporated in the vinyl formulation. They are embossed to produce a secure
nonslip surface. The tapes are coated with a repositionable adhesive which builds up adhesion
from 26.7 oz/in to 36.2 oz/in [152]. To enhance immediate adhesion to rough and uneven surfaces
a resilient foam backing can be applied [153]. The use of PURs with an extremely high level of
elongation at break will ensure a sufficiently high impact strength.
b. Adhesives for Tapes

In the first stage of development, rubber-resin-based formulations were used as solvent-based
adhesives for tapes. Later synthetic rubbers were also introduced. The sealing tape industry had
relied heavily on the HMPSA based on SBCs because they offer a good balance of shear, tack,
and peel resistance at reasonable price. Water-based acrylics replaced NR and block copolymers

for many general applications. Acrylic emulsions represent an attractive alternative to HMPSA.
Waterborne acrylic PSAs do not need tackifiers, exhibit better shear and adequate low temperature
behavior, which are important in the manufacture of mounting tapes [154]. For special uses, cross-
linkable, water soluble, electrically conductive PSAs have been developed (see also Chapter 8).
Acrylic adhesives are used for general purpose and special tapes. They are applied as solvent-
or water-based or hot-melt formulations for tapes of various buildups and end-uses. Solvent-based
acrylics are used for special medical, insulation, and mounting applications. They allow easy regu-
lation of conformability, porosity, and removability. Hot-melt acrylics are expensive products, and
are used mostly for special medical and sanitary tapes. They are suggested for mounting tapes also
[153]. Radiation cured 100% acrylics are recommended for transfer tapes and medical application.
The development of such crosslinkable and highly filled acrylics allowed the design of carrier-less
tapes having a foam-like character [74,155 – 157]. Glass microbubbles have been incorporated to
enhance immediate adhesion to rough and uneven surfaces [156]. Such tapes are prepared by
polymerizing in situ with UV radiation. Water-based acrylics are preferred for general packaging
tapes; they are also formulated as removable PSAs (e.g., application tapes).
The first rubber-resin PSAs were used for tapes with a paper carrier. Because of the relatively
simple regulation of the adhesive properties for formulations based on NR or blends of NR with
synthetic elastomers (via crosslinkers and active fillers), recipes were developed for almost
every application field (packaging, mounting, and medical tapes) for permanent or removable
adhesives. Masticated, calendered compositions have been coated without solvent. The introduc-
tion of the meltable SBC allowed the coating of rubber-resin formulations as HMPSA. Solvent-
based and hot-melt rubber-resin formulations are the most common raw materials for inexpensive
tape applications. Water-based, carboxylated rubber dispersions replaced acrylics for some
packaging applications as a less expensive raw material. According to Wabro et al. [153], for
certain tapes rubber-resin formulations cannot be replaced with other raw materials.
c. Release Liner for Tapes

Tapes generally do not need a separate solid-state abhesive component. Plastic carriers used for
tapes may or may not have a coated or built-in release layer depending on the type of carrier
and adhesive (see Chapter 8). Double-sided coated and transfer tapes require a separate solid-
state release liner based on a common uncoated or coated plastic or paper carrier. Release liners
used for double-sided tapes have special requirements [153]. Such materials have to display
adequate unwinding performances, controlled adhesion to the tape, dimensional stability, tear
resistance, weather and environmental stability, and confectionability/cuttability.
2. Principle of Functioning of Tapes

Tapes are manufactured as a continuous web and applied as web-like or discontinuous items
(portions of this web) by laminating on a solid-state surface.
3. Special Characteristics of Tapes

Because of the need to be applied as a continuous web and due to their general use as a bonding
element of multiple adherends, tapes generally have to possess a mechanically resistant carrier
material with a PSA layer. The mechanical characteristics of the carrier material and the adhesive
characteristics of the built-in or coated adhesive differ according to the end-use of the product.
Unlike labels, tapes are not built up as laminates before their use (except for their self-wound
character or some special tapes). Because they are unwound at high speed, noise reduction is
very important for tapes. For certain tapes the use of a tape applicator is required.

4. Classes of Tapes
Adhesive tapes are manufactured for packing, masking, office uses, protection, marking of pipes
and cables, fixing of carpets, drug delivery, floor marking, etc. Such product can be printed in
one or many colours or blank. Tapes may be divided into groups according their buildup and
end-use (see Table 2.8). End uses include packaging, mounting, construction tapes, medical,
decoration, and others. HMPSAs can be incorporated into film tapes, mounting tapes, textile
tapes, and insulation tapes. Like labels a primary classification of tapes is based on their general
or special characteristics.
a. General Tapes
According to their carrier material, tapes may be divided into paper-based and film-based tapes.
Some tapes are manufactured with no carrier. Tapes with carrier are classified in single-sided
coated and double-sided coated products. Depending on their adhesive characteristics, tapes may
be grouped into permanent and removable products. According to their end-use there is a broad
range of possible classifications. Packaging, masking, protecting, marking, closure, fixing, mount-
ing, and insulating tapes are some examples [149].
Paper-based tapes are manufactured using paper as carrier material. They are adhesive-coated
PSPs that have various paper qualities and adhesive coatings as depending on their end-use. Exten-
sible, pleated, and conformable paper is required as carrier for special tapes [149]. Double-sided
coated and transfer tapes can have a paper carrier or release liner also (see Chapters 8 and 11).
Film-based tapes are manufactured using plastic films as carrier material. These products can
have a coated adhesive, a built-in adhesive or a virtually adhesive-free construction. The self-
adhesivity and conformability of certain plastic films and the nonpolar abhesive surface of some
plastic carrier films allow the design of adhesive-free and release layer-free tape constructions.
Carrier-less tapes do not have a solid state carrier material after their application. These pro-
ducts are the so-called transfer tapes, or tapes from the reel. Transfer tapes have a PSA layer
inserted between two release liners. They are manufactured as a continuous web supported by a
TABLE 2.8
Classification of Tapes
Classification
Criterion Major Product Classes Special Product Classes
Form Continuous; discontinuous —

Carrier Paper; film; other Textiles; metals; laminates
Adhesion Permanent; removable, Permanent destructible;
repositionable permanent nondestructible
Dry removable, wet removable
Buildup With carrier; carrier-less Transfer
With adhesive; adhesiveless —
Recycling Repulpable; nonrepulpable —
Web number Monoweb; multiweb One-side coated
Double-sided coated
Printability Classical; digital Thermal; laser; ink jet; dot matrix
Application method Manual; automatic —
Application field General; special Packaging; mounting; assembling;
office; closure; masking; medical;
logistic; splicing; electrical

solid-state carrier. This allows them to be processed and applied as a common tape, but it serves as a
temporary aid only. The adhesive layer of the tape is detached from the carrier during application.
Such tapes without carrier can be used on multidirectionally deformed substrates having a various
shape, up to 1508C because the temperature resistance is given by the adhesive only [153].
Single-sided coated tapes represent the classical construction of tapes, having a solid-state
carrier material coated one side with a PSA. Products displaying pressure sensitivity on both
sides of the carrier material are double-sided coated. Such tapes may have another coated layer
on the back-side also, for example, a primer. A different release degree is achieved for a double-
sided coated release liner using the same release component but one-sided PE-coated release
paper. The release paper assists in the application of the tape without damaging the coating
which is facing the release paper. These tapes are normally used as the bonding agent when
combining two materials. The tape is pulled of its roll, and the exposed PSA is placed against
the first material. Then the release paper is pulled from the tape and the exposed PSA bonds
with the second material. The converting industry uses a large amount of two-sided coated PSA
tapes like flying splicing tapes.
The principle of adhesive detachment from the inserted solid-state release liner is used for
transfer tapes. Both surfaces of the carrier may have low adhesion coatings, one of which is
more effective than the other. When the tape is used as a transfer tape, when unwound the adhesive
layer remains wholly adhered to the higher adhesion surface from which it can be subsequently
removed.
Permanent tapes give permanent adhesive bonding. The main representatives of this class
are the packaging tapes. High strength carrier materials and aggressive permanent PSAs are
recommended for these products.
Certain tapes ensure a removable adhesive bonding which is required for closure, medical,
masking tapes, among others (see Chapters 9 and 11). Like labels, tapes can also be repositionable.
For instance, cover tapes for bathroom are repositionable [72]. Stone impact-resistant automotive
decor tapes have to be repositionable [49]. Certain closure tapes, for example, diaper closure tapes
have to be removable [158]. Storable crosslinkable adhesives allowing a built-in controlled remo-
vability have been developed. Postapplication crosslinking is proposed to improve shear [155].
Such postcrosslinking is achieved by using free radical [77] or photoinitiated reactions [156]. Post-
crosslinking leads to adhesion-less surfaces, that is, easier delamination. According to Bedoni and
Caprioglio [61] self-adhesive tapes produced in Europe can be divided into the following classes:
packaging (64%); masking (12%); protective (5%); double-sided (5%); dielectric (3%) and
stationary, and others (7%). Unfortunately, the evaluation criteria of this tape classification are not
known and it is difficult to delimit exactly the difference between masking and protective tapes
(and films), stationary tapes and labels, dielectric (insulating) and protective, products etc. Packa-
ging tapes are still the main grade produced, and the productivity developments in the last decade
relate mostly to these products. The production speed of such tapes increased from about 250 m/
min (1985) to about 600 m/min (1995) and the coating machine width increased from ca. 1400 mm
in 1985 to about 2000 mm in 1995. Improvement of the average coating speed is less impressive
from about 100 m/min to about 300 m/min. The average coating machine width increased from
1300 mm to 1500 mm. A new coating machine for tapes having a width of 1200 to 2400 mm
is running with HMPSA, on a 25 mm BOPP film as carrier material, with a speed of 400 to
600 m/min.
According to Becker [164] technical tapes can be divided according their end-use into: closing;
bonding; reinforcing; marking, and protection tapes. Closing, bonding, and reinforcing are the main
functions of packaging tapes.
In this domain water-resistant tapes form a special category. It is obvious that tapes could also
be classified according to their carrier material. For the same carrier class, writable and printable
tapes are considered special products [159]. Table 2.9 summarizes the main tape categories accord-
ing to their construction.

TABLE 2.9
The Main Tape Categories According to their Construction
Tape Buildup
Number of Number of
Carrier Layers Adhesive Layers
Type of Web One Many One Many Components Tape Grade Application Field
Monoweb Yes — Yes — Adhesive One-side-coated tape; Packaging,

primer 1 office use, closure, insulating
carrier
primer 2
release
ink
Yes — — — carrier Adhesiveless tape; Masking,
ink insulating
Multiweb — Yes Yes — Adhesive One-side-coated tape; Insulating,
primer 1 medical assembling, closure
carrier 1
release
primer 2
carrier 2
ink
— Yes Yes — Adhesive Carrier-less transfer tape; Mounting
release 1 Assembling, insulating
primer 1
carrier
primer 2
release 2
— Yes — Yes Adhesive 1 Double side-coated tape;
adhesive 2 Splicing, mounting medical
carrier 1
carrier 2
release 1
release 2
As can be seen from Table 2.9 there are tapes based on a solid-state carrier and carrier-less
tapes. Carrier-less tapes may be virtually or actually carrier-free. Tapes that are virtually carrier-
less possess a reinforcing layer (network) embedded in the adhesive mass; this layer ensures the
required mechanical strength of the tape.
According to their active (adhesive) surfaces, tapes can be classified as one- or double-sided
coated. As seen from Table 2.10, double-sided coated tapes are manufactured with or without
carrier. Tapes with carrier can be manufactured with a paper, textile, or plastic carrier. The
textile carrier used may be woven or nonwoven. Textile carriers ensure nonextensibility and
good anchorage [153]. A plastic carrier may be a film or a foam. A film carrier acts as a barrier
against chemicals (plasticizers, surfactants, antioxidants, etc.). A foam carrier ensures conform-
ability on uneven surfaces and equalizing of the thermal dilatation coefficients.
b. Special Tapes
At the beginning of their use, tapes were applied mostly as fastening and bonding elements.
Packaging tapes still play this role. The development of the new carrier materials made possible

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philosophical and mathematical commentaries
of Proclus on the first book of Euclid's
elements (Vol. 1 of 2)
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Title: The philosophical and mathematical commentaries of

Proclus on the first book of Euclid's elements (Vol. 1 of
2)
To which are added, A history of the restoration of
Platonic theology, by the latter Platonists: And a
translation from the Greek of Proclus's Theological
elements
Author: Proclus
Translator: Thomas Taylor
Release date: August 14, 2024 [eBook #74253]
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE

PHILOSOPHICAL AND MATHEMATICAL COMMENTARIES OF
PROCLUS ON THE FIRST BOOK OF EUCLID'S ELEMENTS (VOL. 1 OF
2) ***
THE
PHILOSOPHICAL and
MATHEMATICAL
COMMENTARIES OF PROCLUS,
ON
THE FIRST BOOK OF EUCLID’S

ELEMENTS.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED,
A History of the Restoration of Platonic Theology,

BY THE LATTER PLATONISTS:
And a Translation from the Greek of
PROCLUS’S THEOLOGICAL ELEMENTS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL I.
LONDON, PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR:

And Sold by T. Payne and Son; B. White and Son; J. Robson; T. Cadell; Leigh and
Co.; G. Nicol; R. Faulder; and T. and J. Egerton. 1792.
[Price Two Guineas in Boards.]

Extracts from Curiosities of Literature. Second Edition.
Printed for Murray. Page 385.
Mr. T. TAYLOR, the Platonic Philosopher and the modern Plethon,

consonant to that philosophy, professes Polytheism.[1]
The Reader is requested to correct the following
Errors.
Page 4. of the Dissertation, Vol. I. line 8. for admitted, read
omitted. Page 16. line 8. for from, read form. Page 51. Vol. I. of the
Commentaries, line 16. instead of They are surely not the, &c. read
For surely it cannot be said that there are, &c. Line 17. for but we,
read but that we. And line 19. for is by much prior to, read is by a
much greater priority.
Vol. II. page 18. line 26. for and one is, read and one part is. And
line 27. for another, read the other. Page 114. line 13. for The angle,
read Let the angle; and instead of is bisected, in the same line, read
be bisected. Page 411. line 2. for is filled with intellect, read fills
intellect. And line 3. for it also participates, read also it participates.
TO
THE SACRED
MAJESTY
OF
TRUTH.
PREFACE.
T he design of the present work is to bring us acquainted with the

nature and end of Mathematics in general, and of Geometry in
particular: and in the execution of this design our Author has
displayed an uncommon elegance of composition, and a most
valuable store of recondite learning. He is not content with every
where unfolding the full, and most accurate meaning of Euclid; but
he continually rises in his discourse, and leads us into the depths of
the Pythagoric and Platonic philosophy. We are surprised to find an
use in Geometry, which at present it is by no means suspected to
afford. For who would conceive that it is the genuine passage to true
theology, and the vestibule of divinity? This, indeed, is by no means
the case when it is studied for lucre, and applied to mechanical
purposes; for then the soul is neither elevated nor enlightened; but
degraded and filled with material darkness. Hence these
Commentaries are alone valuable to the liberal part of mankind, who
look beyond sense for certainty; and who prefer things desirable for
their own sakes, before such as minister to the necessities of life.
The translation of this work is attended with great difficulty and
labour; not only from the sense of the philosopher, which is always
profound, and frequently obscure, but from the great incorrectness
of the Greek edition, in which, exclusive of numberless typographical
errors, entire sentences, essential to the connection, are frequently
omitted; and in one place two pages of the Latin translation are
wanting in the original, as will be shewn in our following notes.
Indeed, the Latin translation of Francis Barocius the Venetian,
(Patav. 1560.) which was made from a variety of manuscripts, is
inconceivably valuable; for the diagrams, so necessary to a work of
this kind, but which are omitted in the Greek, are here inserted; and
the version is every where faithful, and sufficiently perspicuous to
those who are conversant in the ancient philosophy. Barocius justly
cautions the reader not to compare his version with the printed
Greek, which he observes is rather lacerated than printed; as indeed,
without his translation, it is impossible for any one to read the half of
this invaluable work, even though he should be as perfect in Greek
as in his native tongue. If I had not, therefore, fortunately acquired
this translation, which is at present very rare, I would have by no
means engaged in this arduous undertaking. Barocius, indeed, gives
evident proofs of his possessing the philosophical genius, by the
excellence of his translation, and his preface to the reader; and it is
greatly to be lamented that he did not adorn his version with
explanatory notes, which this profound work frequently demands,
and which he was doubtless well qualified to accomplish. This defect
I have endeavoured, as far as I was able, to supply; and at the same
time have been cautious neither to weary the reader by prolixity, nor
by too much brevity to leave him destitute of proper information. In
the distribution of the first book of this work into chapters, I have
followed the order of Barocius, because it is natural and obvious;
and must beg leave to solicit the reader’s indulgence for using the
words partible and impartible, differently from their common
signification. These words I have generally employed to express the
meaning of μεριστός[2] and αμεριστος[3] in the Greek, as I do not
conceive that the words divisible and indivisible always convey their
full signification. I have likewise used quadrangle instead of square,
and quinquangle for the word pentagon. For if τρίγωνος be rendered
triangle, why should not τετραγώνος be rendered quadrangle? And,
as Barocius observes, why, for a similar reason, should not
πεντάγωνος and ἑξάγωνος be rendered quinquangle and sexangle;
and so of the rest? Uniformity is always desirable when it can be
obtained; and is no where so necessary as in scientifical
disquisitions.
It is likewise necessary to inform the reader, that though I have
always endeavoured to give the faithful meaning of my Author, yet I
have occasionally paraphrased his sense, when most obscure, and
added such elucidations of my own, as I either thought necessary to
the full comprehension of his matter; or which were naturally excited
by the fire and spirit of the Original. If it shall appear that I have
succeeded in the execution of this work, and rendered it intelligible
to the lovers of truth, I shall rejoice in my success, and consider my
labours sufficiently rewarded. The applause of the multitude I am
neither likely nor desirous to gain; but I am anxious to procure the
approbation of the discerning few, who know that the age of
philosophy is past; and who esteem the works of her ancient heroes
as the most precious treasures which have escaped the ravages of
time.
Time, indeed, is like a deep and rapid river; whatever is trifling

and light, is precipitately borne on its surface, and what is valuable
and weighty, sinks to its bottom. Hence, the superficial observer
collects nothing more than the rubbish, which it is forever devolving
into the abyss of oblivion; while the profound and contemplative
genius explores the depths of the stream, and accounts himself
happy if he can gather any of the pearl which its bottom contains.
Thus the discoveries of experimental philosophy, float like straws on
the surface, while the wisdom of Pythagoras and Plato lies concealed
in the depths of the river. I am well aware it will be said, that the
reverse of this similitude is true; that the modern philosophy is the
pearl, and the ancient the stubble; and that the former will be
celebrated by posterity, and increase in reputation when the latter
shall scarcely be known. But let us attentively examine the truth of
this assertion, and shut our ears to the unsubstantial echoes of
popular applause. Is it reasonable to suppose that men of such
exalted abilities, as the Pythagoric and Platonic philosophers
possessed, even in the estimation of their opponents, accompanied
with the greatest advantages of birth and fortune, and the most
unwearied attention, have discovered nothing valuable, and have left
nothing behind them, but jargon and reveries? Is it to be supposed,
that in an age when philosophy was almost adored; when it was
esteemed by kings, cultivated by noblemen, and even reverenced by
the vulgar; when empire was relinquished for its pursuit, and every
danger encountered for its possession: is it to be supposed, that
nothing but delusion was the offspring of so glorious a period, and
nothing but folly the reward of such generous endurance? Or shall
we say, that the discovery of truth was reserved for the age of
experiment; and that she is alone to be apprehended in the infinite
labyrinth of particulars? That she is to be investigated with the
corporeal senses, and not with the powers of intellect; and that the
crucible, the alembic, and the air-pump, are the only mediums of
detection? If this be the case, truth is material, and may be calcined,
distilled, and rarefied, like any other corporeal substance. It is no
longer eternal and immutable, but perishable and fluctuating; the
phantastic subject of sensible inspection, and not the steady and
real object of the permanent energies of science. Shall we call this
the age of philosophy, in which talents are prostituted for
sustenance, and learning submits to the impudence of wealth? Shall
we say that we have strengthened the cause of philosophy, by
demolishing her schools; and increased her independence, by
enlarging the empire of commerce? Where shall we find the man,
who is at present reverenced for the profession of teaching
speculative truth, or indeed who teaches it at all? Or should we
chance to meet with such an obsolete character, shall we find him
supported by the profession? It is a well known fact, that men
formerly lived in the highest esteem by its propagation: it is equally
as notorious, that a man at present would starve by such an
attempt. Dare we assert, that the reason of this difference must be
ascribed to the greater liberality, and more philosophical spirit of the
present age? Shall we not rather say, that the period, in which these
ancient heroes lived, was the golden age of philosophy;—a period so
different from the present, as to appear fabulous on the
comparison? For mark the distinguishing characteristics of our
inferiority. The great object of ancient philosophy, was an accurate
speculation of principles and causes: but that of the modern, is a
confused investigation of effects. And if pursuits participate of the
nature of their subjects, and causes are more noble than effects, the
ancient philosophy must undoubtedly be more elevated than the
modern. Again, the object of the Pythagorean and Platonic
philosophy was to make its possessors wise and virtuous; and to
elevate them above the common frailties and imperfections of
degraded humanity; and this end was happily accomplished in its
votaries, as their lives abundantly evince: but the object of modern
philosophy, is a promotion of the conveniencies and refinements of
life, by enlarging the boundaries of traffic; and the Mathematical
Sciences are studied solely with a view to this enlargement. The
design of the ancient philosophy was to remove the causes of
wonder, by contemplating effects in their causes: the grand object of
the modern, is to increase admiration, by attempting to investigate
causes through the infinity of particular effects. So that philosophy,
as Mr. Harris justly observes, now ends where it formerly began. For
either there is no such thing as science, or if its existence be
admitted, it can never be obtained by experimental enquiries; as
these must be liable to all the inaccuracy and imperfection of their
material subjects.
In short, the philosophy of Pythagoras and Plato will be found,
when impartially considered, to contain every thing which can
enlighten the mind, improve the morals, and exalt the character of
man. It is built on the steady basis of truth, and will survive the
wreck of ages. Its foundation is deep, and its summit reaches the
heavens. It is a mighty rock, which modern systems may assail, like
a raging sea; but, like stormy waves, they will only be broken about
its impenetrable sides. To war against wisdom is folly; for opposition
in this case is the destruction of its author. The moderns may,
indeed, expect, because their merit is raised by the present age,
above that of the ancients, to appear as giants in the eyes of
posterity; but they will only verify the elegant observation of the
poet[4], that
Pygmies are Pygmies still, though perch’d on Alps,
And Pyramids are Pyramids in vales.
A
D I S S E RTAT I O N
ON THE
PLATONIC DOCTRINE of IDEAS, &c.
SECTION I.
T he Platonic doctrine of Ideas has been, in all ages, the derision of

the vulgar, and the admiration of the wise. Indeed, if we consider
that ideas are the most sublime objects of speculation, and that their
nature is no less bright in itself, than difficult to investigate, this
opposition in the conduct of mankind will be natural and necessary;
for, from our connection with a material nature, our intellectual eye,
previous to the irradiations of science, is as ill adapted to objects the
most splendid of all, “as the eyes of bats to the light of day[5].” And
yet (as I presume, it will appear from the following discourse),
unless the existence of these lucid beings is admitted, there can be
no such thing as science; nor, indeed, any genuine knowledge at all.
Hence, an enquiry concerning their nature and reality, is highly
proper, as an introduction to the ensuing Commentaries, in which
they are considered as the stable pillars of all truth, and the prolific
principles of the universe.
But previous to this enquiry, it is proper to observe, that Plato
was not the inventor, though he was a strenuous asserter, of ideas;
for, in the Sophista he affirms, that ideas were the discovery of men
who excelled in wisdom and piety, and who contended for an
invisible essence. Diogenes Laërtius, indeed, asserts, that Plato
received the doctrine of ideas from Epicharmus. But Epicharmus was
not their inventor, because Pythagoras, and others of still higher
antiquity, were well acquainted with ideas; so that it may be
affirmed, with much greater truth, that Plato was instructed in their
nature by Philolaus his preceptor, and the disciple of Pythagoras. For
Pythagoras, after his mysterious manner, signified ideas by numbers.
But, prior to Pythagoras, Orpheus was an asserter of ideas, and
called Jupiter, or the dimiurgus of the world, “the idea of all things.”
And, according to Syrianus, the mundane sphere, celebrated by
Empedocles, is no other than the ideal world; so that the doctrine of
ideas is as ancient as that of wisdom itself.
But to begin with our enquiry: in the first place, without
universals there can be no science; for the flowing and perishing
nature of particulars is perfectly foreign from that stability and
duration which is requisite to objects of invariable truth. Neither is it
possible, that infinite individuals can exist without the subsistence of
one cause endued with infinite power; for all multitude must
necessarily originate from one, and must resemble its cause in as
great a degree of perfection as its nature can admit; by a diffused
infinity, shadowing forth that infinite power which subsists in
indivisible union. Hence, if this be the case, and if infinite men,
horses, and a multitude of other univocals, are produced in an
infinite time, an unity of infinite power must be the source of each,
according to which they are generated in a terminated manner to
infinity in the universe. Again, all animals are transmuted from that
which is in capacity (i. e. seed), into energy. But if this be true, it is
requisite there should be some animal in the universe, subsisting in
ever-vital energy, which may call forth that which is concealed in
dormant capacity, into perfect actuality. Thirdly, the celestial orbs
would not perpetually revolve in the same spaces, and after the
same manner, unless one and the same universal number, or idea,
ruled in each. So, likewise, there is a natural number in every
animal; or those of the same species, would not always (when
perfect) be distinguished with the same invariable organs; nor would
they be subject to puberty and old age, at the same time, unless
they were detained by the same measure of nature. Besides, the
participation of universals, is evident in every sensible object. Thus,
the rational nature is united with every individual man. Thus, animal
subsists in a lion and a horse, in a man and a dog. And thus the
pentad, or number five, is participated in the five fingers, and the
duad in the nostrils, eyes, hands, and feet. But since these do not
subsist without a cause, but are perfected by certain determinate
natures, it is necessary there should be an universal animal, in the
whole of nature, separate from sensibles, by means of which this
sensible animal is generated. And that there should subsist in nature
a pentad, through which the hands are always adorned with that
number of extremities; and a duad, from which the two eyes and
nostrils are derived. But if nature does not possess these numbers
from herself, as she is not the first cause of all, but derives them
from another cause, in the same manner as matter from nature, it is
necessary there should be universals and numbers prior to nature,
subsisting in far greater purity and perfection.
Again, we may demonstrate the existence of ideas as follows: if
the Deity, in fabricating the universe, operated essentially (and there
is no other way in which we can conceive him to operate), he must
fabricate the universe, an image of Himself. But, if this be the case,
he contains in himself, in the manner of an exemplar, the causes of
the universe; and these causes are no other than ideas. Besides, this
consideration is not to be omitted, that the perfect must necessarily
antecede and preside over the imperfect; unity over multitude; the
impartible over the partible; and that which is perpetually the same,
over that which admits of variation and change. From whence it may
be inferred, that things do not originate from baser natures, but that
their gradual processions end in these; and that they begin from the
most perfect, best, and most beautiful natures. But let us pursue this
reasoning more minutely, as it affords the strongest arguments for
the existence of ideas.
When the Deity fabricated the various species of animals, and
bestowed on them the different senses, it was doubtless with a view
to the benefit of their possessors, as he foresaw, that without these,
the animal could neither provide for its own support, nor defend
itself from surrounding dangers. But may we not enquire from
whence this previous perception originated? For it is not to be
supposed, that he first made animals destitute of senses, and so,
being admonished by their sudden destruction, afterwards assigned
them to their nature. Shall we say, this foreknowledge was the result
of a reasoning process? But then, we again ask, What were the
principles of this ratiocination? For if they originated from other
reasonings, it is necessary, at length, to arrive at something prior to
these discursive operations, on which they ultimately depend; since
all reasoning must be founded on indemonstrable principles. Was
sense, then, or intellect the principle of this previous perception?
But, sense, in the present instance, had not then a being, for it could
not exist prior to the animal nature: it was, therefore, intellect. But if
intellect be the repository of certain propositions, and the conclusion
be science, it must follow, that there could not then be a
consultation of any thing sensible. For the principle and the
conclusion must both depend on something intelligible. Besides, may
we not ask, how such a habit of thought arose before the existence
of a sensible nature! It is absurd in the extreme, to say from chance,
and to resolve it into a sudden volition of the Deity, is an assertion
that may, indeed, satisfy vulgar minds, but can by no means quiet
the restless spirit of philosophical investigation. Since, to suppose
the cause of the universe, actuated by sudden volitions, is to place
him on a level with the vilest natures, and subject him to the
irrational impulses of the brute. Hence we infer that the formation of
animals, and by the same arguments of the world, was not the
result of any reasoning process. For, indeed, argument and
foreknowledge cannot with propriety be attributed to the Deity; but
when they are ascribed to him, we must consider it as nothing more
than an indication of his constituting particulars, in a manner
somewhat similar to the providence of a wise man, in inferior
concerns. For, in subordinate natures, whose operations cannot take
effect prior to enquiry, reason is necessary, on account of the
inferiority of that power which precedes the reasoning energy. In like
manner, foreknowledge is necessary, because a power is wanting to
its possessor, which might render him superior to its use. For
foreknowledge is directed to this end, that one particular
circumstance may take place in preference to another. But if it be
requisite that every energy in the Deity should be void of defect, and
if it is not lawful that any thing should be present with him, which is
not total and universal, it is necessary that all things should be
contained in every thing essential to the nature of the Deity. Hence,
since even futurity is with him present, there is nothing in him
posterior; but what is present in him becomes posterior, by its
participation in another. If then futurity be present with the Deity, it
is necessary it should be so present, as if foreknown in a posterior
nature; that is, in such a manner that nothing may be wanting to
any being; and that is, lastly, so that every thing may be complete.
Besides, reasoning cannot, by any means, belong to an eternal
essence like the deity; for if this be admitted, he must be forgetful of
his former operations. And if, in consequence of reasoning, he
produces more perfect natures afterwards, his works could not be
perfectly beautiful before: but if they were beautiful before, they
must be co-existent with their cause, i.e. they must be eternally
beautiful, antecedent to the reasoning energy. Again, if we suppose
the supreme intellect, the demiurgus of the world, to operate by
enquiry, his energy could not be spontaneous, and truly his own; but
his essence would be similar to that of the artificer, who does not
derive his productions from himself, but procures them as something
adventitious by learning and enquiry. But if the universe was not
formed by deliberation, it must be co-existent with its cause, and
reside in his essence; for if it be not co-existent there must have
been some particular time, in which its artificer determined on its
production; and this determination must have been the result of a
reasoning process, concluding that it would not be good to produce
it before that particular time, (from whence, by the way, we infer the
eternity of the world.) And if the universe be co-existent with its
author, it must perpetually emanate from his nature, and be
dependent on it, like the shadow on its forming substance. But in
this case, its archetype must be contained in the essence of its
author; for every cause is that primarily, which its effect is
secondarily. And hence we infer, that if the sensible universe be
replete with forms of every kind, the exemplars of those forms, must
subsist in immaterial perfection, in the artificer of the world.
If this sensible world, then, be formed according to the exemplar
of that which is intelligible; may we not say, with the great Plotinus,
that it is requisite universal animal should there primarily subsist in
perfect vital energy, containing all things in its omniform essence.
“Hence (says he[6]) the heavens are there a divine animal, replete
with ideal stars. Earth too does not there subsist solitary, but is
much more vital than this corporeal earth, for it is full of intellectual
life. The sea too is there, and all water subsisting in life, and an
ever-abiding stream. For how is it possible that any thing not vital,
can be the progeny of life itself? He, therefore, who enquires from
whence animals originate in the intelligible world, might as well
enquire from whence all life, and soul, and universal intellect, arose.
For here there is nothing indigent nor defective, but every thing is
perfect and exuberant. Here they all flow from one fountain, not as
from a certain spirit, or heat, but as if from an universal quality,
possessing and preserving in itself, all qualities; such as sweetness,
accompanied with fragrance of smell, the vigour of wine, and the
strength of all juices, bright colours, and whatever is perceived by
the taste.”
3. Such then are the arguments which the Platonic philosophy
affords in defence of ideas; the existence of which was so evident to
Plato, that, in the Sophista, he compares those who oppose the
friends of ideas to the giants of old, warring, as it were, on celestial
souls, and such as are engaged in sublime investigations. Let us now
consider to what universals these lucid beings are confined; since,
according to the Pythagoreans and Platonists, there are not ideas of
all universal conceptions. “For, in the first place (says Syrianus[7]),
there are no ideas of things evil and base, because these subsist in
nature rather by a privation and absence of ideas. And, on this
account, they are said to exist contrary to nature. Nor, secondly, of
negations, for these are destructive of the bound and limitation
which is attributed to every thing from the unifying and
comprehending nature of ideas; and hence, separation is rather the
result of material infinity than of that which is formal or ideal. Nor
again, are there any ideas of things which at different times receive
a variety of conditions. For these participate of transmutation from a
moveable cause, but not from the immoveable and stable illustration
of ideas. Nor again of parts, such as the hand, head, fingers, and
the like. For the causes of things existing entire, produce whole
species and forms; not divided about the parts of these, like the
reasons of nature. But neither did these wise men place in intellect
the determinate causes of accidents in bodies, such as sweetness
and whiteness. For they considered that natural reasons were
sufficient for the production of accidents. Nor again, of composites,
as of a wise man. For since ideas are simple, they preside over the
simple essence of every thing. But the composition and division of
things is the business of our intellect; ideas, at the same time, and
that intellection which is co-ordinate to ideas, being exempt from all
these, on account of superlative simplicity. Neither, therefore, must
we establish ideas of things generated from dissimilars, such as
mules; nor of fruit produced by engrafting from different trees. For
all these have a posterior and adventitious generation, and are not
the work of nature alone, nor of nature proceeding according to her
own reasons, but, as it were, compelled to labour contrary to her
own determinations. Hence it is manifest, that all art, which imitates
nature, and alone ministers to the use of mortal life, is separated
from the cause of ideas. But neither are the works which, depending
on the purpose of the soul, are perfected by a concourse of many
causes, and which we are accustomed to call the operations of
fortune, to be conjoined to the cause of ideas. For things which are
there perfected, are eternal, and subsist perpetually the same, free
from the nature of contingent events. It remains, therefore, that
ideas must be confined to universal and perfect essences, and to
whatever confers to their natural disposition; as for instance, to
man, and every thing perfective of man, such as wisdom and virtue.
For ideas existing as the generative and energetic causes of the
perfection of every thing, distribute being to essences, and convert
them to the inexhaustible plenitude of their own omniform natures.”
4. But let us now consider the nature of numbers; for as every
form is a number, according to the Pythagoreans[8], a speculation of
this kind must afford no small light to the arduous investigation of
ideas. Will it not, therefore, be proper, in the first place, to enquire,
with the great Plotinus[9], whether multitude is not a departure and
distance from one, so that infinity itself is a separation from unity in
the extreme, because it is no other than innumerable multitude; that
on this account it becomes evil; and that we contract a similar
nature when departing from intellectual unity, we are divided by
sensible multitude? For a being then properly becomes many, when
no longer able to remain collected in itself, the same, it is diffused
abroad, and thus, being dispersed, is variously extended; so that
when, by diffusion, it is absolutely deprived of unity, it becomes
perfect multitude, destitute of that universal cement, which unites
one part with another. But whenever the conciliating one is present,
then that which was scattered and diffused, becoming permanent by
its bounding power, passes into magnitude. But if any one should
deny the subsistence of unity, asserting that one is no where to be
found, which is not some particular one; and should hence affirm,
that what is called one abstractedly, is only a certain affection of the
soul towards any being; we ask, what prohibits the appellation of
essence, from being nothing more than an affection of the soul, and
consequently the existence of being, a delusion? For we predicate
unity of particulars with as great propriety as being. I am well
aware, that philosophers of the present day will answer, that we
have an evident proof of the reality of being, from its agitating the
soul, and becoming apparent in the phantasy: to which we reply,
that in like manner, the soul is agitated, and the imagination
influenced about the one. For every individual as much excites the
perception of one, as of being.
Besides, it is necessary to enquire whether we behold this
passion and conception of the soul, as one or multitude. And again,
when we say not one, we do not then possess one from the thing
itself; for we say that one is not contained in that individual. And
hence we must possess one in our own nature, and this must reside
in the soul, separate from that which is denominated some particular
one. But here it may be objected, that the one we possess is
received from externals, and is nothing more than a conception of
the mind, produced by the thing itself. For it will be said, that as
multitude is nothing besides a number of individuals, which are
called many, so one is nothing besides one thing; and is formed by
thought separating that one particular from others. To this we reply
as follows:
How can it be consonant to reason to suppose that the
conception of one arises from the sensation of some one particular
subject? For one particular man, who is discerned by sense, is by no
means the same with one itself, since, if this were the case, thought
could never predicate one of that which is not a man. Besides, as
cogitation, on beholding the different positions of things, affirms that
this is here or there, so when it perceives an individual, pronounces
one; for that passion is not vain, nor does it assert one of a non-
entity. Nor must we think it predicates ones, because this individual
is different from another; for when cogitation affirms such a thing is
this, and not another, it declares, in the mean time, that the other is
one. Likewise when it affirms that any thing is this alone, it then
declares, that what is alone is one: on which account, it predicates
one, prior to alone. Besides, if there be multitude, it is necessary
that one should antecede; since when it predicates many, it
pronounces more than one. And when it affirms that an army
contains a multitude of men, it conceives the soldiers reduced to one
order.
For thought, indeed, does not permit multitude to remain perfect
multitude, destitute of the conciliating power of unity; in which very
circumstance, the subsistence of one is evinced; for acutely and
swiftly perceiving the one which results from order, it reduces the
nature of the many into one. Besides, we affirm that a house and an
army are each one, but that a house is more one than an army, on
account of the continuity of its parts. If therefore, one is contained
more in that which is continued than in that which is discrete, and
still more in what is perfectly indivisible, it is evident that the one is
a certain nature, and has a real being. For it is impossible that the
more and the less should take place among things which have no
subsistence. If then it be not possible to understand any thing
without one or two, or some other number, it is by no means proper
to deny existence to that, without which we cannot comprehend the
existence or properties of any being: but it is requisite that nature
should antecede all discourse, and intelligence, which is every where
necessary to their existence.
Again, if unity has no real subsistence, and is nothing more than
a name or conception of the mind, it may be destroyed without the
destruction of its subject. The unity, therefore, of a house may be
taken away, without the ruin of a house. But if a house is nothing
more than certain materials, reduced into one form, this is
impossible. And, on the contrary, the alteration of that subject, of
which unity is predicated, can make no real alteration in unity (on
this hypothesis) any more than the death of a man can affect his
name. When, therefore, a body, of which one was predicated, is
divided into a multitude of parts, there is no real alteration made in
the unity of the body, because unity is nothing more than a name.
It was in consequence of this reasoning, and perceiving that
unity was participated by every being, that the Pythagoreans placed
a super-essential one at the top of the universe, intelligibly
abstracted from all beings in simplicity and excellence of nature. For
they considered, that unless there was a self-subsisting one in all
things, there could neither be universals nor particulars. Not the
first, because they are by nature one and many. But it is requisite
that the one itself, should preside over that which is not one alone.
Nor again, the second, because they are many and one, (that is,
they participate more of multitude than unity, and their nature is
determined more by the many than the one.) And because of things
in participation, unless an unparticipated one is added, there can be
no cause of union to beings; in the same manner as the cause of
essence to beings, is taken away by those who deny that being
itself, is the principle of all essence. For as the good itself, is the one
principle of good to the universe, and is nothing besides good; and
as a self-motive nature, which is nothing besides self-motion, is the
cause of motion to all things; so all things proceed from being itself,
and all united natures receive their union from the one, abstracted
from all things.
Hence (such is the absolute dominion of unity), continued
quantities would have no existence without its participation; for
when they are divided, so far as they lose unity, they change their
being into some other form. Hence, the bodies of plants or animals,
which are each of them one, when they fly from unity, and are
dissipated into multitude, immediately lose the essence they
formerly possessed, and become something else; which new state of
being they likewise possess so far as they are one. Add too, that
health then flourishes in the corporeal frame, when the body is
conciliated into one; then beauty flourishes, when the power of one
connects the members into proportion and consent; and then virtue
reigns in the soul, when the soul is reduced into one similitude with
that which is divine.
5. But let us now investigate the nature of numbers. All number,
according to the Pythagoreans, originates from unity and the
indefinite duad; the first having the relation of form, and the second,
that of matter to all the orders of numbers. But they likewise divided
number into two kinds, essential and monadic. The essential number
they considered as first subsisting in the intelligible world, together
with being, and from thence distributed into all the various
gradations of forms. But the monadic, or that which is composed
from certain units, they justly considered as nothing more than the
image of essential number. And with respect to the numbers which
the human soul participates, these from its imperfect condition have
a middle subsistence; i. e. they exist in a vital, gnostic, and
speculative, but not in an operative manner. Hence, when receiving
one thing with another, we affirm, that they are two, as a dog and a
man, or two men; or when we compute more than two, as ten, and
say that there is a decad of men, this number is not essential to the
two or ten individuals, nor is it to be conceived as subsisting in
sensible natures; but it is purely quantity. But when we distribute
this ten, into units, we produce the principle of quantity, and
generate a subject in opinion[10], capable of participating the
essential decad of our soul. But when, considering man in himself,
we affirm that he is a certain number, as the duad, composed of
animal and rational, we do not observe one mode in this predication;
but so far as by a discursive operation of the soul, we numerate, we
effect a particular quantum; but so far as the subjects are two, and
at the same time both one (since one fills the essence of both, and
in both unity is contained), we pronounce another, and an essential
number: and this duad is not of a posterior origin, nor alone signifies
a certain quantity, external to the subject, but a duad subsisting in
the essence of man, and containing his nature. For here we do not
produce a number by a discursive operation, while we pursue
essential natures. But when we number any ten things, which are
not connected by any conciliating unity, like a choir, or an army, then
this decad, which we predicate of the ten particulars, subsists alone
in our numerating soul, which renders the ten individuals in opinion,
a definite quantum. But in a choir, or an army, essential number is
participated exclusive of that which subsists in our soul. And if it be
enquired how number subsists in the human soul, we must say, that
the soul, by her self-moving energies, procreates number, while she
numerates, and by this energy, causes the existence of quantity; in
the same manner as in walking, we give rise to a certain motion.
Thus, monadic number, or a collection of units of various kinds,
subsists in opinion, in a manner correspondent to that of geometrical
figures; and by this means participates the essential number of the
soul. For as a triangular figure in the phantasy, is the recipient of a
triangular nature, or of triangle itself; so every three units in opinion,
receive the essential triad of the soul, and, by this means, form a
definite quantum.
In short, as in every being we may discern the resemblances of
matter and form, so in the pentad, or any other number, the five
units, which are the subject of participation, and the quantity of the
number, originate from the duad; but the form, that is the pentad
itself, from unity. For every form is an unity, which unites its subject
quantity, and connects it with its ideal species. It is, therefore,
requisite to understand, that the two principles of mathematical
numbers are resident in our souls, with which every mathematical
number is co-existent; I mean unity, comprehending in itself all the
forms of numbers, and which corresponds to unity in intellectual
natures; and the duad, endued with a generative power, of a
formless nature, and of infinite virtue; and which is called boundless,
on account of its being the image of never-failing and intelligible
duality. Hence, the unity of the soul, with a never-ceasing energy,
continually distinguishes and forms all the orderly processions of her
numbers, suffers no vacuum to intervene, and leaves no quantity
formless and innumerable. Hence too, no essential number of the
soul, as for instance, the pentad, is composed from substance and
accident, as a white man; nor from genus and difference, as man
from animal and biped; nor again, from five unities mutually
touching each other, like a bundle of wood; nor from things mixt,
like water and wine, nor from things subsisting by position, in the
manner that stones compose a house; nor lastly, does it subsist like
things numerable; for it is not because they are composed from
indivisible units, that they possess any thing besides units. For many
points are indivisible, yet quantity is not produced on this account;
but because they participate of two natures, the one corresponding
to matter, and the other to form. Lastly, it is not proper to say, that
the number seven (and so of any other number), is composed from
the triad and the tetrad; for units, indeed, composed with units,
form a subject adapted to the reception of the heptad, or the ideal
and essential number seven; but the definite numerical quantity
seven, is formed from so many units, and the ideal heptad. Hence,
as the soul of the shipwright gives form to the timber, from her
inherent art; so the numerative soul, from the unity endued with the
relation of a principle which she possesses, gives form and
subsistence to all her inherent numbers. But there is this difference
between the two, that the shipwright’s art is not essential to our
nature, and requires manual operation, because it is conversant with
sensible matter; but the numerative art is essentially inherent in the
soul, and is therefore present with all men, and possesses an
intellectual matter, which it easily forms without the assistance of
time. And this, perhaps, is what deceives many, who think that the
heptad is nothing more than seven units. For the imagination of the
vulgar, unless it first perceives a thing destitute of ornament, and
afterwards the operations of the adorning artificer supervening its
nature; and lastly, beholds the thing perfect, and invested with form,
cannot be persuaded that it possesses two natures, the one
formless, but the other endued with an energetic and forming power.

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© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Boca Raton London New York

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

No claim to original U.S. Government works

International Standard Book Number-10: 1-57444-542-1 (Hardcover)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Developments in pressure-sensitive products / edited by Istvan Benedek.-- 2nd ed.

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© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Chapter 2 Buildup and Classification of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 3 Physical Basis of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 4 Molecular Fundamentals of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Chapter 5 Chemical Basis of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Chapter 6 Developments in Crosslinking of Solvent-Based Acrylics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Chapter 7 Adhesive Properties of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Chapter 8 Manufacture of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Chapter 9 Molecular Design of Hydrophilic Pressure-Sensitive

Chapter 10 Converting Properties of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Chapter 11 End-Uses of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

EAA ethylene-acrylic acid

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

BWB-TL German military norm

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mPa sec milliPascal second

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

I. Construction of Pressure-Sensitive Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Pressure-sensitive products (PSPs) may have a simple or sophisticated construction, depending

I. CONSTRUCTION OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

A. GENERAL BUILDUP OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

B. PARTICULAR BUILDUP OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

FIGURE 2.4 The main pressure-sensitive constructions.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

FIGURE 2.6 Buildup of a transfer tape.

FIGURE 2.7 Multilayer pressure-sensitive composite manufactured by photopolymerization.