Water-Based Adhesive

Learn what a water-based adhesive is, its purpose and how Weber Marking Systems can help you implement it!

A water-based adhesive (also known as aqueous adhesive) is a special type of adhesive that uses water as the primary carrier to dissolve or disperse its bonding polymers.

The way water-based adhesives work can be described in three phases:

• First, the adhesive is applied to a backing material (e.g., paper, plastic).

• When the adhesive is applied, the water either evaporates or is absorbed by the backing material it was applied to.

• The evaporation or absorption process allows the creation of a strong bond between the backing material and the surface where the backing material is applied to.

For water-based adhesives to work, it is important that at least one of the surfaces it is applied to is porous. If both surfaces are porous (for example, if both are made of metal or glass), this will prevent the evaporation/absorption process or slow it down considerably.

Water-based adhesives are frequently used in industrial labeling. There are mainly two ways this happens:

• Wet-glue labeling: here, the water-based adhesive is applied to a label, the label adsorbs the water and is immediately applied to a surface (e.g., a glass bottle).

• Pressure-sensitive labeling: in this case, the adhesive is applied to a label, but it is dried before being applied.

Compared to other adhesive types, water-based adhesives offer multiple advantages:

• Safety and health advantages: water-based adhesives are non-flammable, odor-free and have zero volatile organic compounds. This prevents air-pollution and ensures safety at work.

• Cost efficiency: water-based adhesives are made of water, which is much cheaper than substances such as petroleum.

• Reusability: water-based adhesives allow labels to be easily peeled-off when exposed to the right environmental conditions. For example, bottle labels can be easily removed when exposed to hot water. This allows the bottle to be reused.

• Ultra-thin applications: water-based adhesives can be applied to extremely thin materials, such as thin foils or pressure-sensitive tapes.

Weber Marking Systems is a world-wide expert in label production and labeling systems. If you get in touch with us, we will advise you on the best adhesive type for your application, be it water-based or not!