The importance of labels is that buyers want to get ready made information about the products they purchase by glancing at the labels. It contains all relevant information that the purchaser expects to assess the usability of the product and its suitability for the purpose that it is meant. When buying tires, the buyers want to read the specifications on the label and so, every tire should have labels pasted on it. The reliability of a product is reflected in the label that needs to have good adhesion quality. And the most challenging assignment for adhesive manufacturers is to develop an adhesive for labels to be fixed on tires that can withstand the toughest conditions without giving away.
Importance of Labels
Tires are distributed far and wide by the manufacturers and the labels are stuck on the tires. It is required that the labels remain intact in its place no matter how indifferent people may be in handling tires. The longer the label remains legible it makes easy for buyers to choose tires with good labels. This has a direct impact on the sales of tires. Therefore, excellent quality of adhesion is necessary for labels that are used for tires.
Specialty Adhesive
Considering the superior adhesion quality that is necessary for tire labels, it is clear that rubber adhesive that is usually used cannot live up to the expectations of tire manufacturers who want labels to withstand the wear and tear so that it remains in place for longer period of time. To achieve this there is need to formulate specialty adhesives that have superior bonding with rubber and can remain adhered to the tire surface despite stressful conditions.
The Challenges
How much special the adhesive for labels on tires should be can be understood better if the conditions of use are evaluated. The specifications of adhesives for tire labels are so unique that normal adhesives cannot meet the requirement.
- Surface of tires are not smooth but coarse and there can be oil and grease on the surface that comes from the manufacturing process.
- Tires may be exposed to extreme high or low temperatures during storage and this can affect the quality of adhesion.
- Small hair like extensions on the surface of tires, known as sprues can make adhesion of labels difficult.
- Silcone sticking to tire surfaces (silicone is used for removing tires from molds) can make it difficult to stick labels on it and the amount of silicone on tires can vary largely thereby making it more difficult to find a standard formulation of adhesive that will work well on all kinds of surfaces.
The Answer
Hot melt rubber adhesive is the answer to all the challenges listed above. This kind of adhesive is most adaptable as it can address almost all variable conditions that can make adhesion difficult. High performance polyester adhesives have the ability of sticking on a variety of surfaces and are unaffected by the additional materials on the surface and can withstand high temperatures.
Adhesives are now developed to meet the toughest standards in adhesion and often considered for replacing mechanical fasteners.
