Henkel has responded to growth in the market for flexible packages by presenting its most recent developments in laminating adhesives for the packaging industry at Drupa 2012 in Dusseldorf, Germany. These include a new solvent-free laminating adhesive system under the Liofol brand that is based on renewable adhesives, thus enabling the production of sustainable packagings. It is especially suitable for biodegradable films that can be used for food packages.

Henkel’s portfolio of solvent-free two-component laminating adhesives has been expanded to include not just one but two new TDI-free products that make a significant contribution to improving safety in use.

The new Liofol laminating adhesives exhibit very good wetting behaviour which results in excellent laminate appearance. Moreover, the two systems have a long workability time of up to 60 minutes. Even after longer downtimes due to cleaning or resetting of the machine or a switch in film or foil materials, the adhesive will remain workable within the stated time. The long pot life helps to reduce material usage as it allows work to be carried out on the machine without needing to fear that the adhesive will have become unusable when production is resumed.

Henkel showcased several products and technologies for the printing and packaging industries at the event. It presented innovations ranging from an automatic monitoring system for spine gluing in bookbinding machines and especially eco-sustainable laminating adhesives to low migration effect coatings that give food packages a brilliant metallic gloss.

Purmelt ME Cool shows outstanding wetting and flow properties even at the low application temperature of less than 100 deg C

The focus this year was on sustainable and environmentally compatible adhesives and technologies. With the innovations presented at Drupa, customers had an even wider choice of Henkel products allowing them to save energy and materials as well as improving working conditions for their employees and enhancing end product safety.

PUR HOTMELTS
At Drupa, Henkel presented improved products for spine binding as well as emission-reduced PUR hotmelts for side gluing and end papering. By using emission-reduced PUR hotmelts, a growing number of bookbinders are creating a safer working environment on the shop floor. To help them do so, Henkel offers its Purmelt MicroEmission series – a trusted range of PUR hotmelts that are exempt from hazard labeling.

The latest development in this product line is Purmelt MicroEmission Cool 3400 with an application temperature much lower than that of standard products. This reduces energy consumption and significantly speeds up processes while improving occupational safety at the same time. The result is an extremely strong bond and reliable processing even with low adhesive usage. The portfolio now also includes a Cool variety of the Purmelt QR series. With the ME and QR versions, the application temperature can be reduced from 120 to 130 degrees Celsius to as low as 99 degrees Celsius with no loss of performance.

SMART CONTROL
For high-performance spine gluing of books and brochures, precise application of the adhesive is absolutely essential. Any errors at this stage in the bookbinding machine can rapidly lead to several thousand rejects. At Drupa, Henkel showcased the Smart Control monitoring system that allows users to detect production errors instantly. Smart Control is a camera monitoring system that can be retrofitted to existing bookbinding machines in addition to being incorporated in new ones. The core of the system is a thermal camera which continuously transmits images of the gluing process to a linked-up computer.

The image of each single copy is then analysed by the computer to check the quality of the glue line. If errors are detected, “Smart Control” immediately triggers an alarm, allowing intervention before large numbers of rejects can accumulate. The monitoring system can detect not only area failure in the glue line, but also gaps in the film caused by partially blocked doctor blades or nozzles, which can have especially serious consequences.

Digital printing is booming. Books on demand, photo books, doctoral theses or small print runs of catalogues and company brochures are increasingly being produced digitally rather than by classic offset printing. Henkel has put together a complete product range of Purmelt, Technomelt and Adhesive brand bookbinding adhesives to meet the specific needs of this sector.

When binding digitally printed books and catalogues, the adhesive used is often exposed to different conditions than in traditional bookbinding.

The print runs are considerably smaller so that the machines run for shorter times and can then remain idle for long periods. The adhesive used should be adapted to these special conditions. Henkel’s specialty adhesives therefore have high thermal stability and a constant viscosity even after many or prolonged heating operations. They can also be used with different kinds of paper materials.

The adhesives will also run on very small and slow binding machines such as those commonly used by print-on-demand suppliers.