Evonik Industries : Strong bond – even without a backing roll

With conventional self-adhesive labels, up to 40 percent of the total material goes in the trash. As soon as the label is removed, the paper or plastic backing material is no longer required. The result is mountains of waste. In Europe alone, up to 300,000 metric tons of paper and plastic waste are added to the waste. An Evonik technology stops this waste generation at source: With TEGO® RC silicones, labels need no backing material at all.

The Evonik product from the Interface & Performance Business Line is applied invisibly to the upper surface of the print label. Then the labels can even be rolled up without sticking to each other. This not only saves 40 percent of the overall weight and the associated material costs but also conserves resources.

Efficient curing through ultraviolet radiation instead of heat

But how does it work? After all, the labels need to stick well at the intended application point. This is where ultraviolet light comes in: The Evonik silicones form a network when subjected to ultraviolet rays and then harden. This way they adhere to the intended surface in fractions of a second. With conventional self-adhesive labels, this effect is achieved through heat. This means that the Evonik procedure not only reduces waste. It also reduces energy consumption compared to label systems with thermally cured silicones and it protects the label itself. This is referred to as 'radiation cured' in the trade - this is the 'RC' in the brand name of Evonik's TEGO® RC silicones.

The Evonik products can also cope with heat. Take the packages at the delivery service or at the cheese counter in the supermarket; in both cases, linerless labels are now used to identify the goods. For all these labels, for which heat sensitive thermal paper is used - for example, in logistics - Evonik manufactures a special product TEGO® RC 1717. Extremely cost-effective thermal paper can be used for this. A further economic advantage for Evonik's RC technology in addition to the ecological benefit.