A label release liner is probably not something you think about often but it’s a very important part of pressure-sensitive labels. The release liner is a backing material on labels and stickers that carries them until your labels are ready applied. Its job is to protect the adhesive and keep your labels from sticking to each other or something else before they’re ready for their intended use.
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In this article, we’ll explain the difference between paper and PET label liners and what is the best option for product labels.
There are a variety of different release liners available for labels and stickers. Depending on your label application and specific product features, there might be an option that works better for you. The most common release liner materials are paper or PET film.
If your labels are going to be used in an automatic labeling applicator they must have the right liners to hold up in the machine. Otherwise, it can result in more waste, company downtime, and material shortages.
PET liners are primarily important for high-speed automatic labeling machines. They are made from polyester film, which is thinner than paper liners so you can roll more labels on each roll. This reduces roll changes during high-speed or large-volume label applications, and it also reduces waste. Since the rolls can be smaller, this can also save storage space and shipping costs.
PET release liners are also ideal for things like labeling beer cans that require a wet application. They generally have fewer breaks on automatic machines than paper liners, which saves time and money.
Paper liners are one of the most common release liners and the most economical. aper release liners have a silicon coating to prevent the label adhesive from sticking to the paper underneath below. That way you can separate your label and liner easily when ready for application.
They offer good tensile strength and won’t break when converting into labels or being wound on a label applicator. While they are strong under tension and can perform on high-speed packaging lines we don’t recommend them for things like wet applications.
Avery WePrint offers a clear film PET liner that is ideal for things like beer can labels or you can order our standard paper liners available on most labels and stickers.
If you are thinking about switching your release liners or need any help, contact us at (800) 942-. As always, we can also provide samples to help you compare your options.
Melanie NeffAs a converter of self-adhesive materials we like to discuss self-adhesive tapes and pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA). However, an often forgotten material in the adhesive landscape is probably the release liner. People often call this the “carrier” or “backing” of a tape. This product which is most of the time a coated paper or film that holds the adhesive material and is at the same time as a protective shield until the purpose of the self-adhesive is required.
Release liners are coated papers or films that carry adhesive materials.
Liners have 2 important functions:
That means liners make sure that the self-adhesive material does not get damaged and is crucial for a consistent tape quality. The terms are exchangeably used and release liners are referred to as carrier or backing.
The base of a release liner is often paper, poly coated paper, film, or a metalized film. The liner can be coated with silicone or non-silicone to have an easy release from the adhesive. It all depends on the surface in combination with the requirements of the dispensing system needed for the application.
The release liner is in most cases one of the most critical decisions you will have to make while designing an PSA. It has to have the correct quality and feature to exactly match the application, both hand applied or automatic dispensing, and processing like for instance slitting and die-cutting.
Here’s an example. A print company is preparing inkjet cartridges. It’s crucial to the automated assembly process that the release liner performs well so it releases from the liner and accurately dispenses onto the cartridge.
There are four key release liner substrate construction categories:
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Every release liner has a couple of variations which depend on several factors. Below are a few examples of how this construction can look like.
Merging your converted adhesive part with the best liner is vital for most applications, including the assembly processes. There are many types of release liners that are compatible with adhesives. See a selection below.
When working with release liners, it is recommended to work with a seasoned tape converter. This company should be experienced with many types of material, invests in equipment and want to understand your product from A to Z.
Silicone coated film has seen increased use in the electronics industry as a release liner for films applied as protective layer during circuit board processing. For sensitive and complex PCB processing, silicone coated films must meet published specifications, such as the level of temperature resistance and release characteristics.
Release films for electronics applications are made of a polymer layer, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to which a very thin silicone coating is applied. The polymer itself will depend on the final properties of the film, such as the ability to withstand temperatures over 200ºC, but in all cases, it’s important that the film has high strength, is chemically inert and sticks well to the PCB. In terms of the silicone layer, it’s important that no silicone residue is left on the sticky layer after release. This is especially crucial for semiconductor electronics, where silicone could migrate into the device and impair performance. The thickness of the silicone layer must be within a given range to ensure the film has right flexibility to completely cover features on the substrate, and the silicone layer must have the right release profile to work with the process tooling system.
As mentioned above, the release characteristics of the liner can be changed depending on the application - and this characteristic is an important part of the liner’s specification. The release characteristics are determined by the quality of the silicone layer coverage, the completeness of the silicone curing process and the silicone formula itself. It’s important to control these parameters carefully during release liner production to ensure the final product meets the specified release characteristics.
XRF helps to control the quality of the silicone layer by returning a value for coat weight. For the very thin layers applied, there is a linear relationship between the XRF silicon signal and the coat weight, provided the instrument has the right calibration. This makes it a very simple exercise to determine the thickness of the layer as you can take a single, rapid measurement on a sample of coated film. There’s no chemical processing or manual calculations involved, unlike other methods such as atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). This simple coat weight measurement is useful during process engineering when determining the curing level of the silicone layer. Here, you simply measure the coat weight with XRF before and after extracting the excess silicone to determine the effectiveness of the curing process.
Hitachi’s LAB-X is a benchtop XRF analyzer that’s ideal for silicone coat weight analysis. Rugged, compact and powerful, the LAB-X is designed for constant use in a production environment. Once a sample has been prepared (simply by cutting a small disc of coated film and placing it in a sample holder), the operator presses the start button and within seconds results are displayed on the screen.
The instrument parameters are optimized for this application, and it’s simple to set up a pass / fail value within the software, removing the need for the operator to interpret the results.
Also, the LAB-X has a built-in sample spinner–rotating the sample during the analysis to provide a repeatable coat weight result.
You can find more information on the LAB-X for release liners here. Alternatively, get in touch to arrange a demo.
Get in touchMeasuring the amount of silicone applied to release liners is an important aspect of quality control during manufacturing. If too little silicone is applied, the adhesive layer will permanently stick to the substrate, and too much increases manufacturing costs without further improving product quality. To control the silicone thickness, the industry commonly uses benchtop X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers such as Hitachi’s LAB-X, as they provide non-destructive, cost-effective and reliable analysis. They enable operators to adjust the manufacturing process quickly and help reduce materials costs while maximizing production yield.
The LAB-X lets you use your glassine paper calibration for other paper types, including clay coated, without losing accuracy. After carrying out a single calibration with your glassine standards, all you need to do when moving to a new paper type (or new roll of paper) is to measure an uncoated ‘blank’ of the new type. The XRF equipment uses this measurement as a ‘correction factor’ when measuring coated samples, self-compensating for the new substrate.
XRF equipment typically uses helium to ensure stability for the measurement of light elements such as silicon (Si). The LAB-X includes clever functionality to automatically compensates for changes in atmospheric temperature and pressure (which would otherwise affect results), and delivers reliable results with no need for helium at all. This means the cost and difficulty of obtaining, storing and using helium are completely removed.
The silicone coating process is not 100% perfect, and can result in small variations in silicone thickness over the coated paper. Also, XRF analyzers typically only measure a small area on the paper sample, and that can lead to results variability across the sample’s surface. The LAB-X includes a sample spinner, which rotates the sample over the X-ray tube and detector to test a wider area and get an averaged reading. No matter how the sample is positioned in the analyzer, operators will get the same result for that sample.
The equipment is small enough to fit on a bench, and rugged enough to withstand a typical production environment for maximum uptime. Operator training is minimal: The samples are easy to prepare using the supplied disc cutter. The operator simply places the paper disk in the holder, puts it into the analyzer, and then presses the start button. Within seconds initial results are displayed on the screen. You can also display pass and fail messages, removing the need for the operator to interpret the results. When the measurement is complete, the equipment beeps to let the operator know the equipment is ready for the next sample.
The LAB-X has the capacity to store up to 100,000 measurement results (and associated spectra). You can print out results on the integrated printer, or transfer them to a USB memory device. In addition, you can transfer results automatically via Wi-Fi to our ExTOPE Connect cloud service, and manage data in real-time from any computer. No need to be near the analyser to view results and create and share results. You can even access data from multiple Hitachi analysers in one cloud account for total visibility of your testing operations.
The LAB-X brings accuracy, fast throughput and low-cost testing to the release liner industry, making it easier for manufacturers to meet product specifications while maintaining their profit margins.
Find out more about how the LAB-X500 can benefit your business.
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