In simple terms:
✅ Tack is important for holding the substrates together before drying.
✅ But 7255 is not a PSA — its tack is balanced just enough to help with lamination, not to stay
permanently sticky.
📌 Why High Tack Can Be a Problem in 7255-type Adhesives (and
Laminating Adhesives)
Problem Caused
Explanation Real-World Effect
by High Tack
High tack makes the adhesive too sticky
Handling when wet. It can stick to machine rollers, Difficult lamination process, machine
Difficulties hands, or packaging materials jams, roller contamination.
unintentionally.
When tack is too high, once the two No chance to adjust the laminate layers,
Poor Positioning substrates touch, they grab immediately and causing wrinkles, bubbles, or
do not allow repositioning. misalignment.
Blocking High tack can cause blocking — sheets or In packaging or printing, finished products
(Adhesion to rolls sticking together during storage before can stick together, damaging the surface
Itself) full drying. during separation.
Adhesive contamination leading to lower
Dust and Dirt Highly tacky wet surfaces attract dust, fibers,
bonding strength, visual defects, poor
Attraction and dirt from the environment.
hygiene (important in food packaging).
Extremely high tack can lead to stringing and
Irregular adhesive film thickness →
Uneven Coating webbing during application (like "spider
defects in lamination and bond strength.
webs" of adhesive).
Some very tacky adhesives hold more water Reduced production speed, higher energy
Slower Drying
or solvents, slowing down the drying speed. costs (hot air drying).
✅ In a laminating adhesive like 7255, you want controlled moderate wet tack:
Enough tack to hold the paper and foil together temporarily during pressing,
But not so sticky that it causes handling problems, blocking, or dirt pickup.
Summary Diagram
Low Tack Moderate Tack (Ideal) High Tack (Bad)
Poor initial bond, Good initial grab, repositionable, clean Too sticky, blocking, handling issues,
slippage. lamination. dust pickup.
How to Reduce Tack Slightly in a Water-Based Styrene-Acrylic Adhesive:
Method How It Works Effect
1. Increase Tg slightly (by Higher glass transition temperature (Tg) Reduces wet and dry tack without
polymer design or makes the polymer film harder and less killing adhesion. Target: Tg ↑ by
blending) tacky at room temperature. +3 to +8 °C only.
2. Reduce Soft Monomer Decrease monomers like butyl acrylate (BA) Film becomes a little harder, tack
Content or 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2EHA) slightly. decreases.
Add 5–10% of a harder acrylic dispersion
3. Use Hard Resin Lowers tack gently without major
(higher Tg, no tackifier) into your
Dispersion (Blending) changes to rheology or drying.
formulation.
If you're adding external tackifiers (e.g.,
4. Reduce External Reduces sticky feel without
rosin esters, acrylic tackifiers), lower them
Tackifier Level weakening the film too much.
by 5–10%.
5. Adjust Coalescing Use a slightly less efficient or lower-boiling Slows film formation very slightly,
Agent coalescent, or reduce its amount. lowers early-stage tack.
Simplified Key Points:
In a good adhesive like 7255:**
You should feel moderate tack by finger test (not heavy glue transfer).
You should be able to reposition the laminate for at least 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
You should not see sheets sticking together after drying.
You should not see machine rollers getting dirty during coating.
In Detail:
If tack is normal If tack is too high (problem)
After drying, you can separate laminated sheets After drying, sheets feel glued together or stick to
easily by hand. each other.
Tearing of paper, surface defects, difficult to peel
No tearing of paper or foil. No surface damage.
apart.
Smooth, clean surface. Surface damage, adhesive residues, wrinkles.
Good for storage and further processing (e.g., Blocks production, causes product waste, or
cutting, folding). customer complaints.
✅ **Summary:
"You should not see sheets sticking together after drying" means:**
After drying, your laminated products must stay separated, clean, and undamaged.
If they stick or tear, it shows that the tack is too high or the adhesive is not optimized.
