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ADHESIVE TAPE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN INDIA A Review of Adhesive

Tape Manufacturing Industry in India in comparasion with the Global Adhesive
Tape Manufacturing

Presentation · January 2019

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 ADHESIVE TAPE
MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRY IN INDIA

14 JAN 2019

A Review of Adhesive Tape

Manufacturing Industry in
India in comparasion with
the Global Adhesive Tape
Manufacturing
A Review of Adhesive Tape Manufacturing Industry in India
in comparison with the Global Adhesive Tape Manufacturing
Adhesive Tape Manufacturers in India
Where do we stand? as compared to the
Global Tape Industry?

Many of us
Adhesive Tape Manufacturers asked me a question
What is Skill Development?
What is the need for Skill Development for Adhesive Tape Industry?

I was shocked for a moment, my Friends.

I could not react immediately. I took some time and started thinking on the same
And
One day I was ready with my answer

This Presentation is nothing but the outcome of

what I was thinking and how I could prepare myself to answer these simple but very important questions

I just thought of analysing the status of

Adhesive Tape and Coating Industry in India.
& bunch of questions raised in my mind

1. Where do we stand? as compared to the Global Tape Industry?

2. How many Adhesive Tape Manufacturers are there in India?
3. What kind of Tapes they Manufactured?
4. How sophisticated Machinery and Manpower they have?
5. How cautious we are about Quality?
6. How do they control the quality of the Product?
7. What quality standards do we follow?
8. How choosy we are in terms of selection of Production Machinery, Testing Equipment and Manpower?
9. Do we Interact and cooperate with our fellow Tape Manufacturers?
10. Do we follow the basic Business ethics?
11. How much do we spend on Manpower Training or upgradation of their Knowledge?
12. How much do we involve our staff in decision making?
13. How do we spend on Research and Development? Or do we spend at all on R&D?
14. How many manufacturers have the bare minimum Testing equipment in our Laboratory?
15. How many of us follow the Standard Specifications for manufacturing?
16. How many of us believe in Quality and Commitment?

Now I started Thinking in depth and, I could get some clues to these questions.

The same are Presented Below for an open discussion. I Welcome each one of you to come forward and
share your thoughts so that, We as Indian Tape Manufacturers can meet the Global challenges and come out
as Winner

Where do we stand? as compared to the Global Tape Industry?

This is my very opinion
Kindly please excuse me if someone does not like or hurt, by my comments on the same.

Except for few Manufacturers, some of them are Multi Nationals and some are purely Indian Manufacturers
(I do not want to mention any one here for obvious reasons),
Many of us are nowhere near by the Global Manufacturing standards and quality.
The main reason for the same is out of the total Indian Tape Manufacturers, almost 75-80% are dealing in
BOPP Packaging Tape.
The one and only one criterion followed by BOPP Tape Manufacturers or for that matter the BOPP Tape
consumers is the Cost of the Product.
Many Consumers want a Packaging Tape as cheap as possible, and unfortunately, they are not worried about
the quality neither the quality. However, there are some consumers who need quality Packaging Tapes, but
the number is very few.

If Everything Comes Easy, We’ll Never Learn to Deal with Disasters.

Agree?
A wonderful article written by Mr. Sandeep Kashyap on Linkedin.com

There is another trend which is very popular, and which is followed religiously is the OEM’s have some
brilliant idea’s about Cost cutting. There is an unwritten rule of cost cutting of 2 to 5 %, every year, in
whatever materials are out sourced. The Purchasing authorities are least bothered about the quality of the
products that they out source. Their main agenda is Cost cutting by hook or crook. They are more worried
about achieving their target of coat cutting even at the cost of quality of the Product.

This Innovative Cost cutting trend is mainly responsible for the deuteriation of the quality of BOPP
packaging Tape.

Initially many new commers who are keen to start their own Manufacturing unit, after dealing in BOPP
Tape marketing, invest in a machine to manufacture, with a thinking that they could earn at least 10-15 %
more Profit Margin.

But within few months they, realise the true other side of the coin.

No doubt the BOPP Tape market is really growing at a rapid speed but there is a Mad competition in this
market. Hence willingly or unwillingly they fall into the unethical trap and try to exist by, cutting on the
length, width, film thickness or the adhesive coating thickness.

So, once they opt for an option / compromise on the area mentioned above, they are forced to compromise
on quality of raw materials, machinery, manpower.
Initially the new commers are having brilliant ideas of Installing a reasonably good Machinery, buying
quality raw materials and Installing a reasonable quality control Laboratory.
They realise that there is no need of wasting time and money on Testing equipment, and the only concern
leftover is to produce a Tape at a lowest cost.

This is the explanation of my earlier comment on

“Many of us are nowhere near by the Global Manufacturing standards and quality”

I hope all of us will agree with me on this issue.

Anyway, that is not the end of the World, we all can come out of this situation.
How?
That we will discuss later.

2. How many Adhesive Tape Manufacturers are there in India?

If I am right?
There are at least 3000+ Tape Manufacturers in India
Out of which around 80% are BOPP Tape manufacturers and rest 20% are into Specialty Tape
Manufacturing business.

3. What kind of Tapes they Manufacture?

As I mentioned earlier
Most of the Tape Manufacturers in India Produce BOPP Packaging Tapes, may be to the tune of 80%
Remaining 20% are into manufacture of Specialty Self-adhesive Tapes

4. How sophisticated Machinery and Manpower they have?

Most of the Manufactures prefer to Install an Economical version of a Coating Machine and a Slitting
rewinding machine with Manuel Controls.
A new / upcoming Manufacturer Generally approaches a Machine Manufacturer
The Machine Manufacturer being extremely keen to grab the opportunity to supply a Complete Plant for the
same.
Most of the Machine Manufacturers, offer a helping hand by arranging to supply the required Manpower as
well. In order to promote their Brand, he offers Manpower, the basic Inputs like the, PS Adhesive, BOPP
Film, Paper core suppliers list. They also give an impression that, Manufacturing of BOPP Tape is a very
easy job.
They precisely explain the new comer on the Manufacturing Process, as under
Load BOPP Film on the Unwind stand
Pass on the film through set of rollers and paste the same on, paper core (empty) mounted on the rewind
stand
Pour Water based Adhesive in the coating tray,
Start the Hot air generator and later start the coating machine once the set temperature is arrived.

They always assure the new buyer for any kind of assistance required even after the Machine is installed. In
other words what we call it as “after sales service or support “. The most appealing or convincing assurance
is that, “you don’t worry sir, we will provide you the best possible Operators and helpers”, capable to run
your Plant on their own.
The new comer is convinced that it’s easy to Manufacture.

Up to this level
All is well
The real problem involved in manufacturing start appearing at this stage.
The new comer gets exposed to a variety of Problems as days progress. In general, the new commers don’t
have the basics of the Technology involved in it and the trouble shooting guidelines.
Hence the Investor takes a short cut (which is obvious) and opens a dialogue with the senior Operator,
provided by the Machine Manufacturer (as a courtesy).
This is the time, when the Investor, exposes himself or his Technical background. The Operators are very
smart to catch on this moment and slowly start dictating their terms on a regular basis. The investor by this
time is already handicapped and does not have any option but to agree upon whatever the Operators suggest.
This is how the Investor starts dancing to the tunes of the Operator and despite Investing a reasonably big
amount, gets totally handicapped.
This is how “Hum care so payada” kind of situation arises.

This is where the Skill Development play’s an important role

Supposed the Investor is trained prior to, Investment, then he can attend to the Troubles and can sort them
out easily. It does not mean that the Investor should handle the situation personally, but he should be able to
guide the Operator on the corrective measures, and directly or indirectly pass on a message to the Operator
that, he is aware of the technology and is capable of trouble shooting.
This message that the Investor is aware of the Technology carries a long way and the operating team is very
much within his control.

Now let us see what are the challenges involved in the manufacture of a Packaging Tape as simple as BOPP
Tape?

Of course, it is not as simple as

Pour ready to use adhesive at one end in the coating tray
Coat the same on the readily available BOPP film
Pass the coated film into the drying tunnel
And rewind the dried coated film on the rewind shaft
And then slit the same to required sizes, pack and dispatch.

5. How cautious we are about Quality?

Why is it not as simple as?
Pour ready to use adhesive at one end in the coating tray
Coat the same on the readily available BOPP film
Pass the coated film into the drying tunnel
And rewind the dried coated film on the rewind shaft
And then slit the same to required sizes, pack and dispatch.

Because

There are plenty of variables or challenges involved in all the steps mentioned above. Let us study them one
by one

variables or challenges involved are

Adhesive
Coating the adhesive
Drying the coated film
Rewinding the dried coated film
Slitting the coated film

variables or challenges in
Adhesive

Let’s see what the variables in the Adhesive are

The Base polymers used to manufacture Acrylic co polymer
The % solids content
The particle sizes
The pH
The Viscosity
The expiry dates
The type of packing
The storage conditions
The handling
And last but not the least the cleaning after the coating run is over.

Variables or Challenges in Adhesive

The Base polymers used to manufacture Acrylic co polymer

A good Formulation is based on Pure Butyl Acrylate and Vinyl acetate

However due to Volatile Market and Prices of Butyl Acrylate, the formulations are altered with more
quantity of other polymer or tackifiers and the adhesive is sold. The Adhesive looks alike but with a drop in
the Peel and shear Properties. A general tape Manufacturer do not notice any change in the appearance of
the adhesive.

The % solids content

I am sorry but must mention that many of us do not even know what is solids content?
A new adhesive supplier offers his Adhesive at say 5-10% lower Price than the established Adhesive
supplier. Anyone gets tempted to buy the adhesive from the new supplier, without giving a thought on the
solids content.
Here is an example for you.
Suppose the Established supplier is supplying an Adhesive with say 55 % solids (Mean out of 1000 grams of
liquid adhesive, 550 grams remain, and 450 grams of water is evaporated, after drying.) at say 65 Rupees a
Kg.
The new supplier offers the same adhesive (with say 48% solids, what it means is, out of 1000 grams of
liquid adhesive, 480 grams remain, and 520 grams of water is evaporated, after drying) at 60 Rupees a kg.
Any one, that too a BOPP Tape Manufacturer will be happy for saving 5 rupees, per kg, but now let’s check
whether he is saving or loosing.
So, what is the outcome
From the Established Adhesive supplier, you are buying 550 grams of solid adhesive at 65 rupees, that is
equal to 118 rupees / kg
And
From the new supplier you are buying 480 grams of solid adhesive at 60 rupees, that is equal to 125 rupees /
kg.
Hence you are losing 7 rupees per kg, for buying a cheaper adhesive.
I hope you get my Point?

The particle sizes

Particle size also plays a very Important role in the quality of the Tape produced.
Larger the Particle size, more are the chances of coating defects.
You may notice a problem in a batch of adhesive.
It’s a right time for you to cross check the particle size.

The pH
Variation in pH, does not have a severe effect on the quality, if the pH is maintained above 6.5, and this can
be very easily adjusted by, adding few drops of Liquid Ammonia.

The Viscosity: Changes due to Extra Dilution

Many a times additional water is added into the adhesive in coating tray
Due to Increased Viscosity of adhesive left over in the earlier Run.
Or
To adjust (Reduce) the Adhesive coating weight.
By doing so we are unknowingly, introducing some major defects in the Final Product?
Which are these Problems?
By adding extra water, the coating weight is no doubt reduced but at what cost?
The extra water, in case if not SOFT one or if it’s HARD than,
On drying the adhesive film may be shattered with pin holes, catering, or crawling defects. The dissolved
Minerals and salts from the HARD water are responsible for this.
As the Viscosity of the adhesives goes down the Foaming can increase dramatically, and this extra Foaming
can create problems like the one mentioned above.
Hence, if you want to reduce the coating weight, the best way is to change to a lower number Myer Bar.

The Viscosity: Changes due to Extra Dilution

Another problem associated with extra dilution is,
The surface tension of the adhesive increases from initial around 44-45 dynes to say 55-60 dynes,
This results in decreasing the wettability of the adhesive onto the Plastic Film.
The decreased wettability is responsible for Surface defects like, caters, crawling, uncoated area’s etc.

variables or challenges in Adhesive

The expiry dates
Expiry Date plays a crucial Role as far as the quality of the Tape is concerned. Hence check the expiry date
before opening a new Barrel

The type of packing

Generally, water-based adhesives are packed in Plastic barrels and that is fine.
But in case if it is packed in a metal barrel than check the adhesive against any contamination.
Ferric Oxide contamination can ruin the adhesive due to Oxidation.

The storage conditions

Storage of Adhesive plays a very important role. The Adhesive barrels must be stored under a shade, and
without direct exposure to Sunlight.
I have seen Adhesive barrels stored outside the Factory shade in open ground, even without a Tarpaulin
covering.
And what's the result?
They were coated around 26 to 27 grams of dry adhesive per sq. mtr of BOPP Tape, in place of 20-21 gsm.
Imagine they were losing/ wasting almost 23 % of Adhesive, purely due to negligence.
Due to open storage the adhesive degradation process starts, thanks to UV Rays and hence the adhesive
properties start dropping, within no time.

The handling
I have visited many Factories in India and have seen a very shabby way of handling the adhesive. At many
places the adhesive is charged / or added into the coating tray by hand. One Helper / person is dedicated
only to add adhesive.
This can be easily done without a permanent or dedicated helper simply by using gravity flow method, or by
using a simple attachment, that works on air pressure.
You can save on cost of a helper’s salary
And, the quality of the BOPP Tape produced
How?

The adhesive charging or loading method

How?
Handling of Adhesive
Here is a very cost-effective alternative to Adhesive Pumps.
You just need an Air Compressor (3 HP) line and
the rest you can do it yourselves

How?
Maintain min possible level of adhesive in tray

General Mistakes or Practices followed in the

Industry are

variables or challenges in Adhesive

How?

Avoid foaming
1. By charging adhesive from the bottom of
the tray
2. Maintaining minimum level of adhesive
in the tray
3. Avoid dilution of the adhesive by adding
extra water, for adjusting the coating weight.
4. For adhesive coat weight adjustment use, alternate Myer bar or gravure cylinder. Dilution of
adhesive with water is not a right method for controlling the adhesive coat weight.

variables or challenges in Adhesive

How?
Ease of cleaning
Min wastage of adhesive
1. Discharge all the adhesive from
the tray back to the adhesive
drum
2. Fill the tray with water and clean
the rollers and tray as soon as
possible.
 3. Do not use the cleaned water (may be with some adhesive in it) for reuse. Just discard it.

the cleaning after the coating run is over.

This is very important
The cleaning should be done immediately after the coating programme is over.
How Does it Help?
It helps a lot
1. Saves time for cleaning
2. No solvent is necessary for cleaning, which in other case, if the adhesive gets dried up than it cannot
be cleaned without the use of solvent.

variables or challenges in
Coating the adhesive
Coating is a very Important phase of Tape Manufacturing.
Let us study this in details

The coating Method

Plays an important role
How?
Which are the methods most popular?
The most common Coating Methods

It is clear from the

Chart that
Gravure coating is
meant for lower
Viscosity ( 100 to 2000
cps ) or free flowing
viscosity coatings or
Adhesives.
Generally, the Packaging Tapes based on Water Based Acrylic adhesive , with an average solids content of
50-52 %
Or
The release coating based on Silicone or non-silicone with organic solvent ( Toluene , Ethyl Acetate or
Alcohols ) , with solids content of 1 to 3 %
Are the examples of the coatings done by Gravure Method?
Now in case if someone tries to coat higher viscosity adhesives by this method than the coating will not be
even, or it will result into very coat weight.
The result is
Wastage of adhesive ( excess weight of adhesive ), and
Improper drying , resulting into adhesive transfer and rejection

Similarly
Comma , reverse Roll coating is meant for higher
Viscosity ( 1000 to 6000 cps ) coatings or Adhesives.
Generally, the specialty Tapes / or tapes with release
liner based on Solvent based adhesive or Water
Based Acrylic adhesive , with an average solids
content of 50-52 %
Are coated by this method.
Now in case if someone tries to coat lower viscosity
adhesives by this method than the coating will not be
even, or it will result into low coat weight.
The result is Wastage of adhesive coated product ( low weight of adhesive ), and Excessive drying ,
resulting into another rejection.
 Even while attempting to coat the adhesive
will tend to leak out from the check plates at
the sides of the coating roll.

Quality
➢ mismatching rollers , in terms of width ,
in terms of diameter

Above is a typical Example of mismatching

roller width as well as the web to be coated. This will result into lot of wastage and Rejection
HOW or WHY , is explained in the next few slides

Mismatching rollers , ( width )

The Impact of this mismatch
The rubber roller picks up adhesive ( fuller width of 1080 mm ) from
gravure roller ( of 1140 mm )
However, the web width is only 1020 mm.
This results in the web being coated , to entire width of 1020 mm , and
sometimes this causes adhesive being coated on the backside of the
web also.

All this causes major

challenges in handling the
web after coating , inside the
drying tunnel , as well as
during Rewinding at rewind
end
HOW / WHY , IS
EXPLAINED IN THE NEXT SLIDE

The Impact of this mismatch

The rubber roller picks up adhesive ( fuller width of 1080 mm )
from gravure roller ( of 1080 mm )
However, the web width is only 1020 mm.
This results in the web being coated , to entire width of 1020 mm ,
and sometimes this causes adhesive being coated on the backside of the web also.

All this causes major challenges in handling the web after coating , inside the drying tunnel , as well as
during Rewinding at rewind end
HOW / WHY , IS EXPLAINED IN THE NEXT SLIDE
The Mismatching diameters causes a sort of pull by the roller of higher diameter , and hence coating
problems, web stretching etc.
All this causes major challenges in handling the web after coating , inside the drying tunnel , as well as
during Rewinding at rewind end
HOW / WHY , IS EXPLAINED IN
THE NEXT SLIDE

The Mismatching diameters causes a

sort of pull by the roller of higher
diameter , and hence coating problems,
web stretching etc.
 Now Let Us See How the
Unwanted Backside Adhesive
Causes Web Handling
Problems, In the Next Slide

The Back-side adhesive on the

edges , then starts sticking to
each roller/ Idler roller and is
responsible for creating
wrinkles, creases and the web
handling is more and more
difficult.
This results in poor quality rewinding, and the coated rolls with full of wrinkles, folds , and result into huge
wastage and rejection.
The entire machines / rollers need to be stopped and clean thoroughly.

Above is another Example of

mismatching roller diameter as
well as the web to be coated.
This will result into lot of
wastage and Rejection

The backup Coating roller

The quality of Backup Roller
(Rubber Roller)
The quality of the Rubber roller is a very important criterion.
The Surface finish of the Roller, the evenness, is very important.
A Rubber roller may have some defects in it
1. Uneven wear & tear
2. Bubbles on surface or in between the total Rubberised thick.
3. Scratches
4. Open bubble
Swelling due to exposure to solvents
 A Perfect Rubber Roller

The Defective Rollers, contribute a lot towards

the quality of Finished Tape Product
We may have problems as shown below

The Defective Rollers, Gravure Roller

Q. Chrome peeling problem: We

gravure print using chrome plated
cylinders. The cylinders consist of a
steel base which is copper plated then
engraved for the print image. A copper
plating is then applied over top to
extend the life of the cylinder in the
press. In gravure the cylinder is partly immersed in
ink. The cells of the engraving fill with ink. As the
cylinder turns the excess ink is wiped from the non-
image area by a metal blade. The cells transfer the
ink to the paper as they contact at a nip and the
process begins again.
We have been experiencing a chrome peeling
problem with our cylinders. The problem has been
most prevalent with one of three suppliers, but all
three have had peeling to some degree. The chrome
"bubbles up" and peels off in select non-image areas
of the cylinder. This never happens the first time
they are used in the press. Usually it happens the
second or third time we use them to print. We talked with the cylinder supplier who insists that their product
is up to spec. They suggested we talk to our ink supplier. We use water-based inks (pH 8.5 - 9). We have
talked to other
manufacturers who use
these inks in similar
processes without
problem.
The press we print with is
a little unique in that it
uses inferred drying units
(positioned approx. 1 ft
from the cylinders in the
press).They cylinders are stored on metal racks, uncovered in our warehouse in between use.
The web tensions

Quality
➢ Accuracy of the machine ,

Many a times a compromise is done on the Rewind

and Unwind tension control systems.
A relatively old clutch and brake system is
preferred in place of auto tension controlling
devices.
No doubt you save some Money in terms of low
capital Investment
But the result ?
You keep losing money every day in terms of
wastage and rejection, and sometimes may be the
reputation or loss of the customer
Why this happens ?

Why ?
Because the rewind tension set at the beginning of
the coating is say “ X ”
As the coating progresses and the diameter at the rewind end increases , there is an increase in the tension.
This affects the line speed. As a matter of fact, the
line speed increases , and
This results in improper drying, increase in residual
solvent , unwanted wrinkles and creases , which
ultimately results in higher wastage or sometimes
rejections.

Processing Equipment
Quality
Plays a very vital role and depends on the
➢ Accuracy of the machine , especially the
Coating Heads, the Lamination , the unwind and
rewind tension
➢ ability to handle varies substrates
➢ types of coatings that can be handled
➢ the ease of handling
➢ the ease of change over's
➢ the machine control panel user-friendly or complicated ?
➢ coat ability, the coating methods available , faulty or unsuitable coating methods
➢ mismatching rollers , in terms of width , in terms of diameter
➢ mismatching coating trays
➢ machine drying tunnel efficiency
All these factors add to the Quality of the finished product . How ?
You will see some illustrations in the next
slide

Increase in the coating speed due to increase in rewind

tension
The figures on the left hand can explain you the problems.
The increase in speed due to increase in Rewind Tension coupled
with coating defects due to damaged
Rubber Roller / Gravure Roll / Myer bar / Metering Roll can lead to such problems.
You can see white coloured lines, patches, uncoated patches, etc.,
These patches are nothing but the undried / uncured adhesive. This adhesive, transfers to the back side after
winding and creates lot of problems, while unwinding during slitting.
How sturdy the machine is?
Now here are two machines shown above. Both machines can produce reasonably good quality BOPP
packaging Tape. What is the difference in them? One is a cheaper machine that can operate at a slower
speed, of course at a low Capital Investment. The other one on your right-hand side is a sturdy machine,
capable to run at higher speeds. This machine will be quite expensive than the other one. So, what is the
difference?
The machine on your left-hand side can run at
say 30 mtrs/ min speed. The moment we tray
and run at 50-60 mtrs/ min. the entire machine
will start vibrating and this will introduce lot
many problems in the product, such as,
improper drying, adhesive transfer, ununiform
 coating
across the
width
resulting
into
improper
drying, telescoping and Rejections. Hence the Machine quality plays a very vital role in Production

Uniformity in the line speed or the coating speed

The coating speed should be as uniform as possible. One can maintain it with the help of proper rewind and
unwind tension controlled through a proper Tension control system.
For cheaper machine where the tensions are adjusted, with help of mechanical clutches, the tension control
is always varying. The tension is low at the beginning but the same goes on increasing as the rewind
diameter goes on increasing. This induces a pull effect and the machine / coating speed goes on increasing,
resulting into, unwanted, residual moisture / solvent and there after the major issues like adhesive transfer,
telescoping etc.
A very common and big issue that goes unnoticed is static
Static Electricity is generated when a Plastic film moves over a Roller, Metal or Rubber. This is
unstoppable. BOPP Tape manufacturers use water-based pressure sensitive adhesive in generally and there
is a feeling that, static collectors, eliminators are not necessary, as and when water-based adhesives or
coatings are used, since there is no chance of any fire hazard involved.
However, the other aspects of Static generation are overlooked. The major issue involved along with static is
the Magnetic field generated. This Magnetic field is responsible for dust attraction. The dust goes on
collecting on the film side and later transfers to the adhesive side while unwinding the coated roll for further
processing, like slitting. This collected dust deposition on adhesive surface is responsible for tremendous
reduction in the peel adhesion.

Quality
➢ mismatching coating trays
All these factors add to the Quality of the
finished product .
How ?
You will see some illustrations in the next slide

The size of the coating tray

The size of tray and the quantity of adhesive in it
matters a lot to the coating quality.
How?
Let’s have a look.

variables or challenges in
Drying the coated film
Let’s see how?

Quality
machine drying tunnel efficiency

Quality
machine drying tunnel efficiency
Also depends on
➢ lower capacity ( Heating Source ) , Hot
Air Generator, or Thermo pack
➢ improper air distribution
 ➢ absence of exhaust system
➢ air leakage from sides
➢ too large or too small drying tunnel
➢ correct air velocity

Quality
➢ Lower Capacity Heating Source , Hot Air
Generator, or Thermo pack
➢ Hot air / Thermo pack are available in various
capacities like 50000 Cal / 100000 Cal/ 200000 call
/ 400000 Cal etc.
➢ more the capacity more is the fuel consumption
( like diesel, LDO, furnace oil etc. )
➢ in order to keep the fuel consumption low ,
generally the lower capacity Hot Air generator or
Thermo pack is chosen.
➢ This is the reason the expected coating speeds are not achieved , or
➢ the coating is done at higher speeds without efficient drying and results into adhesive transfer and
huge wastages.

Quality
➢ Improper air distribution
The air distribution Nozzles play an important role in the drying process . Improper air distribution results
in creating air pockets inside the tunnel and that is how the dry efficiency is adversely affected.
Quality
➢ Absence of exhaust system
in some of the cheaper designs of drying
tunnel , the exhaust system is missing. For
efficient drying the exhaust is necessary just to
replace the air .
The air with water of solvent vapor saturation
needs to be replaced with fresh air so that more
water or solvent vapor could be absorbed.
Incase if the exhaust system is missing then the air inside the drying tunnel is always saturated and no fresh
vapor can take place efficiently.

Quality
➢ Air leakage from sides
Sometime the Drying tunnel design is faulty, and leakages are noticed form the sides of the tunnel. This
ultimately results in loss of Heat energy . Hence the coating speed is reduced, or the coated web contains
residual solvent
( water or organic solvent ) , and hence rejections at a later stage due to adhesive mass transfer.
Quality
➢ Too large or Too small drying tunnel

Quality
correct air velocity
Any compromise or deviation in drying efficiency is going to result in unwanted wastage of heat energy,
electricity . Man, power cost .
This will ultimately increase the cost of manufacture , and result into lower , or sometimes NO Profits at all

Some Teasing Problems Related to Drying

Residual Solvent: due to Increase in the coating speed

thanks to increase in rewind tension

The figure on the left hand can explain you the problems. The
residual solvent (water / organic) is another inbuilt anomy for
any coated product
Lower Peel strength than specified, is a universal complaint received by Adhesive Manufacturers.
The Analysis of This Problem?
What can go Wrong?
Possible Reasons
1. The PSA coat weight can vary:
The Coating weight could be Lower
2. The Drying could be insufficient
3. Which means that there could be
Residual Solvent (in our case that is
water
Or
The Hot Air Blown to dry, might be
contaminated with dust? Or the drying
Nozzle might be rusty and hence the rust might be blown on to the adhesive coated substrate
 If this is the case than coat few meters
and stop the coating machine, allow the
coated paper to stay inside the tunnel
for 2 minutes with hot air blowing kept
on
Than check the coated gsm and peel,
compare the same with regular
production
You
Will certainly
Find a difference or
More peel strength
This will help you to identify the
problem and convince the buyer
about, insufficient drying

variables or challenges in
The Most Important but many a
time neglected area
Is Testing
Testing is involved at two stages
In plant / online: termed as Quality
Control
Off plant / prior to dispatch: termed
as Quality Assurance

What is the difference between?

Quality Control?
And
Quality Assurance?

Quality Control
Means controlling the quality while manufacturing a Product
This means aiming at zero defect from stage one
How?
Test the Uncoated Thickness and coated Thickness of the web after drying
Test Uncoated GSM and coated Thickness of the web after drying
Test the Peel Strength

Quality Assurance
Means, just ensuring that the quality of
the product is matching the specifications.
At this stage the quality cannot be altered
or modified.
In other words, it is as good as post-
mortem of the product
This means aiming at zero defect from
stage one
How?

The Thickness
 The Thickness is measured with help of a Thickness gauge , as sown in the
picture

Coating Weight

The Coated Tape sample is cut into 100 mm x 100 mm size as shown
The sample cut as above is then weighted in an Analytical Laboratory Balance

Peel Adhesion
The Coated Adhesive tape sample is cut exact into 25 mm width strip and the
same is applied / stuck on a Stainless-Steel Plate and is further rolled on top
with help of Lab Roller .
The Adhesive Tape strip is longer than the SS Plate , the extra length is folded
on itself.
This is then testing for the peel strength , by holding SS Plate in one Jaw of
the Tensile Testing Machine Holder and the adhesive tape folded end in the
other Jaw .
The force required to peel off the tape from the SS Plate is then measured on
the Tensile Mc. With a help of a Spring Balance , in Grams

Shear Strength
Or Holding Power

The Holding Power or the Shear Strength of the tape is done on a machine as shown in the picture

The International Standards

How do they control the quality of

the Product? Here I am referring to,
Mainly BOPP tape manufacturers
I have not seen many BOPP Tape
manufacturers, having in house Test
Equipment’s.
At many places even, GSM balance or
Thickness gauge is also missing.
There is simple thumb role, followed?
The quantity of Adhesive consumed
And the
Quantity of web (Film) coated
And that’s all.

8. How choosy we are in

terms of selection of
Production Machinery,
Testing Equipment and
Manpower?
Unfortunately
For many of us, cost of the
equipment is and the only
criteria
 We are ready to compromise on
anything except the cost of the
machine.
We are always interested in a
machine at the lowest price

11. How much do we spend on

Manpower Training or
upgradation of their Knowledge?
Very sorry to say
Except for some MNC’s or Limited
Companies with high reputation,
We don’t believe in Manpower
Training, or upgradation, due to a
fear in mind, that trained people will demand more salaries and perks, or will leave the organisation for
better prospects.

12. How much do we involve our staff in decision making?

Except for few
In general, we do not believe in involving our staff in decision making process

13. How do we spend on Research and Development? Or do we spend at all on R&D?

Except for few
In general, we do not believe in R&D or money spending on R&D
According to many of us, it is a waste of energy and money

14. How many manufacturers have the bare minimum Testing equipment in our Laboratory?
May be not even 30 % of our manufactures have testing facilities or use them in day to day affair

SPA Technical Foundation has an ambitious Plan of Launching a Mobile R&D Centre on wheels. This is a
totally Innovative concept across the World
o Offer R&D services at customers location
o Offer QC / QA services at customers location
o Conduct Technical Training Workshops
Conduct on Site Refresher Courses / Diploma Courses

We Now
❑ Look forward for valuable suggestions
❑ We welcome your active Participation
❑ We welcome Donations from Ngo’s across the World
❑ We Welcome likeminded Partners to join us in our effort to turn around the
Current scenario of Adhesive Tape Industry in India

This is how it will Look Like

I hope this is the time we Tape Manufacturers should join our hands, form our Association and, utilise the
Facilities at
SIES School of Packaging, Nerul Navi Mumbai, for
Testing, R&D, Training Programs and much more
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