Label adhesives

The State Library of Victoria uses labels that are acid free paper,
foil backed and with an acrylic adhesive for labelling on book
spines, polypropylene boxes and fibre board boxes. The labels are
rubbed down with a bone folder to ensure the critical initial
adhesion. We have no complaint with the foil back labels we have
been using but we have to pay a good deal of money to have them
form-cut to our specified sizes and shipped out from the U.S. I
haven't been able to find an Australian manufacturer that can combine
the acid free paper with the foil backing and acrylic adhesive.

Recently, I have come across a Raflatac foil backed label (made here
in Australia by a local branch of Raflatac) that uses a synthetic
resin and polymer hot melt adhesive. The specs read

    Tack: >13
    Shear: 2 - 8h
    PE - Looptack: >10n
    Labelling Temp.: Above -15 deg. C
    Service Temp.: -30 deg. C.....+60 deg. C
    Colour: Clear

Does anyone have any experience with labels with such an adhesive?
In what ways will it perform differently to a regular acrylic
adhesive? Can anyone interpret these specs in any way for me?

Michael Lester
Preservation Materials Officer
Preservation Packaging Section
Preservation and Storage Division
State Library of Victoria
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
+61 3 9669 9723

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:5
                 Distributed: Wednesday, June 30, 1999
                        Message Id: cdl-13-5-007
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