Online Labels Forum

I recently applied the weatherproof labels to lip balms tubes. The label wraps all the way around the tube and sticks to itself. Some are sticking just fine. A lot are unsticking from the label and some are even lifting at both ends - from the label and lifting off the tube. I did make sure the tubes were very clean before applying the labels. It is a full color print on the labels. Prior batches were without a full color print and stuck just fine. The one potential issue I can think of: I made the mistake of using a laser printer (forgot these were inkjet!) Would this cause it to lift from the from the other end of the label and from the tube?? About half (of 160) are sticking just fine. A lot of pressure was applied to all of them. Why are they lifting and what can I do to fix?

I have this problem sometimes and honestly I just add a tiny bit of superglue to the ends and a dot in the middle and it stays perfectly and doesn't seep through the label or anything.

I am sorry to hear about the issue you are experiencing. I will assume that you have read through the recommendations in the article that I referenced in my prior post.

I see you have purchased the brown kraft labels from us on multiple occassions. We did some updates to our brown kraft material a few months ago and it has improved the performance of the adhesive on many surfaces. The newer variant of the product will likely resolve the sticking issue you are experiencing.

I see your most recent order (placed on 4/11/2018) for the 5" x 1" labels is on the newer variant of the product whereas the orders prior to that date are on the older variant of the product. I assume the sticking issue you are experiencing is related to product OL421BK (2.125" x 1.6875") which I show was on the older variant of the product.

I would be happy to get you some samples of the updated product so you can test the newer variant of the product to see if it resolves the issues. Assuming the samples resolve the issue, our customer service team would be happy to work with you to replace the product.

Let us know how you would like to proceed so I can enter a sample request for you.

Thanks.

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com

I was able to locate your account and confirm that your most recent order did ship with the brown kraft material that features our updated, more aggressive adhesive. We made a change to the product a couple of years back to improve adhesive performance on smaller curved surfaces like lip balm tubes. I'm sorry to hear that you're still experiencing issues with some of the labels lifting at the edges once they're applied.

Labeling small curved containers can sometimes be challenging, especially with rigid-paper based labels like the brown kraft material. Since you're already wiping down the lip balm tubes, the best advice I can give that may resolve your issue is to be careful to apply the labels in a manner that doesn't introduce too much excess tension. Place the center of the label onto the tube first, and then use your thumps to apply pressure outward evenly until you have both edges laid down and applied to the tube. Applying the labels by placing one end down first and then wrapping the label around the tube until it overlaps has a much greater chance of introducing tension, which makes the labels more susceptible to lifting at the edges.

Properly applying the labels to the tubes can definitely have a positive impact on adhesion. I hope this helps. If you need any additional assistance please just let us know.

We actually made an adjustment to our brown kraft material a couple of years back to increase the strength of the adhesive. I'm sorry to hear you're still having some trouble with adhesion to a couple of your bottle types.

If you're working with a clean, dry bottle the biggest factor relating to proper adhesion on a curved surface is tension. You mentioned limiting surface tension in your original post, so you may already be taking these steps, but when labeling a curved surface you should apply the very center of the label first and then press outwards both ways to distribute pressure evenly. This will ensure that the label is being applied with as little surface tension as possible and typically goes a long way toward reducing edge lift on labels that wrap around a curved surface.

If you're already applying your labels like this and still experiencing edge lift you may need to move to a different size label if you're bottle will allow for it. A larger label will provide more surface area for the adhesive and typically result in better adhesion. You mentioned that you were avoiding overlap on your wrap around labels, but moving to a full wrap my actually improve the adhesion as well. If you're going to overlap the edge of the labels, the key is to allow for enough length so that the overlap is at least a quarter of an inch. Anything shorter than that may result in some lifting, but if there's enough surface area on the overlap you should excellent adhesion.

We're happy to send samples if you'd like to try some different sizes on your bottles. You can request free sample sheets by visiting the link below:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/General/SamplesSelectItems.aspx

I hope this helps. If you need any additional information please just let us know.

I'm having this same issue with OL5950WR on candle tins - they will not adhere at the ends. I have had to apply double-sided tape, but it leaves an ugly bump. I am not sure what the issue is, but I am not thrilled that I have to deliver these to my customer in a less-than-perfect finish.