At a Glance
- -20°C Cold-Tack Qualification
- 150 m/min Converter Trial Speed
- 40% Fewer Lost Packages
Winter tack still had to run through a real converting window, so coating cleanliness and die-cutting stability stayed in scope with cold-room adhesion.
Recycled board and winter handling exposed both adhesion and barcode risk
The converter supported direct-thermal logistics labels for customers shipping through cold warehouses and winter distribution lanes, but the legacy PSA struggled on dusty recycled boxes and created avoidable print-quality concerns at the same time.
- Labels lifted first at edges and corners after application onto high-recycled-content corrugated with a dusty surface.
- Previous adhesive chemistry raised concerns about face-stock darkening and barcode clarity on direct-thermal labels during storage.
- The converter also needed clean matrix stripping and stable die-cutting, so a colder, more aggressive label bond could not come at the cost of press housekeeping.
A converter-grade PSA tuned for recycled-board wet-out, thermal hold-out, and winter tack
Senda qualified the new adhesive across both converting and field-use conditions, balancing aggressive cold-start adhesion with the cohesive control needed for clean die-cutting and stable face-stock performance.
Products Used:
- Recycled-Board Winter Tack PSA
Built for dusty corrugated wet-out, low-temperature tack retention, and direct-thermal label compatibility.
The real win was that qualification did not stop at peel strength. The approved grade had to hold onto dusty recycled board, preserve barcode readability on thermal labels, and still run through coating and die-cutting without the usual buildup that slows a converter down.
Qualification sequence
Board and face-stock review
The team compared recycled-board surface dust, thermal face-stock sensitivity, and target service temperature before changing the PSA package.
Cold-room adhesion and scan checks
Candidate grades were applied to recycled corrugated and reviewed after sub-zero exposure to confirm label retention and barcode readability.
Converting trial at production speed
Slot-die coating, die-cutting cleanliness, and matrix stripping were checked on the line so winter performance did not create new press-side waste or cleanup stops.
Cold-tack performance still had to be compatible with clean coating and die-cutting at converter speed.
What changed for the label program
- Stronger recycled-board wet-out: The label bond held more reliably on dusty, rough corrugated instead of losing grip after cold handling.
- Better thermal-label confidence: The approved PSA reduced the risk of face-stock darkening and preserved clearer barcode performance in storage and use.
- Cleaner converter operation: Aggressive tack no longer required accepting extra stringing, blade buildup, or unstable matrix stripping.
Validated operating window
Validated operating window
The approved label construction was reviewed against the low-temperature service window already defined on the solution pages.
Die-cutting and matrix stripping stayed part of approval at the web speed already used in the repo evidence.
The winter-grade PSA aligned with the repo-stated outcome of fewer label-related package losses in cold distribution.
Related resources
- Thermal Label Adhesives: Preventing Darkening, Fading, and Print-Head Buildup
Cold-chain tack and bleed-through screening for logistics label stock.
- Request a logistics label PSA trial
Prepaid sample for recycled-board tack and sub-zero distribution screening on your converter grade.
" Switching to Senda's converter-grade PSA helped us eliminate bleed-through defects and maintain reliable label adhesion in sub-zero distribution conditions without sacrificing die-cutting speed. "
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