Hold it together
The unsung heroes of the sign-making process are the adhesives, tapes, and other bonding solutions that keep the products from falling apart. It’s all good and well taking time and effort to produce a perfectly crafted and aesthetically pleasing sign but a sign shop can wave goodbye to repeat business if the product it produces doesn’t stand the test of time. Not to mention the health and safety issues that can arise with signs falling off buildings and injuring passers-by.
The nature of signage means that it can be used in any environment where information or promotion is needed. This can be on cliff edges, dangerous construction sites, and along busy high streets with high footfall. This means that not only does the sign need to be durable in order to continue to serve its purpose, but it needs to remain intact so it doesn’t become damaged or move from its intended placement. Events such as the Grenfell fire in 2017 means more of a focus has been put onto the safety of materials and this needs to be implemented in the production of signage.
In this feature, we look at some of the adhesive and tape solutions on the market for sign-makers to use to ensure they are producing work that is safe, high quality, and durable.
Plenty of options
Eurobond Adhesives has been supplying adhesives and tapes throughout the UK for four decades. The company provides products that have been designed to cope with the large scale of weather we experience in the UK and mainland Europe. Some solutions include Penloc two-part structural adhesives, Eurobond acrylic adhesive VHB-style tapes, Eurobond flexible MS Polymer adhesives, UV curing and electrically conductive adhesives, as well as over 200 other adhesive formulations for whatever sign-making needs are required.
O Factoid: Eurobond Adhesives has over 200 different adhesive formulations designed to suit all sign-making applications O
Reflecting on the role adhesives play in the sign-making process, Simon Dearing, managing director of Eurobond describes these products as a critical tool. Dearing explains how these solutions have different characteristics and perform at different levels due to various formulations. Examples of this are viscosity, curing mechanism, tensile or shear strength, and water or chemical resistance.
The performance of these adhesives therefore are down to different factors including chemical formulation, the quality of ingredients used, the blending and manufacturing process, the type of product packaging, and storage conditions and shelf life.
According to Dearing, adhesives are commonly used in the place of traditional fixtures and fittings such as nuts and bolts. The benefits of this, Dearing says, is that adhesives can offer more aesthetically pleasing finishes with most adhesives being invisible once applied. Using tapes and adhesives can also save time and give designers more freedom as they are not limited by unsightly fittings.
Adhesives and tapes are commonly used in the place of traditional fixtures and fittings
With regards to adhesive tapes, Dearing explains: “They are very easy to use. They bond on contact, give an even thickness and distribution of stresses along the glue line, and are much simpler and faster to use than liquid adhesives. They can also be the quality managers’ and accounts’ ‘friend’ as they can quantify the exact amount of tape used and its cost per cm2.
“Quality can be maintained as the adhesive tape is a given thickness and width throughout the construction ensuring no matter who applies the product, the same amount is used on each product. Unfortunately, you can’t say the same for liquid adhesive products.”
Another company that offers adhesives and technical tapes to the sign industry is INDASOL. Founded almost 20 years ago, the business specialises in high performance bonding and its products are also used in the marine, automotive, and aerospace industries, and by the Ministry of Defence. All INSASOL’s tapes, foams and UHB (Ultra High Bond) products are slit in-house so customers can choose a width depending on their needs rather than having to ‘make do’ with what is available. This is crucial when producing bespoke signage. For those unsure of what product is best, INDASOL’s team is technically trained and on hand with free of charge on-site technical support and samples.
“Tapes and adhesives play a very important part in the manufacture and installation of signage,” says Martin Sadler, director of INDASOL. “They offer a fast and clean way of bonding and allow a clean and sharp looking sign with no visible fixings. Over the past year, the products have evolved to allow structural bonds to be made with tapes and adhesives as well as replacing rivets, screws, and welding in some applications and to pass through powder coating to again enhance the finished sign and reduce labour of finishing.
“The INDASOL range covers pretty much every aspect of sign-making. Whether it’s banner hemming, tray box making, channel or rail fixing, rimless built-up letter fabrication, or the actual installation to the end-user’s site, we offer a product for every application and task.”
The latest products to be added to the INDASOL portfolio include 930LX and 2020E two-part structural adhesives and its UHBSF18XT structural tape. The first in the line up was developed to help when bonding locators to ACM. “ACM comes in many different spec levels and as such, some of the adhesives on the market can cause serious read through on the front face,” Sadler says. “There are adhesives that will limit this, but they either don’t work well with some locators or have a weak bond strength.”
The 930LX is in the same family as its predecessor, the 900, and offers the same bond strength but with a longer cure time which reduces the read through issue. The 2020E is a crystal clear two-part structural product that has been developed to work with rimless built-up letters and other applications. Similar to the 800 product, the 2020E has a longer open time and is ideal for larger letters. The UHBSF18XT is a high performing structural tape designed for use in applying channel and rails to the back of signs. An extra tacky initial bond grows in strength over 72 hours, providing a high strength structural bond.
The perfect cure
Something Dearing has noticed at Eurobond is companies looking to utilise UV curing adhesives and fire-resistant adhesives and tapes in their designs. These products are commonly used in the manufacture of display cases, trophies, awards, and internal signs where the designer is looking for an invisible glue line.
Adhesives can offer more aesthetically pleasing finishes with most being invisible once applied
Dearing explains: “UV adhesives have many advantages over using solvents such as Tensol or DCM. Solvents can take a long time to cure, they also leave tiny white crazing or fracture lines in many plastics distorting the glue line and can look unsightly. UV curing adhesives are optically clear, do not distort plastics and will cure in just a few seconds when exposed to focussed and concentrated UV or white light.
“Specific cure times will depend on the materials being bonded and the type, wavelength, and intensity of the UV/light curing equipment being used. It may sound complicated but they are really simple and easy to use. With some simple on-site training from our technical reps, fabricators can be very competent in around an hour.”
Another factor Dearing raises is the rise in scrutiny over materials and adhesives since the Grenfell disaster in 2017. As a result, Dearing says the use of flame retardant and fire resistant chemicals including adhesives and adhesive tapes have seen a steady increase in sign-making projects. Over five years ago Eurobond launched a ‘Fire Resistant’ flexible structural adhesive called SafeFix FR300. This product can bond most materials used in construction such as wood, glass, plastics, stone, glass fibre, and more. It has also been certified fire resistant to four hours in specific applications. Eurobond also offers flame retardant and thermally conductive adhesive tapes.
Eurobond launched its ‘Fire Resistant’ flexible structural adhesive called SafeFix FR300 over five years ago
Viking Industrial is another company offering adhesive and tape solutions and technical assistance for the sign industry. The business has three experts with over 40 years of tapes and adhesives experience manning the telephone helpline to assist with any queries or issues.
Something Craig Smith, technical manager at the company notes is customers’ amazement at the performance levels of products today. He explains: “Even now, 30 years after products like 3M’s VHB tapes were first introduced, people still find it difficult to believe the exacting performance levels that can be achieved.
“The seal and bond in one stage deal with extreme weather conditions and are easy to use and quick to apply. They also reduce visible fixings, so improving the sign’s appearance, as well as bonding to difficult surfaces such as powder coat and low surface energy plastics.”
A recent development Smith highlights is the introduction of products such as the 3M GPH range which is designed for multi-material bonding. This can be seen when a single tape is used for multiple applications. These products perform at much higher temperatures up to 230°C which is ideal for products that go through the powder coating process. “Their conformability allows a more complete bond contact area when bonding rigid or irregular materials, and as a direct result their initial high tack creates high initial handling strength. Not only that, but they are priced at a very attractive level. In a nutshell, a tape for all reasons – and seasons!”
Look long and hard
So, we’ve looked at some of the solutions on offer for sign-makers but what considerations do you need to take when deciding which option is best for your needs? Smith says users need to make sure all parameters of the application are understood. This means assessing whether the surfaces are to be stuck to high or low surface energy, whether there are temperatures involved, and whether the application is indoors or outside.
“Product surfaces must be clean and dry,” he says, adding: “On some difficult surfaces a primer may be required. With adhesives, especially two-part Epoxies, attention must be given to open time and working life. Even on adhesive tape, bond strength will increase over a 24/48 hour period. Hence, handling time needs to be carefully taken into account.”
For Sadler, the most important thing for sign-makers to look out for when choosing a tape or adhesive is the end environment. He explains: “It is all well and good having a very sticky tape to bond something together, but if it’s used externally and exposed to UV, it needs to be able to withstand this.
“We offer a service to help select the right product to ensure surface compatibility is correct, the right amount of bonding product is used, the preparation is done properly, and the overall bond is good. On many occasions this is the area that is skipped, but it’s a crucial part of the process.”
Sadler continues: “Overall, I would say that every aspect of bonding solution selection is critical. Compatibility, surface area, preparation, end environment. These all have the potential to make or break a good bond.”
Compatibility, surface area, preparation, end environment. These all have the potential to make or break a good bond”
Dearing says sign-makers need to make sure to look long and hard at the choices they make as well as the supplier of these products. Suppliers need to be able to offer full technical support on the design and construction of a sign, and have comprehensive knowledge of the performance and perhaps more importantly, the limitations of adhesives for different projects.
He says: “In these very challenging times, sign-makers should try to get some assurance that their adhesive suppliers have sufficient stock, can offer short lead times and give some surety on the price of a given product. You don’t want to embark on a project, only to find that the adhesive that was suggested in the design stage, is no longer available because of supply chain issues or has massively increased in price.”
Don’t cut costs
Speaking of supply chain issues and the industry is currently facing a number of challenges. From rising energy prices and increasing raw material costs, to suppliers having to absorb these costs and raise their own prices. All this makes for the perfect storm for sign-makers trying to continue to operate as normal.
Like many companies, INDASOL has experienced problems with the supply of materials and Sadler explains how this has been compounded with the changes in import and export due to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. All of these issues had an initial impact of supply but the company was able to plan ahead for the most part and working closely with supply partners, has managed to maintain normal service throughout these difficult times.
“As a Commercial Partner of ISA-UK, we strive for professionalism and it is our aim to provide the best product for each application at a price that meets the customer’s expectations,” Sadler says. “We want to be the first choice for bonding in the signage world through not only offering excellent products at the right price, but by backing this up with expert technical assistance, cutting edge innovation, and understanding what our customers need.”
Whilst these issues can mean it is tempting for sign-makers to cut costs, Dearing advises that companies are cautious if tempted to go down this road. He says it is important to look at the bigger picture and at the “installed cost”. He says: “How much has it cost to manufacture and install your sign first time, every time; safe in the knowledge that the fabricator has used the correct adhesive chemistry, the correct joint design and the correct adhesive performance that matches the performance criteria needed.
“Reputations take years to build and seconds to trash. So it’s so much better and so much more cost effective to use a quality product with great technical support first time, than to have to revisit a job because a poor quality product was used or poor product knowledge has led to a problem that now involves a site visit and possibly a new replacement sign.”
So, with the sound advice of those most knowledgeable in the area and plenty of solutions to choose from, there is no excuse to produce a sign that doesn’t stand the test of time.
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