Removable self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications

Abstract

A self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications, the particularity of which resides in that it comprises a paper face having a tensile strength in the longitudinal direction of at least 4.0 kN / m according to the ISO 1924 method, on which a layer of adhesive is deposited, the adhesive having a degree of adhesion of no more than 5.5 N / 25mm after one week of application on glass in the FINAT FTM1 test.

Description

[0001] REMOVABLE SELF-ADHESIVE PRODUCT WITH A PAPER FACE FOR DECORATIVE AND ADVERTISING APPLICATIONS

[0002] The present invention relates to a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications. More particularly, the invention relates to a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications that can be conveniently removed from a substrate to which it is applied.

[0003] The self-adhesive product is intended to be used for advertising, decorations, and the like.

[0004] As is known, self-adhesive products are commercially available which are suitable for decorative and advertising applications and are applied to both vertical and horizontal surfaces. In both cases, the self- adhesive product must be easily removable without leaving traces of adhesive on the surface to which it was applied and most of all also without breaking, so that removal can occur quickly and conveniently.

[0005] Moreover, self-adhesive products for decorative and advertising applications are generally provided by using a plastic film, usually PVC (because of its printability and conformability characteristics).

[0006] Therefore, the self-adhesive product is substantially applied to a substrate by means of adhesive, substrate which can also be for example glass, or metal, plaster, etc.

[0007] In this case, it is clear that the plastic film makes it easy to remove the self-adhesive product since the possibility of it tearing is greatly reduced.

[0008] The market has long been looking for more sustainable solutions for a self-adhesive product that does not employ a PVC face, and non-PVC film products have been launched.

[0009] Moreover, self-adhesive products composed of a paper face and a plastic film layer laminated together to form a laminate are known. Thus, in this case, the paper for decorative and advertising coverings is a paper-film laminate that is applied by means of adhesive to the substrate. In this case also, it is evident that the presence of a layer of plastic film in the laminate makes it much easier for the self-adhesive product to be removable, since the possibility of it tearing is greatly reduced.

[0010] However, even this solution is not ideal from the point of view of the disposal of the removed product since in the recycling step it would be necessary to properly separate the paper face from the plastic layer, with all the inconveniences involved and often with the impossibility to do so. It follows, therefore, that the recycling of the paper thus removed cannot be properly carried out.

[0011] Finally, to date, the provision of a self-adhesive product made entirely of paper is subject to numerous tears and breakages during its removal from a substrate to which it is applied. Such tears and breakages may be due in part to the fragility of the paper itself and in part to an excessive aggressiveness of the adhesive, which does not allow clean removal of the product and results in the persistence of paper fragments that are well adhered to the substrate and difficult to remove further.

[0012] The aim of the present invention is to provide a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications that is not a laminate, i.e., the result of lamination with a layer of plastic material, and is nevertheless removable without difficulty from the medium or substrate to which it is applied.

[0013] Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a self- adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications in which removability is accompanied by a total absence of adhesive residues on the substrate from which the self-adhesive product is removed.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications, the removability of which does not entail too much unwanted tearing of the self-adhesive product itself. A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications which has excellent digital printability characteristics.

[0015] A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications which has superior environmental sustainability characteristics, both in the choice of materials (paper vs. PVC or paper vs. laminated materials) that make it potentially recyclable and in the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) profile, in particular relating to CO2emissions.

[0016] Not least object of the present invention is to provide a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications that is highly reliable, relatively easy to provide, and at competitive costs.

[0017] This aim, as well as these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications, characterized in that it comprises a paper face having a tensile strength in the longitudinal direction of at least 4.0 kN / m and a tensile strength in the transverse direction of at least 3 kN / m according to the ISO 1924 method, on which a layer of adhesive is deposited, said adhesive having a degree of adhesion of no more than 5.5 N / 25mm measured after one week of application according to the FINAT FTMlh test on glass.

[0018] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the paper according to the present invention.

[0019] The self-adhesive product according to the present invention conveniently comprises a paper face without further laminations with plastic films or extrusions or inclusions of plastic material, i.e., a paper that is not coupled to any substrate of plastic material or the like.

[0020] The paper face is coupled with an adhesive, for example, of the microsphere type or for example applied in dots, i.e., spread discontinuously through a screen-printing mechanism. In this embodiment, the adhesive is present on the face in distinct regions, for example dot-like regions, typically 0.5 mm or less apart.

[0021] This allows to obtain the self-adhesive product according to the present invention.

[0022] As an alternative, the adhesive can be a microsphere adhesive that is spread according to the dots mode described above, or, again, the adhesive could be an adhesive of the traditional type.

[0023] In all cases, the adhesive must be such as to allow removability of the self-adhesive product once applied to a substrate, without leaving traces of adhesive on the substrate itself.

[0024] Moreover, the paper face of the self-adhesive product must be of a type suitable for HP LATEX, Resin / latex, UV inkjet and where possible ecosolvent printing.

[0025] Moreover, the paper face must have a minimum grammage of 90 g / sqm and preferably 100 g / sqm.

[0026] The adhesive in particular must have a maximum degree of adhesion of 5.5 N / 25 mm after one week applied on glass, according to the FINAT FTM1 test.

[0027] Among the characteristic parameters of the paper face, it is important to mention the so-called “machine direction” tensile strength or longitudinal tensile strength, which can be estimated at a minimum of 4.0 kN / m.

[0028] Advantageously, the paper face must have a minimum transverse breaking limit of 3.0 kN / m.

[0029] Conveniently, the paper face may be derived from at least 30% recycled paper.

[0030] Advantageously, the paper face has a minimum opacity value (measured with the XRITE instrument from X-Rite, Incorporated GRANDIVILLE, MICHIGAN, MADE IN U.S.A., which evaluates the optical density of the material) of 0.9. This value turns out to be dimensionless. The closer the value is to 1 or higher, the more opaque a material is.

[0031] The self-adhesive product thus conceived is recommended for use in decorative and advertising interior applications on smooth or otherwise nonrough or embossed substrates, both vertical and horizontal, with removability free of adhesive residues on the substrate.

[0032] Moreover, the self-adhesive product has such characteristics as to allow it to be removed effortlessly, and its paper face also allows it to be digitally printed using HP LATEX, Resin / latex, UV inkjet and where possible ecosolvent technology.

[0033] The paper face is laminated to a siliconized liner, which must then be removed when the self-adhesive product is to be applied to the substrate to be covered or decorated.

[0034] In order to ensure adequate and consistent flatness, the siliconized liner must conveniently have a minimum grammage value of 80 g / sqm. The liner is to be understood as a liner made of paper, preferably kraft paper, or a single or double polythene-reinforced paper liner in which the paper carries polyethylene layers. The liner might also be a PET liner.

[0035] Conveniently, the adhesive is transfer coated and can also be an adhesive of a conventional type, but preferably the adhesive as mentioned is in microspheres or in dots or a combination of the two, i.e., a microsphere adhesive spread in discontinuous portions (dots).

[0036] Advantageously, the adhesive has a minimum grammage of 10 g / sqm, and a pigmented adhesive can be used.

[0037] Conveniently, the self-adhesive product according to the present invention is suitable for applications for smooth or otherwise not too rough or embossed surfaces, for example glass, plastic surfaces, metal surfaces, plasterboard, and the like.

[0038] One embodiment of the present invention with 17 g of microsphere adhesive exhibits the following characteristic parameters: - FTM1 at 20 min on glass: 1.4 N / 25 mm

[0039] - FTM1 at 20 hours on glass: 1.6 N / 25 mm

[0040] - FTM1 at 1 week on glass: 2.9 N / 25 mm.

[0041] In this embodiment, the recycled paper face has a grammage of 115 g / sqm. The product adheres well to vertical surfaces without comer peeling. Removal after one week is clean with no adhesive residues and good face integrity.

[0042] This embodiment, compared to a similar classic 100-micron monomeric PVC product with water-based acrylic adhesive, exhibits the following advantages in an LCA evaluation:

[0043] 50% less energy consumption

[0044] 58% less water consumption

[0045] 48% less CO2consumption.

[0046] The self-adhesive product thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

[0047] Moreover, all the details may be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

[0048] In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

[0049] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102024000002178 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A self-adhesive product with a paper face for decorative and advertising applications, characterized in that it comprises a paper face having a tensile strength in the longitudinal direction of at least 4.0 kN / m and a tensile strength in the transverse direction of at least 3 kN / m according to the ISO 1924 method, on which a layer of adhesive is deposited, said adhesive having a degree of adhesion of no more than 5.5 N / 25mm measured after one week of application according to the FINAT FTMlh test on glass.

2. The self-adhesive product according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesive of said adhesive layer is a microsphere adhesive.

3. The self-adhesive product according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesive of said adhesive layer is an adhesive applied in dots.

4. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said adhesive is a microsphere adhesive and it is spread in discontinuous portions (dots).

5. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive of said layer of adhesive is a conventional adhesive.

6. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said paper face is laminated to a siliconized liner, said liner being a paper liner having a minimum grammage of 80 g / sqm.

7. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said paper face is suitable for HP LATEX, Resin / latex, UV inkjet, and ecosolvent printing.

8. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said paper face is made of at least 30% recycled paper.

9. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of thepreceding claims, characterized in that said paper face has a minimum grammage of 90 g / sqm and preferably 100 g / sqm.

10. The self-adhesive product according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said paper face has a minimum opacity value of 0.9 measured with the XRITE instrument.