ADHESIVE STRENGTH

The tape's adhesive strength has been tested under ordinary conditions when applied to various materials. Though the exact forces required to remove the labels varied, the finding was that in a general working environment, even after handling, the tapes will remain affixed.

ADHESION AFTER EXPOSURE TO HEAT AND COLD

         Tapes attached to stainless steel slightly roughened with abrasive paper were heated and cooled. After two hours in (-50) degrees, a force of 710gf was required to remove the tape. No change in tape or adhesive color had occurred.
         Heating, on the other hand, actually increased the tapes' adhesive strength, due to slight softening and spreading of adhesive. (After two hours in +200 degrees though, the tape's white backing and adhesive had slightly discolored.

ADHESION IN HIGH TEMPERATURE & HIGH HUMIDITY

The combination of high temperature and high humidity was no problem for the tapes. The highest adhesion strengths of any test were registered after the tapes' exposure to 40 degree temperatures and 5% salt water baths. No change in ink color occurred, and no adhesive was left behind when tapes were removed.

ADHESION TO ROUNDED OBJECTS

Adhesion strength on rounded objects was also tested. Tapes were attached to stainless steel poles of various diameters, prepared with #280 abrasive paper. The poles were then placed in a variety of environments. On tightly-rounded, 8mm-diameter poles, after 24 hours in 65degrees and 80% humidity, some label ends pulled up slightly from the pole (up to 3mm), and in a few cases,the background tape remained attached while the laminate pulled up (i.e. some tape separation occurred).

ADHESION TO ROUGH SURFACE

The last adhesion tests addressed the issue of surface roughness. Stainless steel samples were prepared using a variety of abrasive paper weights. Roughening the surface actually increased the tapes' adhesion strengths.

In general, the adhesion strengths determined through the various tests demonstrate that tapes will remain affixed under all but the most extreme environments.

CHEMICALS & WATER

Tapes, attached to glass, were bathed in a variety of materials for two hours. Despite some changes in appearance and structure, all tapes remained affixed to their slides. The tested laminated tapes fared remarkably well.

Also, though soaking labels in chemicals for two hours caused some changes, rubbing labels with cloths soaked in those same chemicals had no effect on the tapes. This implies that even if chemicals are spilled on the tapes, quick wiping should prevent damage. The laminated tape technology clearly protects the printed characters.

FADING RESISTANCE

Tapes of various background colors were attached to coated metal plates (similar to a car's surface), and placed in a fade-inducing chamber at 83 degrees. They were left for 100 hours to simulate a year in sunny surroundings. Afterwards, measurements of the change in reflective strength (DE) were taken, with results as shown:

Only yellow tape showed significant fading. The other background films, though yielding measurable DEs, were not overly affected to the eye. Ink remained basically unchanged, and all characters were still completely legible.

Next, tape samples were placed in a sunshine weather-o-meter at 63 degrees for 400 hours. They were subjected to not only heat and light, but also water, to simulate a year of outdoor conditions. Again, yellow tapes were the most affected, with these results: