Packaging adhesives bond paper, board, film and foil in six functional classes: forming and closing, corrugating, lamination, labeling, heat seal and cold seal. Built from industrial adhesive chemicals, they rest on three main chemistries: hot melts, water-based and natural binders, and reactive two-component polyurethanes.
Three packaging lines carry their own adhesive pages: case and carton sealing, corrugating and flexible packaging lamination. Converting work, meaning tube winding, bags, envelopes and gummed paper, is covered on this page.
A case-closing hot melt from a published patent example sets in 1.3 seconds and keeps 72 % fiber tear at -29 °C (-20 °F). The bond is tested on board and film with fiber tear, set time, heat stress, ASTM D3236-15(2021) melt viscosity and ASTM D1876-08(2023) T-peel. In the US, 21 CFR 175.105 lists components and sets their conditions of use. In the EU, each listed primary aromatic amine from a plastic laminate must not be detectable at 0.002 mg/kg of food, bisphenol A is prohibited in food-contact adhesives, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies from 2026-08-12. The selection rule is substrate first, then line speed, service temperature and food contact.
Sources and checks: identities and hazard classifications are read at ECHA and the issuing regulator, standards at the body that publishes them, and grade values at the data sheet named next to them; methodology and fact-checking explains each step.
Each request is passed straight to independent companies of that trade, and no company pays AdhesiveAdditives.com to be named or to receive requests; the editorial policy explains how.
What Are Packaging Adhesives?#
A packaging adhesive is an industrial adhesive that forms, closes, laminates or labels a package on a converting or filling line. The substrate decides the chemistry. In the 2026 packaging adhesives review by Volpe and Pagnotta, natural and bio-based systems dominate fiber-based substrates, while synthetic systems are required for polyolefin films, aluminum foil, metallized layers and coated barrier materials.
Packaging substrates span two families. Fiber-based substrates include corrugated board, kraft, clay-coated board, solid bleached sulfate (SBS) board and folding carton. Non-fiber substrates include polyolefin films, PET, aluminum foil, metallized film, glass and PET bottles. A carton glue line and a film laminate therefore share almost no raw materials.
What a Packaging Bond Must Deliver#
A packaging bond must deliver six properties, listed below in the order a line engineer checks them.
- Fiber-tearing bond: the board, not the glue line, fails when the joint is pulled.
- Set speed: the bond holds before the compression section of the line releases the flap.
- Temperature resistance: the joint survives the freezer and hot storage in the supply chain.
- Clean machining: no char, stringing or nozzle plugging at application temperature.
- Food-contact status: a documented listing route where food is packed.
- Recycling compatibility: the adhesive does not disturb fiber or plastic recovery.
Each requirement has a mirror-image failure in the Volpe and Pagnotta review: pop-open flaps, no fiber tear in the freezer, char and nozzle plugging, delamination of laminates, primary aromatic amine (PAA) migration above the limit and label flagging. The failure tells the formulator which property fell short.
Which Adhesive Chemistries Bond Packaging?#
Five adhesive chemistries bond packaging: hot melts close cases and cartons, water-based and natural binders bond paper and board, two-component polyurethanes laminate film and foil, pressure-sensitive adhesives carry labels and tapes, and solvent-based systems serve laminating lines. The table maps each chemistry to its packaging jobs, substrates and setting route.
| Chemistry | Packaging jobs | Substrates | Set or cure |
|---|---|---|---|
| hot melt adhesives | case and carton forming and closing, trays, labeling | corrugated, kraft, coated and SBS board | cooling and wax crystallization, physical |
| water-based adhesives | corrugating (starch), forming, converting, wet-glue labels (dispersions, starch, dextrin, casein) | linerboard and fluting, paper, board, glass bottles | water loss; in-situ gelatinization for Stein Hall |
| polyurethane adhesives | multilayer flexible lamination (solventless, solvent-based, water-based) | PET, metallized PET, OPP, PE heat-seal film, aluminum foil, paper | isocyanate and polyol reaction over days |
| pressure-sensitive adhesives | labels and tapes | board, film, glass | permanent tack, no cure |
| solvent-based adhesives | solvent-based two-component polyurethane laminating | film and foil | solvent evaporation, then reaction |
Each chemistry hub in the table carries the formulation detail that this page summarizes for packaging.
Hot Melts for Case Forming, Closing and Trays#
Hot melts form and close cases, cartons and trays by wetting the board fibers while molten and solidifying under compression as the wax crystallizes. The bond is judged by fiber tear. The base is ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) or a polyolefin, such as a metallocene polyolefin or amorphous poly-alpha-olefin (APAO), with a tackifier and a wax.
Conventional case-closing hot melts run at about 177 °C (350 °F), according to the description of European patent EP3541887B1. Its low-temperature metallocene polyolefin hot melts are claimed for application at 121 °C or less, and the description goes as low as 107 °C; the chemistry behind them is covered under polyolefin hot melts.
E-commerce shipping cases and display trays close with the same setting hot melts as other corrugated cases. H.B. Fuller describes the job of each component in a packaging hot melt: the polymer gives strength and flexibility, the resin gives wetting and adhesion, and the wax sets viscosity, open time and set speed (producer statement, 2024-08-29).
Water-Based and Natural Binders on Paper and Board#
Water-based and natural binders bond paper and board by losing water into the fibers, and starch does it at the largest scale in corrugating. The Stein Hall process, patented as US 2,051,025 in 1936, gelatinizes a carrier starch with caustic soda so that it suspends raw starch. Heat at the single facer and double backer gelatinizes the raw starch at its gel point, builds viscosity in place with help from borax, and the bond forms as water leaves.
Polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) dispersions serve forming, side seams and folding cartons. For food packaging, Wacker reports that low-migration VAE grades let formulators drop plasticizers (Adhesives and Sealants Industry). Dispersion chemistry, plasticizer choice and water resistance sit under PVAc and VAE emulsion adhesives.
Dextrin serves converting work, and casein, or soy-protein or starch jelly gum, bonds labels on returnable glass beer bottles. Both are named here only as packaging uses; label adhesives have their own page, linked in the tapes and labels section below.
Reactive Polyurethane and Solvent Systems for Film and Foil#
Reactive two-component polyurethane (PU) laminates film and foil: an isocyanate-terminated prepolymer, in the patent example based on aromatic methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), reacts with a polyol. Solventless systems run at 100 % solids and are applied warm. Solvent-based two-component PU uses a polyester polyol in methyl ethyl ketone or ethyl acetate, and water-based acrylic or PU dispersions use a crosslinker. Cold seal is a section of the lamination page.
MDI-based laminating adhesives bring an EU training duty. Under REACH Annex XVII entry 74 (Regulation (EU) 2020/1149), industrial or professional use of products with 0.1 % by weight or more of diisocyanates, individually and in combination, requires documented training since 2023-08-24, renewed at least every five years; the full diisocyanate training rule for polyurethane adhesives has its own page.
Raw Materials of Packaging Adhesives#
Packaging adhesives draw on about a dozen raw-material families, and for food packaging each one needs a 21 CFR 175.105 listing route, either named in the section or entering as a GRAS substance. The table gives each function its families, the US route and the EU hazard line.
| Function | Family hub | Substances | 21 CFR 175.105 route | EU hazard line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot melt base polymer | base polymers for adhesives | EVA, metallocene polyolefins, APAO | ethylene and vinyl acetate polymers; ethylene-octene-1 copolymers with not less than 70 weight percent ethylene; polypropylene, noncrystalline; 177.1350 extractive limits do not apply to EVA in 175.105 adhesives | No Annex VI entry |
| Tackifier | tackifier resins | hydrocarbon resins, rosin esters | hydrocarbon resins; rosin and modified rosins | No Annex VI entry |
| Wax | waxes for hot melt adhesives | paraffin wax, Fischer-Tropsch wax | waxes, petroleum; waxes, synthetic paraffin (Fischer-Tropsch process) | No Annex VI entry |
| Dispersion polymer | base polymers for adhesives (above) | polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), VAE, polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) | vinyl acetate and vinyl alcohol units in listed polymers | No Annex VI entry |
| Natural binder | natural adhesive binders | starch, dextrin, casein | starch and modified starch named in (c)(5); dextrin and casein via (c)(1) GRAS | No Annex VI entry |
| Viscosity and tack builder | none | borax | borax named in (c)(5) | CAS 1303-96-4, EC 215-540-4: Annex VI 005-011-00-4 Repr. 1B H360FD (ATP20, Reg. (EU) 2023/1435, applicable 2025-02-01) |
| Laminating isocyanate and polyol | isocyanates and polyols | MDI, polyester polyols, polyether polyols | polyurethane resins from diisocyanates and listed polyols; dibutyltin dilaurate only as a polyurethane catalyst | 4,4'-MDI CAS 101-68-8, EC 202-966-0: Annex VI 615-005-00-9 H351, H332, H335, H373, H315, H319, H334, H317 |
A 175.105 route says that a component may be used under the conditions of the section; it does not make the finished adhesive compliant. Borax is the one raw material in the table with a reproductive toxicity classification; under Note 11 of its Annex VI entry, a mixture is classified when the sum of boron compounds classified for reproductive toxicity reaches 0.3 % or more.
Three Published Starting Formulas#
Three patents publish complete packaging formulas with results, one for each main line, compared in the table below.
| Line | Source | Components (as published) | Results (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case and carton hot melt | US20160230051A1 Example 6 (H.B. Fuller; priority 2015-02-06, published 2016-08-11, application abandoned) | EVA 18 % vinyl acetate, melt index 500: 50; Resinall H-1030 tackifier: 19.5; SHELLWAX SX 105: 30; Irganox 1010: 0.5 (wt % of formulation, sum 100) | 1,539 mPa·s at 177 °C by ASTM D3236 (above its 175 °C scope); set 1.3 s; fiber tear 72 % at -29 °C (-20 °F) |
| Corrugating (Stein Hall) | US 2004/0192811 A1 Example 3 | primary: water 524, starch-hemicellulose blend 100, PVOH (Celvol 203) 5, 50 % caustic 27.5, 5-mol borax 7.3; secondary: water 800, unmodified corn starch 435 (parts by weight, published in lb; water at 38 °C (100 °F)) | Stein Hall viscosity 23 s at 41 °C (106 °F); gel temperature 62 °C (144 °F) |
| Solventless PU laminating | US10259200B2 (Ashland; current assignee Arkema France; priority 2010-06-29, granted 2019-04-16) | prepolymer: polypropylene oxide 8,000 g/mol 40 wt %, polypropylene oxide 3,000 g/mol 21 wt %, MDI 39 wt %; polyol curative hydroxyl number 270; isocyanate index 1.21 to 1.26 | applied 1 to 2 lb/ream at 12.2 m/min (40 ft/min), ambient cure; T-peel at 14 days 5.33 N/25 mm (1.218 lbf/in) against 1.04 N/25 mm (0.237 lbf/in) for a low-molecular-weight control, ASTM D1876-08 |
These are patent examples, not recommendations, and grade names appear only as the patents' own components. The ream size is not stated in the laminating patent, so its coat weight stays in lb/ream.
The EVA example measures viscosity at 177 °C, which lies above the 175 °C (347 °F) upper limit of ASTM D3236, so the value is a patent result outside the method scope. The laminating example shows why prepolymer molecular weight matters: the low-molecular-weight control reaches less than a fifth of the peel strength.
How Are Packaging Adhesives Tested?#
Packaging adhesives are tested on the bond: fiber tear on board conditioned from -18 to +45 °C, set time to full fiber tear, heat stress under load, melt viscosity, corrugated pin adhesion, laminate T-peel and cold crack temperature. The table lists each property with its method, edition and status.
| Property | Method and edition | Status or basis | Method page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber tear | bead 2.0 ± 0.1 g per linear meter at 105 °C on kraft board, bonded after 1.0 s, conditioned about 24 h at -18, +4, +23 and +45 °C, 5 pulls, visual % fiber tear | producer practice described in EP3541887B1 | none |
| Set time | bead 2.0 g per linear meter at 110 °C on corrugated board; time to 100 % fiber tear | H.B. Fuller practice described in EP3541887B1 | open time and set time testing |
| Heat stress | corrugated bond under a cantilever load of about 0.9 kg (2 lb) for 24 h; maximum temperature survived | National Starch practice described in WO2004074393A1 | SAFT and shear testing |
| Melt viscosity | ASTM D3236-15(2021) | active; up to 175 °C (347 °F) | hot melt viscosity |
| Pin adhesion of corrugated board | TAPPI/ANSI T 821 om-22 | current on the TAPPI store (2026-11-02) | none |
| T-peel of laminates | ASTM D1876-08(2023) | active | T-peel testing |
| Cold crack temperature | EN 12703:2016 | current; adhesives for paper and board, packaging and disposable sanitary products | none |
Fiber tear, set time and heat stress are producer and patent practices, not published standards, and they share one detail: a bead of 2.0 g per linear meter. A result from one of them is comparable only with a result run the same way.
Food-Contact Rules for Packaging Adhesives#
Food-packaging adhesives fall under jurisdiction-specific rules: 21 CFR 175.105 and its conditions of use in the US, and in the EU the framework Regulation (EC) 1935/2004, the plastics rules for laminates and the bisphenol A prohibition. No adhesive is cleared as such; the listing of its components and the condition of use decide. Migration testing, declarations and the full rule set belong to food-contact adhesives.
United States: Listed Components and Conditions of Use#
The US allows a packaging adhesive in food packaging when its components are listed in 21 CFR 175.105(c) and one condition of use is met. The adhesive is separated from food by a functional barrier, or it is used in dry food within good manufacturing practice, or, with fatty and aqueous food, it contributes no more than the trace amount at seams and edge exposure, with seams staying firmly bonded. The container of the finished adhesive must carry the label "food-packaging adhesive", and the section sets no temperature limit.
Components enter through five routes: (c)(1) GRAS substances, (c)(2) prior-sanctioned substances, (c)(3) flavoring substances volatilized during fabrication, (c)(4) color additives and (c)(5) substances permitted in adhesives by other regulations plus the named table. Laminates for use at 121 °C (250 °F) and above follow 21 CFR 177.1390, laminates from 48.9 to 121 °C (120 to 250 °F) follow 177.1395, and pressure-sensitive adhesives that form the food-contact surface of labels and tapes follow 175.125. Under 21 CFR 170.3(e)(1), a packaging component that does not migrate to food does not become a food additive. The last substantive amendment of 175.105 dates from 2022-05-20, when 87 FR 31080 removed 25 plasticizers.
European Union: Framework, Aromatic Amines and Bisphenol A#
The EU names adhesives as group 2 of Annex I of Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 but has no specific measure for adhesives as a whole. Regulation (EC) 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice covers every Annex I group, adhesives included. Without a specific measure, Article 16 of 1935/2004 requires no EU declaration of compliance for adhesives as such; Member States may keep national rules.
Laminates with plastic layers fall under Regulation (EU) 10/2011, whose Annex II as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/1245 sets the PAA rule. Each PAA listed in Appendix 8 of REACH Annex XVII entry 43 must not be detectable at a detection limit of 0.002 mg/kg of food or simulant, and the sum of the other PAAs stays at or below 0.01 mg/kg. Time to slit a laminate is not the time to PAA release, so PAA is tested on the cured laminate.
Bisphenol A is prohibited in the manufacture of food-contact adhesives under Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, in force since 2025-01-20 and corrected by Regulation (EU) 2026/250. Annex II of that Regulation grants no derogation for adhesives.
Packaging Waste Rules That Reach the Adhesive#
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, reaches packaging adhesives from 2026-08-12. It was published in the Official Journal on 22 January 2025 and entered into force on 2025-02-11; the article-by-article reading for formulators sits under PPWR requirements for packaging adhesives.
Article 5(4) caps the sum of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium in packaging or packaging components at 100 mg/kg. Article 5(5) bars food-contact packaging from 2026-08-12 from containing 25 ppb or more of any targeted PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), 250 ppb or more of their sum, or 50 ppm or more of total PFAS including polymeric PFAS. Article 3 excludes adhesives and labels from the 5 % rule for composite packaging, Article 9(1) requires sticky labels on fruit and vegetables to be compatible with industrial composting by 12 February 2028, and Annex II Table 4 names the type of glue and easy separation as design-for-recycling parameters. The Regulation sets no adhesive-specific limit value.
Line and Process Notes for Packaging Adhesives#
Packaging lines run hot melts at 121 to 204 °C (250 to 400 °F) in Henkel's guidance, and the faults of a carton line trace back to tank temperature, idle time, contamination and grade choice. The Volpe and Pagnotta review gives a narrower hot melt application range of 120 to 180 °C.
Idle time is where char starts. Henkel advises a setback to as low as 38 °C (100 °F) when a line is idle more than 4 h and a power-down above 24 h, and names heat, contaminants such as dust and corrugate fibers, oxidation and moisture as char causes; equipment settings are covered under hot melt application.
Six case-and-carton faults and their causes are listed below.
- Pop-opens on the sealer: open time does not match compression time.
- Release in the freezer: the grade is not freezer rated.
- Flaps opening in hot storage: heat resistance is too low.
- Char and nozzle plugging: overheating and long idle periods.
- Stringing: viscosity too high or application temperature too low.
- Poor bond on varnished board: the coated surface was not pre-tested.
Laminating lines fail differently. Mottle appears at film surface energy below about 40 mN/m (40 dyne/cm), low bond and metal transfer follow from a low-molecular-weight prepolymer, PAA above the limit points to under-cure, and tunneling and delamination appear in retort.
How to Choose a Packaging Adhesive: Hot Melt, Water-Based or Reactive#
Choose a packaging adhesive by substrate first, then by line speed, service temperature and food-contact status: board closes with hot melt, paper and corrugated board run on starch and water-based systems, and film and foil laminates need reactive polyurethane. The table matches each requirement to a chemistry and the evidence behind it.
| Requirement | Chemistry | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Fast case and carton closing on board | EVA or polyolefin hot melt | set 1.3 s in US20160230051A1 Example 6 (patent example) |
| Lower tank temperature | metallocene polyolefin hot melt | 121 °C or less claimed in EP3541887B1 against about 177 °C conventional |
| Corrugated board production | Stein Hall starch with caustic soda and borax | in-situ gelatinization at the gel point |
| Paper converting: tubes, bags, envelopes | dextrin and starch pastes, PVAc and VAE dispersions | humidity sensitivity is the limit of dextrin |
| Film and foil laminates | reactive two-component PU (solventless or solvent-based) or water-based acrylic or PU dispersion | PAA testing on the laminate; entry 74 training for MDI systems |
| US food packaging | any chemistry built only from 175.105-listed components | conditions of use and the label "food-packaging adhesive" |
Each request is passed straight to independent companies of that trade, and no company pays AdhesiveAdditives.com to be named or to receive requests; the editorial policy explains how.
Speed, energy use and cost decide between the two physical routes once the substrate allows both, and that trade-off is weighed in hot melt vs water-based adhesives.
Packaging Adhesive Types by Line: Case and Carton, Corrugating and Lamination#
Packaging adhesives split into three line disciplines with their own pages: case and carton sealing hot melts, Stein Hall corrugating starch and flexible packaging laminating adhesives, plus converting pastes covered below. The table shows what each line page adds.
| Line | Chemistry | Key raw materials | What the line page adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| case and carton sealing adhesives | non-pressure-sensitive setting hot melt | EVA or polyolefin, tackifier, wax | grade windows, freezer and heat-resistant grades, faults |
| corrugating adhesives | Stein Hall and no-carrier starch | carrier starch, raw starch, caustic soda, borax | gel point, Stein Hall viscosity, board bonding |
| flexible packaging laminating adhesives | solventless and solvent-based PU, water-based dispersions; cold seal section | MDI prepolymers, polyols, crosslinkers | coat weights, cure and slit times, PAA testing |
| Converting (section below) | dextrin and starch pastes | borated, white and canary dextrin | humidity limit |
Each line page carries the numbers this hub leaves out: grade windows for case sealing, gel point and viscosity control for corrugating, and coat weights with cure times for lamination.
Tube Winding, Bags and Envelopes#
Converting lines bond tubes, bags, envelopes and gummed paper with borated dextrin and white and canary dextrins, and starch pastes close bag bottoms. Humidity sensitivity is the stated limit of dextrin binders in this use.
Packaging Adhesives in the Wider Supply Chain#
Beyond the line, packaging adhesives meet compostable packaging, tapes and labels on the pack, and the supply side. These topics belong to the wider group of industrial adhesive applications.
Compostable and Bio-Based Packaging Adhesives#
Compostable packaging hot melts are a research field built on polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), according to a 2026 review of packaging hot melts.
In that review, a blend of PBAT with 30 wt % rosin maleic resin reached about 7.3 MPa in shear against 3.9 MPa for an EVA reference. Both are laboratory values, not product data.
Tapes and Labels on Packages#
Carton sealing tapes and labels carry pressure-sensitive or wet-glue adhesives, and two pages cover them.
- adhesives for tapes
- label adhesives
A pressure-sensitive adhesive that forms the food-contact surface of a label or tape follows 21 CFR 175.125.
Who Supplies Packaging Adhesives?#
Packaging adhesives come from finished-adhesive producers, the largest of which appear in the dated ASI Top 20 2026 of Adhesives and Sealants Industry (published 2026-07-07). That ranking places Henkel first and Arkema, through its Bostik segment, fifth, with H.B. Fuller in fourth place; it is ASI's ranking, not ours. Arkema's Bostik agreed on 2024-05-02 to buy Dow's flexible packaging laminating adhesives business for USD 150 million.
Mordor Intelligence estimates the packaging adhesives market at USD 21.91 billion in 2026 (analyst estimate, page updated 11 September 2026). Suppliers compare fairly only on the same data sheet fields, and the ways to compare and source them are set out under adhesive manufacturers and suppliers.