Wash-off labels

What are wash-off labels?

These labels can be washed off the products, in other words, come off the bottle when soaked in a bath of water and lye. The labels are also called WLA labels and can be removed from the product without leaving any residue. unieketiket.nl cannot guarantee that the labels will be removed completely without residue. Different factors, such as environmental influences, can greatly affect the removability of the labels. Also, read our blog: What are wash-off labels for?

Important: To ensure that the lye-soluble adhesive can be completely removed again, consider the following:

1. the ratio of printing ink, protective coating and hot foil stamping

Components such as hot foil stamping, varnish or printing ink seal the surface of the label and make it difficult for the lye solution to penetrate the paper fibers and loosen the adhesive. The primer that is necessary for the printing ink also seals the surface of the material. So the higher the proportion of components on the label, the harder it will be to soak it and wash off the adhesive later. Note: For self-adhesive labels that need to be removed later with a lye solution, lacquer or foil laminate should be dispensed with. In addition, it is advisable not to print large areas and not to make the area of foil printing too large.

2. bottle rinse/in lye bath

Residue-free removal of adhesive labels can only be successful by using a lye solution of at least 1.2-1.5% mixed with water. The temperature of the lye bath should ideally be about 80°C. Higher lye content or higher water temperatures will interfere with the removal process. The time for soaking labels in the lye bath should be at least ten to fifteen minutes. With unprinted labels, the label may come off after only one minute. The properties of the label paper and the surface treatments mentioned above can affect and possibly extend the time it takes to get the label off the product.

3. storage of used glass

A prerequisite for removing labels from used glass is proper storage. Optimal storage is dry and protected from the weather. The adhesive reacts very quickly to weather conditions. Rain, for example, can cause the adhesive to dissolve and then dry, creating permanent adhesion. The bottom line is that the longer empty containers are stored, the more difficult it is for the adhesive labels to be washed off later. With proper storage, the adhesion of the labels will be optimal for up to about 12 months after production. However, due to various influencing factors and material properties, we cannot guarantee removability.

Storing labels with water- and lye-soluble adhesive

The rolls of self-adhesive labels with water- and lye-soluble adhesive should be stored under the following conditions:

• between 15 and 25° C and 50% relative humidity
• protected against UV light
• stable, not too high humidity
• protected against water and other liquids

How do you order wash-off labels?

We have included 2 variations of wash-off materials in our calculator:

• matte white paper 90g WLA (removable with alkali solution)
• textured paper white 90g WLA (removable with alkali solution)

We have other options in stock. Please contact our customer service team for more:

• by phone: (+31) (0)30 808 05 97
• email to: info@unieketiket.nl