Labelexpo 2009, 23rd – 26th Sept., in Brussels:
tesa presents its complete label printing assortment

tesa is present at the Labelexpo 2009 trade fair in Brussels (23rd – 26th Sept.), showing its full range of customer-oriented optimal solutions for label printing, with a focus on Softprint, Grip Tapes and Cloth Tapes.

Softprint – new extra-soft product tesa® 52118

tesa exhibits the tesa® Softprint product line, designed for use on mid web printing machines. All tapes give secure bonding to the print cylinder or sleeve, offer straightforward handling and facilitate excellent print results. The most recent additions to the tesa plate-mounting tape assortment combine high adhesive properties with straightforward handling, and provide for optimal print results in flexographic printing. The tapes provide further for the fast and secure adhesion of thin plate, as well as for easy repositioning.

Plates of 1.14 µm are ever more common in the flexible printing world, due to the superior print quality that they offer. The tesa® Softprint products thrive on this development in modern printing techniques. Specially adapted to the mounting of thin plates, these tapes are especially well suited to the printing of high-quality labels. Moreover, these tapes excel when an extremely thin substrate is required, as well as in the printing of flexible packaging.

For the best print results, the tapes possess a backing of closed-cell polyethylene foam. They meet all demands and are available in three hardnesses. tesa® Softprint 52115 medium-hard is the ideal tape for line, solid and screen printing. The excellent reproduction of fine screen print is supported by tesa® Softprint 52117 soft and tesa® Softprint 52118 extra-soft. The new tapes are an evolution of the successful tesa® Steelmaster-Softprint products 52015 and 52017, and complete the tesa plate-mounting assortment in the 380 µm category.

Grip Tapes – high resistance against heat and UV rays

The new generation of tesa® Grip Tapes 4863 and 4563 were displayed to be seen, touched and experienced. They both consist of a specially treated fabric covered with a silicone rubber coating. This surface is highly resistant to ‘sticky’ substances, yet provides a reliable ‘non-slip’ effect on smooth substrates.

tesa® 4863 has an embossed (so-called ‘chicken skin’) surface, whereas tesa® 4563 has a smooth surface. The two grip tapes are now more heat resistant than previous versions and so can withstand strong UV rays in the printing machine. This makes them the perfect solution for increased process security.

Printable Cloth Tape – ideal for individual label printing

Also new this year, tesa showcases tesa® Printable Cloth Tape, whose main feature is the special thermal transfer printable surface, due to its very smooth surface. It was specially developed for print-on-demand solutions: easy and quick printing of individual labels. It has a wide range of applications, such as product identification with barcode labels and marking of cable harnesses for electrical equipment and insulation. tesa® 4690 was specially designed for thermal transfer printing, but can be used with other printing methods as well.

All in all, users can experience a whole range of benefits, including excellent printing quality, high adhesion on almost every surface and excellent resistance to chemicals, abrasion and moisture. The tesa® Printable Cloth Tape also has a very high temperature resistance, can be easily removed, repositioned and reused, and is more flexible than tapes with a foil backing, for example. In comparison to common paper backed label solutions, tesa offers high moisture and abrasion resistance. This new tesa product is an excellent choice for durable customised marking and labelling solutions.