Although they are rarely in the limelight, adhesives are the glue that holds the pieces together.

By Missy Smith

Adhesives have a thankless job. Unlike specialty inks or innovative packaging, adhesives tend to go unnoticed by consumers. But, they discreetly carry an enormous amount of responsibility to reliably bond a wide range of substrates.

Because adhesives have to work with such a diverse spectrum of materials, many times they are tailored to specific applications. For instance, adhesive trends have been influenced by the use of package decoration materials that originate from sustainable resources, says Philip Emery, director, applied surface technologies, FLEXcon.