Flexible PVC, vinyl films, some rubbers and foams contain plasticizers that drift slowly to the surface and into adjacent adhesive, especially PSAs. The adhesive softens, turns gummy and loses shear strength, so tapes and labels slide or let go after weeks or months. Plasticizer-resistant acrylic adhesives and barrier coatings are used on vinyl.
Graphics peeled off the vinyl banner after a month, plasticizer migration turned the adhesive to goo.
Also heard as
- plasticizer bleed
Related terms
PSA
Pressure-sensitive adhesive, the always-tacky layer on tapes and labels that bonds under finger pressure with no cure step.
Creep
Slow, continuing deformation of an adhesive under a constant load, which can end in failure over time.
Cohesive failure
A break that runs through the adhesive itself, leaving adhesive on both parts.
Static shear
A tape test that hangs a weight from a bonded strip and records how long it holds before sliding off.