AVERY DENNISON INTRODUCES AQUA OPAQUE™ TECHNOLOGY - MAINTAINS WHITENESS OF WET UNCOATED WINE LABELS

OEGSTGEEST, the Netherlands — September 15, 2015 — A unique new technology from Avery Dennison has solved a longstanding problem for wine producers who want to use uncoated bottle labels. Uncoated paper facestocks, with a matt finish are a popular way of achieving a premium bottle ‘look’, but they have always had one major disadvantage: they turn grey when exposed to water. Launching at Labelexpo 2015, the new Aqua Opaque™ solution resists greying and opens up new design possibilities.

Andrew Crawford, vice president of marketing at Avery Dennison Materials Group Europe, said that wine producers can now be offered an uncoated paper that stays white longer, and which is suitable for neck labelling as well as the main bottle label: “Some uncoated papers provide a very valuable decoration option, but they can lose as much as 50% of their opacity in the presence of moisture when used with a conventional adhesive – and that makes the bottle label look grey, and with uneven colouring. This new approach protects uncoated papers for up to 2 hours, maintaining their opaque white appearance. It’s a particularly important option for makers of white, rosé and sparkling wines where maintaining a premium brand image in the ice bucket is essential.”

The Aqua Opaque solution doesn’t require an extra film layer or thicker paper, and it uses an emulsion adhesive to retain the highest performance levels on conventional presses. The result is a label that is no stiffer than a standard label and can be applied easily to bottle necks. Andrew Crawford said that changing to the new technology is quick and simple: “It converts in the same way as a conventional emulsion adhesive, so there is no barrier to adoption. It simply replaces an existing labelling solution.”