How-to · Nº 01
How to prep a surface before labelling
Surface prep is the single most common cause of label adhesion failure — and it is simple. The surface must be clean, dry, and at room temperature. Wipe it with 70%+ isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free cloth in one direction, let the solvent flash off (~30–60 seconds), then apply. Plastic fresh from moulding gets wiped twice — mould-release agents block the bond.
Good prep is three plain conditions and one piece of patience. The surface has to be clean, dry and at room temperature before a label goes near it — but the step people skip is the wait. Wipe with isopropyl alcohol and apply straight away, and the solvent is still there, trapped under the label, holding the adhesive off the surface. Give it thirty to sixty seconds to flash off and the label lands on a dry, bare surface.
You'll need
- ▪70%+ isopropyl alcohol
- ▪Lint-free cloth (not paper towel)
Step by step
- 01
Confirm the three conditions
The surface must be clean, dry, and at room temperature. An adhesive can only bond to what it touches — oils, dust, condensation or mould-release sit between the adhesive and the surface and the label lifts.
- 02
Wipe with isopropyl alcohol
Use 70%+ isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free cloth — not paper towel, which leaves fibres. Wipe in a single direction rather than circles that redeposit contamination.
- 03
Wipe fresh mouldings twice
Glass and metal usually need one wipe. Plastic straight from moulding warrants a second pass, because mould-release agents may still be present on the surface.
- 04
Let it dry before applying
Never apply a label immediately after cleaning. Let the surface dry completely — roughly 30–60 seconds for isopropyl alcohol — so the solvent has flashed off.
- 05
Apply at room temperature
Label at room temperature to a dry, clean surface. If the labels or rolls were shipped cold, let them acclimatise to room temperature first, or the cold-stiffened adhesive will not wet the surface.
Clean, dry, and in one direction
The wipe has rules that look fussy and are not. Use isopropyl alcohol at 70% or more on a lint-free cloth, never a paper towel, which sheds fibres the adhesive then bonds to instead of the surface. Wipe in one direction rather than circles: circles pick contamination up on one pass and lay it back down on the next. Glass and metal usually take one wipe; plastic straight from the mould takes two, because a mould-release agent is engineered to stop things sticking and a single pass rarely clears it.
Prep also has a hard limit worth knowing before you start. It removes the barrier between the adhesive and the surface, but it cannot change the surface. A spotless low-surface-energy plastic still needs an adhesive rated for it; no amount of cleaning makes an ordinary glue wet a material it chemically repels. Cleaning gets the adhesive to the surface; it does not decide whether that adhesive can hold.
Good to know
- →Prep cannot rescue the wrong adhesive: a spotless low-surface-energy plastic still needs an LSE-rated adhesive.
- →Textured or porous surfaces (wood, concrete, burlap) need more than a wipe — the adhesive only meets the high points, so a high-tack grade is also required.
- →Old residue from a previous label can block a new one from bonding — clean it fully and test on the real surface.
Common questions
How do I clean a surface before applying a label?
Wipe it with 70%+ isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free cloth in one direction, then let it dry ~30–60 seconds before applying. For plastic fresh from moulding, wipe twice to remove mould-release agents.
Why do my labels fall off even on a clean surface?
If prep is right and labels still lift, the adhesive is likely wrong for the surface — a low-surface-energy plastic needs an LSE adhesive, and a cold or textured surface needs a matched grade. Prep removes the barrier; it does not change the surface chemistry.
Related
Not sure it'll hold?
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