Label selection should be considered carefully to find the solution most compatible with the recycling process that also provides the necessary performance characteristics. To be categorized as Preferred, a finished label must meet both of the following criteria:
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Automated sorting performance criteria:
Surface area is defined as the area of the label divided by the area of the side wall and shoulder of the container. The area of the neck ring, threaded finish and base are not included in the area calculation. Metal decoration includes vapor deposited metal films, metal foils, or inks with metallic pigments.
Containers with no more than 55% surface area coverage by a label are expected to sort accurately in both NIR and color optical sorters. Labels with metal decoration can be tested for any impact on sorting performance using APR Test Methods.
Since labels for PET packaging most often become a waste stream, APR encourages labels that are as small in surface area and weight as possible.
Surface area is defined as the area of the label divided by the area of the side wall and shoulder of the container. The area of the neck ring, threaded finish and base are not included in the area calculation. Metal decoration includes vapor deposited metal films, metal foils, or inks with metallic pigments.
Containers with no more than 75% surface area coverage by a label are expected to sort accurately in both NIR and color optical sorters. Labels with metal decoration can be tested for any impact on sorting performance using APR Test Methods.
Since labels for PET packaging most often become a waste stream, APR encourages labels that are as small in surface area and weight as possible.
Labels will employ hot caustic resistant inks designed to be compatible with PET recycling, and float in water.
Labels containing metalized material that are below the preferred surface area per APR-RES-SORT-4.Metalized material includes vapor deposited metal films, metal foils, or inks with metallic pigments.
Polystyrene Labels that float in water per PET-S-05.While standard polystyrene has a density of > 1.0 g/cm3 and sinks, expanded polystyrene may float and be separable from the PET.
Click below for commercially available Labels that have achieved APR Design for Recyclability Recognition
APR Design® for Recyclability Recognitions
Paper labels
The PET reclamation process involves a hot caustic wash that removes adhesives and other label components. This process renders paper into a pulp which is very difficult to filter from the liquid, adding significant load to the filtering and water treatment systems. Some of the small individual paper fibers will remain with the PET and carbonize when the material is extruded, causing unacceptable quality degradation. Non-pulping paper labels that resist the caustic wash process sink in the float-sink tank, thereby causing RPET contamination.
PVC and PLA
Both materials are extremely difficult to remove in the recycling process due to their similarity in density to PET, which causes them to sink in the float/sink tank along with the PET. Both cause severe quality degradation in the final recycled PET stream even in very small amounts.
Laminated label substrate
Labels that break into small, very thin pieces of material are more difficult to manage in the recycling process because they behave erratically in a float-sink tank. Therefore, labels that stay intact are preferred. Carry-over of delaminated labels into the RPET can result in contamination.
In order for any of these label materials to be considered Preferred Design, the specific items must have been tested and found Preferred based on the test results. If these items have not been tested, they are considered Detrimental to Recycling. Testing will determine the appropriate category.
Companies that are considering such materials and are unsure of their compatibility with recycling should ask their suppliers to provide APR test results.
DEFINITIVE TEST
Labels that exceed the surface area coverage as described in Preferred Guidance section.
Labels with high surface area coverage may interfere with detection of the PET container. The label substrate (film or paper), inks, and metal decoration can interfere with NIR detection when the label covers a high surface area of the container. Also, high label surface area coverage may cause a clear PET bottle to be sorted as a colored bottle in a color sorter.
If one&#;s design is outside of the best practice guidance above, the labeled bottle must be evaluated using the APR test methods below.
DEFINITIVE TEST - NIR
DEFINITIVE TEST - Color
Film Labels that sink in water per PET-S-05.
Crystallizing co-polyester label films should be tested to show crystallizing behavior and show they do not cause &#;clumping&#; similar to that of amorphous PETG films.
SCREENING TEST
DEFINITIVE TEST
Olefin films that sink in water due heavy inks but float after exposure to hot caustic wash solution should be tested
SCREENING TEST
DEFINITIVE TEST
Labels containing metalized materials that are above the preferred surface area per APR-RES-SORT-4.
Labels that have surface areas above the preferred surface areas specified in the Screening Test below would need to be tested using the Benchmark Test below to verify they are under the spherical equivalent thresholds.
Metalized material includes vapor deposited metal films, metal foils, or inks with metallic pigments.
Without further testing, labels with metalized material with surface areas above the starting points in the table are categorized as detrimental due to a higher probability of being removed by the metal detector during sortation.
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Solid foils will continue to render the package non-recyclable per APR&#;s definition.
SCREENING TEST
BENCHMARK TEST
Polystyrene labels that sink
The density of PET is 1.38 g/cm3 and so it sinks in water. Polystyrene has a density of > 1.0 g/cm3, so it sinks and remains with the PET in float/sink separation systems. It is not compatible with PET and may cause serious processing and end-use problems.
SCREENING TEST
DEFINITIVE TEST
So you have a Cricut Machine and are ready to cut out decals&#; what is the best vinyl for decals? It depends on the surface you&#;ll be sticking it to and how long you&#; like it to last. Let&#;s talk about the options so you can choose the best vinyl for your decal!
When it comes to creating decals with your Cricut cutting machine, selecting the right vinyl is just as important as choosing a cute design, after all&#; you want it to last, right? Or peel off of the wall when it&#;s time (been there!). With SO many different kinds of vinyl available, it&#;s easy to get overwhelmed when deciding, &#;What vinyl should I use for decals?&#;.
In this vinyl for decals guide, I&#;ll chat the best vinyl choices for creating amazing decals for a variety of surfaces that will stand the test of time&#; or be easy to remove.
This post is created in partnership with Cricut and all materials used in this post were provided by Cricut. Even when I&#;m creating my own projects outside of the blog, I choose Cricut Materials. You can see all of my policies here.
This post specifically is looking at adhesive vinyl. If you are looking to transfer your designs to fabric or wood, I like to use iron on vinyl, also known as heat transfer vinyl. Adhesive vinyl is essentially a sticker and is used on anything from mugs to waterbottles to cases to mirrors and more. It&#;s best for hard surfaces.
Let&#;s start with biggest thing you need to decide first. Do you want your decal to be removable or more permanent? There are two main categories of adhesive vinyl.
Removable vinyl is a great place to start crafting. Because you can remove it and reposition it, it&#;s easy to work with and perfect for beginners. It&#;s perfect for decals you would like to have the ability to remove without leaving any residue behind.
This type of vinyl allows for easy repositioning and works well for temporary projects like wall decals, party decorations, wedding signage, or seasonal displays. I also love this product for my kids rooms where we might change up the decor every year or two.
Permanent vinyl is more durable and long-lasting compared to removable vinyl. It&#;s slightly (juuuust barely) thicker and often comes with a shinier finish. It&#;s often marketed as &#;outdoor vinyl&#;. When durability and longevity are key, permanent vinyl is the way to go. It&#;s marketed as lasting up to three years even outdoors- but I&#;ve had some projects that have been kicking even longer.
This adhesive vinyl provides a strong bond, ensuring that your decals stay in place for years to come. Permanent vinyl is perfect for projects that require a lasting finish, such as outdoor signage, car decals, and products that will be exposed to harsh weather conditions or&#; washing. I also love to use permanent adhesive vinyl for mugs and waterbottles. With permanent vinyl, your decals will not only withstand the elements but maintain their vibrant appearance (less prone to fading).
If the word &#;permanent&#; stresses you out&#; I want to assure you that you can remove permanent vinyl off of most surfaces with heat (hair dryer) and a scraper. Just be patient and remove excess residue with lemon essential oil or a specific adhesive remover. Obviously, you can&#;t do this on porous surfaces like leather without damaging them, so keep that in mind when choosing.
Ohhh, this is where things get wild. There are SO many options available for adhesive vinyls, both permanent and removable. Below is a list of my very favourites and what I might use them for. I&#;ll note if they&#;re available in permanent or removable or both.
You might be noticing &#;smart materials&#; as an option for vinyl when you&#;re shopping for vinyl to use with your Cricut. Smart materials are specially designed to be used without a cutting mat, which can save you cash on mats, and a step in the decal cutting process. They can be loaded directly into your Cricut machine allowing for continuous cutting without a mat (awesome for longer, continuous designs and bulk cuts).
Regular adhesive vinyl needs a mat to be cut with a Cricut. Since there are SO many times of regular adhesive vinyl, you have many more options for the kind of vinyl you use. I like using a mat for more intricate cuts as using a cutting mat provides stability for precise cutting control.
The two vinyls not attached to the mat in the photo below are smart materials. Permanent vinyl is available in matte for smart materials.
Cricut Smart Materials are only compatible with the newest machines: Cricut Maker 3, Cricut Explore 3 and Cricut Joy (smaller smart materials are made specific for this machine). Accidentally order smart vinyl and you have an older Cricut Maker (same, girl!)? You can use it like normal with a mat without any issue.
* Are you new to Cricut? Or deciding which machine to buy? I wrote a whole post about the differences between the Cricut machines RIGHT HERE. And if you&#;re looking for more Cricut projects and tutorials, you can find them all here!
When I first got my Cricut, I didn&#;t realize what transfer tape was. There were so many less tutorials for Cricut on the internet back then and I just pulled every piece of my decal out by hand and put it on my surface, trying my best to line it up. Don&#;t be me, guys. Unless your design is suuuuper basic, like these retro flowers, use transfer tape.
Transfer tape is essentially a less sticky vinyl that will pick up your vinyl decal off the backing it was cut on, then lay it down onto your surface you&#;re applying the decal to and then peel off the transfer tape leaving only the design you cut. It&#;s a great way to keep a design together and lined up perfectly.
Cricut Transfer Tape also comes with a grid to help make lining things up simple. I have a full blog post about transfer tape if this is new to you.
Just like stickers, you can essentially put your DIY Cricut decals on anything. But of course, just like stickers- some surfaces are better suited for the decal than others. Here&#;s some of my fave places to stick vinyl decals.
I&#;ve linked any DIY tutorials for projects I&#;ve shared on this blog in the past if you&#;re interested in seeing what this looks like in action!
Whew! That&#;s a lot of information, honestly the more you play with vinyl, creating decals, you&#;ll get a feel for which materials you like best. Feeling overwhelmed? Decide what surface you want to put it on and if you want it removable. Go from there. Crafting is supposed to be fun!
To sum it all up&#; Removable vinyl offers versatility and easy removal, making it ideal for temporary projects. On the other hand, permanent vinyl ensures durability and longevity, making it a great choice for long-lasting decals that can withstand the elements and washing.
LOVE these floral decals? They&#;re a free file from Cricut Design Space! You can grab the design RIGHT HERE.
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