The Next Generation of Linerless Labels: New applications and opportunities for converters

Linerless labels are not new, but the conversation around them is changing. Sustainability pressure from brands and end users has increased, materials designed specifically for linerless applications have become more widely available, and application technology has continued to advance. At the same time, developments in coating and converting are expanding the types of labels that can be produced without a release liner.

To discuss what this means for converters, L&NW spoke with Maxime Bayzelon, president of ETI Converting Equipment, about where linerless is going next and where new opportunities are beginning to emerge.

L&NW: Linerless labels have been around for many years. What is genuinely different about the market today?
MB: It is really a combination of developments. A lot of the momentum has come from sustainability pressure further down the value chain. Brands and end users are looking more seriously at material reduction and at ways to eliminate waste where they can.

That interest has also encouraged more development around linerless itself. Major material suppliers have become more active in the market, which has led to a wider range of papers and films, as well as silicones and adhesives, suited to linerless applications. We have seen the same thing happen with application equipment, with more solutions becoming available to support these applications.

It is not one breakthrough that changed linerless. Materials, application technology and converting capabilities have all moved forward. Together, they make it possible to consider applications that would not have been realistic for linerless several years ago.

L&NW: When you talk about the “next generation” of linerless, what does that mean to you?
MB: For a long time, linerless was associated mainly with functional applications, such as weighscale, logistics, shipping and other variable-information labels. Those are important markets and will continue to be.

What is changing is the range of applications we can consider. We are seeing more possibilities in prime linerless, from established wrap-around food labels to decorative labels for hand application and, more recently, custom-shaped labels for automatic application. That opens the discussion to markets such as food, beverage, beauty and other consumer goods that have traditionally relied on conventional pressure-sensitive labels.

It is important to distinguish between VIP and prime linerless because they serve different purposes and can have different manufacturing and application requirements. A variable-information label used in logistics is very different from a decorative label on a consumer product.

To me, the next generation of linerless is about moving beyond the applications traditionally associated with the technology and expanding into markets and applications that were previously out of reach.

L&NW: Automatic application has traditionally been seen as one of the challenges for linerless. Is that still the case?
MB: It has been one of the limitations, but it is less of a barrier today. There are commercially available systems for a growing range of linerless applications, from food tray labeling to print-and-apply and decorative labels.

The important point is that the label cannot be developed independently of the way it will be applied. You have to consider the construction, how it unwinds, how it separates and how it behaves at the point of application.

That is something we wanted to make very tangible at LOUPE Americas. We were not only showing samples produced on our equipment. We showed the complete workflow: how the label is manufactured, the finished label itself and the applicator running it. These are not just concepts or samples. The labels can be produced and successfully applied using commercially available systems.

L&NW: Label shape has also been a limitation, particularly for prime labels. What is changing there?
MB: Shape has been one of the biggest limitations for prime linerless. Traditionally, the format has been associated with square or rectangular labels with straight leading and trailing edges. That works for many functional applications, but it is much more restrictive in markets like food, beverages, beauty and other consumer products, where the label is part of the overall presentation of the package.

For many of those applications, that limitation effectively took linerless off the table. A brand is not going to compromise the look of its product simply to eliminate the liner.

That is what is changing. Custom-shaped linerless labels are now possible. On our equipment, we can produce them inline, with printing, silicone coating, adhesive coating and die-cutting all controlled in register.

For me, that changes an important assumption about linerless. If shape is no longer automatically a reason to exclude an application, you can start looking at markets that historically belonged almost entirely to conventional pressure-sensitive labels.

The technology is there. Now converters and brands need to start looking at applications they may not previously have considered for linerless.

L&NW: If you were a converter looking at linerless today, where would you start?
MB: I would start with the business you already have. Look at the labels you are producing today and ask which applications could realistically work without a liner.

I would not wait for a customer to come asking for linerless. Converters should also have an interest in reducing material use. If you can eliminate an entire component from the construction without compromising performance, that is worth exploring.

And if sustainability and material reduction are part of the conversation with your customers, there is an opportunity to be proactive. The customer may not know that another construction is possible. The converter can identify where linerless makes sense and bring that option to the table.

Hand-applied labels are a very practical place to start. There are a lot of labels being peeled from a liner and applied manually every day, in retail promotions, food counters, QSR and other applications. In those cases, it is worth asking a simple question: does the liner need to be there?

For another converter, the opportunity may be wrap-around food packaging, which is already a well-established linerless application. It depends on the markets you serve. The important thing is to look at your existing customer base differently and identify where linerless can offer a better construction.

L&NW: Sustainability has always been part of the linerless discussion. How do you view linerless alongside the industry’s efforts to recycle release liner?
MB: Release liner recycling is important, and the industry has made progress in that area. But recycling addresses the material after it has already been used.

Where an application can work without a liner, there is another question to ask earlier in the process: does that material need to be part of the construction in the first place?

That is where linerless has a very clear role. It eliminates the release liner at the source rather than managing it afterward.

That does not mean linerless is the answer for every pressure-sensitive label. There are applications where a release liner will remain necessary. But where the application can function without one, eliminating that material should be part of the conversation.

L&NW: What does producing these newer linerless constructions require from the converter?
MB: It starts with a fully integrated platform that prints, applies silicone and adhesive, and converts inline. You start with raw paper or film and build the linerless construction through to the finished roll. Depending on the application, that may include perforating for a hand-applied label or through-cutting the web to create a custom shape in register for a prime label.

That is what gives the converter control over the construction. The substrate, silicone, adhesive type and coverage, and the converting process can all be adapted to the application.

A hand-applied label does not have the same requirements as a wrap-around label or a custom-shaped prime label. The construction dictates the process. That is why having those capabilities integrated inline is so important.

L&NW: Does reducing material use necessarily mean moving to linerless?
MB: No. Linerless is one way to reduce material use, but it is not the only solution. There are still many applications where a release liner makes sense.

The broader question is how much material the construction actually needs. That can mean working with much thinner release liners. With some of our die-cutting technology, we can work with liners down to 12 microns. It can also mean applying silicone and adhesive only where they are required, using stripe or pattern coating inline and in register.

For us, the objective is not to make every label linerless. It is to look at the construction and ask where material can be eliminated, where it can be reduced, and where it can be used more precisely without compromising the performance of the finished label.