How do you choose polyester or polypropylene?

What is polyester?

Polyester material (PET) is a trusted choice because of its high use temperature (+150*C) and durability for both indoor and outdoor use.

It is a top-of-the-line label material with high resistance to oils, acids and greases, and it prints very well.
It also meets many different industry requirements, such as Reach and RoHS.

However, a high-end material also means a corresponding price. If you are looking for a more economical option, you can also choose polypropylene (PP) for some applications.

What are the properties of polypropylene?

Polypropylene material generally has a slightly weaker adhesive strength than polyester and a maximum use temperature of +80ºC. On the other hand, polypropylene labels are more flexible than polyester labels and just as versatile in use. Moreover, compared to polyester, polypropylene is easily recyclable. This makes it a widely used solution for labeling PP packaging, for example within the food industry.

Polypropylene material can be used on various surfaces and is easy to print yourself with barcodes, texts, logos and pictograms. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that the price for polypropylene labels is lower than that of polyester.

Do you choose polyester or polypropylene?

To choose between polyester and polypropylene, you can use four simple criteria:

•     operating temperature
•     lifespan
•     surface
•     budget

These label materials are available in the most common formats within the industrial sector, but of course we can also customize them.
Are you interested in a specific material or format? Or would you like to test a material first?
Contact us via the contact form and we will send you sample material.