In the flexible packaging industry, the choice of lamination process has always been a hot topic. Dry lamination is a mature technology and has long been the dominant process in China's flexible packaging industry; solvent-free lamination, as a green compounding technology, represents the future direction of the process and is already widely used in developed countries and regions. How to choose between them? We compare across three core dimensions.

Dimension 1: Environmental Impact and Solvent Residue

Dry lamination requires large amounts of organic solvent (e.g., ethyl acetate) to dissolve the adhesive, which is then evaporated through a heated drying tunnel, bringing VOC emissions and solvent residue risks—especially sensitive for food and pharmaceutical packaging. Solvent-free lamination uses no solvent at all, eliminating solvent emissions and residue at the source, making it greener and more compliant with tightening environmental regulations and food-contact safety requirements.

Dimension 2: Energy Consumption and Cost

The drying tunnel in dry lamination is highly energy-intensive and is the main energy consumer of the process; solvent-free lamination needs no tunnel, greatly reducing equipment energy use. Meanwhile, solvent-free adhesives are usually cheaper per unit and require less application weight, significantly lowering adhesive and energy costs over time. In high-volume, cost-sensitive scenarios, solvent-free lamination has clear economic advantages.

• Dry lamination: wide applicability, strong compatibility with substrates and adhesives, mature process
• Solvent-free lamination: zero solvent, low energy use, outstanding cost and compliance benefits
• Common trend: both processes are upgrading toward automatic metering and data connectivity

"Choosing a lamination process is essentially choosing a production system that matches your product positioning, order structure and environmental requirements. There is no absolute superiority, only suitability.

Dimension 3: Efficiency and Application Scenarios

Dry lamination is mature and highly adaptable to high-solid adhesives and diverse structures, retaining irreplaceable value in complex, functional and high-barrier structures. Solvent-free lamination allows fast adhesive change without cleaning the tank, shortening order-switching wait time, and suits large-volume, standardized orders. As solvent-free adhesive performance improves, its applicable structures keep expanding.

Common Requirement for Adhesive Mixing Equipment

Whether dry or solvent-free, stable ratio accuracy is the premise of lamination quality. Gluexpert's automatic mixing systems use dual metering with gear pump and load cell, achieving ratio accuracy of ±2% (±2% in the new generation), with ERP/MES integration for fully digital, traceable adhesive preparation—ensuring consistent, stable quality under both processes.

Selection Advice

If products are mainly food or pharmaceutical packaging under strict environmental and residue controls, solvent-free lamination is the better path. If structures are complex, highly functional and require strong substrate compatibility, dry lamination still adds value. More companies choose a "two-track" approach—dry lamination for coverage, solvent-free for cost reduction—supported by smart mixing systems for flexible production.

Gluexpert provides complete automatic solutions for both dry and solvent-free two-component mixing. Contact us for customized advice.