CHA Summer 2011 | Adhesives Roundup

The CHA show floor is a vast ocean of craft supplies of all types, and scattered amongst the reams of gorgeous paper and piles of pretty beads, baubles, and embellishments lie small islands filled to the brim with the one product that binds all the rest of it together – glue. Whether your preference is liquid or dry or tape or dot, adhesive is something that is a nearly universal need of every papercrafter.

At CHA Summer 2011, I made it a point to visit the booth of every adhesive manufacturer that I could find on the CHA show floor with the intent of asking them one question: “what’s new?” In the process, I discovered some pretty cool stuff, and, since the world of adhesive doesn’t turn over quite as quickly as the world of paper and stickers, a few of these items have been out since the last CHA (or even prior to that), meaning that you can most likely find some of these items in your local scrapbook store right now!

Therm-O-Web is well known for their Zots brand of adhesive dots, a favorite among many papercrafters. Among their newest items are “Zots for Bling”- micro-sized dots perfect for use on the backs of tiny rhinestones.

They also now offer “Lots O Zots” boxes for crafters who like to buy their glue in bulk. The boxes of large, medium, and small Zots each contain a whopping 900 dots while the bling Zots have 975. Both “Zots for Bling” and “Lots O Zots” were debuted at CHA Winter 2011, and are already available at many retailers.

Scotch/3M introduced their own line of adhesive dots at CHA Summer 2011. These dots dispense from a roll through the bottom of their packaging with each dot dispensing on its own clear backing sheet for easy handling.

Scotch is also launching new, easy-to-use packaging for its Super Glue product. The improved bottle has a tiny applicator nozzle that pulls any unused adhesive back into the tip, eliminating the frustrating overrun that can occur at the end of dispensing.

Scotch/3M is of course famous among papercrafters for their existing line of Adhesive Tape Gliders, as well as an array of smaller tape runners and glue sticks.

3L’s Scrapbook Adhesives line had some new additions at the CHA Summer 2011 show. EZ Dots Mini Dispensers will thrill Kokuyo fans who have been hunting for a replacement ever since that company ceased its US operations. EZ Dots Mini Dispensers, available in both permanent and repositionable formulations, work like a tape runner and lay down a pattern of tiny, very thin dots of adhesive.

EZ Runner Permanent Fine Adhesive is a reformulation of 3L’s vellum adhesive that has been redesigned to work with any fine or delicate paper (including vellum) while leaving no markings.

Crafty Foam Tape and Thin 3D Foam Squares Mix (product not pictured) are 3L’s entry into the dimensional adhesive market. Crafty Foam Tape, EZ Runner Permanent Fine Adhesive, and EZ Dots Mini Dispensers are all already available while Thin 3D Foam Squares Mix is due to hit stores in September 2011.

Beacon Adhesives has already made a name for itself among papercrafters with their Zip Dry paper glue product, and they have two new adhesives coming to market soon that expand their line’s capabilities even further.

Fast Finish Decoupage is an acid-free, fast-drying decoupage finish that dries to a clear matte coat with the first application and becomes glossier with subsequent applications. It’s also not susceptible to heat and humidity, meaning that the surface never softens or becomes tacky after drying.

Beacon had several projects using Fast Finish Decoupage on display in their booth, including a few paper bead necklaces and an adorable decoupaged pig.

Coat ‘n Create is Beacon Adhesives’ answer to papercrafters’ glitter-flaking frustrations. It forms an extremely strong bond, and even when I rubbed my finger quite hard across the surface of several small boxes that had been covered with Coat ‘n Create, only a few tiny little sparkles showed up on my skin.

Adhesive powerhouse Tombow has several new items on the market. Their Stamp Runner is available in both a solid tape and a dot pattern (another possible option for Kokuyo lovers!) and offers two methods of application in the same dispenser. It can either be used as a traditional tape runner, or users can “stamp” a single square of adhesive in a precise location, making it a great option for attaching both large pieces of paper and tiny embellishments.

Kokuyo refugees may also be interested to know that Tombow offers a dot pattern adhesive refill for their traditional tape runner (product not pictured) as well.

3D Foam Tabs, Fastener Tabs, and Power Adhesive Tabs were all debuted by Tombow at the CHA Winter 2011 show. The fastener tabs, consisting of sets of paper-thin hook and look fasteners, are the most intriguing of the mix since they provide a new way for papercrafters to attach embellishments, gift cards, and a host of other items to their projects while still having the ability to remove those items easily.

The Power Adhesive Tabs are extremely strong squares of clear adhesive capable of holding up to 6 ounces each – just look at them being used to suspend a series of glass pendants here in the Tombow booth!

Sticky Thumb’s massive green booth caught my eye as I passed it several times during the course of the show, so I made it a point to stop in while I was on my adhesive-gathering mission on the last day of the show. What I found there from this relatively new company (they’ve only been in business for about a year and a half) was quite interesting.

Sticky Thumb has two main product lines, the first being a set of foam adhesive squares sold in packs containing a variety of sizes and shapes.

The second product line is their tape runners, and it was this item that really impressed. These things are sticky! I stuck my thumb on it to see how tacky it is and had difficulty reclaiming my finger from the adhesive!

The tape runners and dimensional adhesives at Sticky Thumb are available at very reasonable price points, which should help this product gain a larger hold in the market as the company grows.

Devoted papercrafters can be very passionate about their favorite adhesives. The products may not change often, but for something considered mostly a “boring basic” they inspire a surprising amount of loyalty and emotion in consumers. It’s always interesting to look around and wonder what the next big thing in “stick” will be.