One of the first questions potential customers want to know when they call our company is: How much does your glue cost?
When manufacturers consider switching glue vendors, cost is a top concern. Although this is a very difficult question to answer, I will try my best to explain some glue cost drivers. Simply put, you are shopping for a glue that will work properly without significantly driving up your costs. This sounds very straightforward but, believe it or not, there are many details we need to recommend the right glue. Each of these details may adjust the formula, and drive the glue cost (up or down).
First, there are several glue options available through L.D. Davis: protein based (hide glue), water-based, hot-melts, and more. Each of these glues work great, but they are all very different.
Generally, protein and water-based glues are lower cost than hot-melt glues. The reason for this is because the raw materials that go into making hot melts are more expensive. Protein and water-based glues are typically made with natural ingredients like water, glycerin, sugars, gelatin, plants etc. Hot-melts are typically made with polymers, wax, antioxidant, and plasticizers and/or diluents.
Think about it like this: A lawn mower and a weed wacker can both be used to shorten your grass, right? Of course. But who is going to mow their entire lawn with a weed wacker? Probably not many people. Lawn mowers and weed wackers both work well but are designed to do different things. Similarly, our glues are formulated for different applications.
The second factor that goes into recommending the right glue is your application.
What are you gluing together (what are your substrates)? Does your glue need to be freezer grade? Does it need to be FDA approved for food contact? Does it need to be tinted a certain color? Each of these details may influence the glue cost because the raw materials are tailored to the application.
There are hundreds of formulations of protein, water-based and hot melt glues. Our technical team reviews each application to recommend the best glue for your specific application. Our glues are used in many different manufacturing applications including: book binding, packaging, laminating, printing, construction, and agriculture. Learn more about these here.
Another detail to consider is what equipment, if any, you are using to apply the glue. Some customers apply glue by hand and require a glue with a longer open-time. Others use equipment to apply their glue that set up quickly and require a much shorter open-time.
Each industry has its own "standard" equipment.For this reason the glues that we recommend for book binding (case making), for instance, are different formulas than those we recommend for rigid box making. Each glue is designed for the application and the equipment that the glue will run on. This detail is another glue cost driver.
The final driver for glue cost is volume. Like many industries, we are able to lower our manufacturing costs when we are making larger batches of glue. For this reason, we can provide more competitive pricing for orders that are a truckload or more.
As you can see, the question "how much does glue cost?" is not very easy to answer. While there is not a simple answer, I hope this post has helped you understand the different factors that influence glue cost. While we cannot give an exact cost per pound for every glue formation (there are hundreds), here is where pricing will usually start for each category of glue that we sell:
+ Protein glue pricing starts at about $.68 per pound
+ Water-based glue pricing starts at about $.74 per pound
+ Hot melt glue pricing starts at about $.98 per pound
*Keep in mind, the glue cost will vary depending on your application, your equipment, and your volume. Remember, cost is important but so is quality. The cheapest glue is not always going to offer the best performance.
We would be happy to answer your specific cost questions. Contact us today!