Gelatin Adhesive Products

LD Davis is one of the world’s oldest and largest manufacturers and compounders of gelatin glue. Our gelatin glue formulas are 100% non-toxic, recyclable and biodegradable, making them exceptionally environmentally friendly.

What are the ingredents of gelatin glue?

Gelatin glue and jelly glue are the modern terms for protein-based adhesives. In the 1970s, LD Davis started using recycled pharmaceutical and nutritional gelatin from soft and hard capsules to create our adhesive. Additional ingredients include water, Epsom salts, corn sugar, and glycerin.

Gelatin is derived from its parent protein, collagen. It is a hydrophilic colloid in an aqueous solution, nearly tasteless and odorless, vitreous and brittle, and typically faint yellow. Our jelly adhesives contain two types of protein, chondrin, which provides glue strength for bonding potential, and gluten, which offers gelling strength for tackiness or hardness.

How is gelatin glue made?

The manufacturing process begins with obtaining the raw materials required and screening them for quality. After sorting, the materials are poured into a large mixing kettle, heated, and mixed. Once ready, the jelly glue mixture is poured into large trays to dry or gel overnight. The gelled glue cakes are removed from the trays.

Our glue is graded according to its strength or bloom, with a higher bloom indicating a higher grade. Quality control samples are taken of each glue batch and stored in our lab for future testing as required. All formulas are inspected for quality as part of our 12-point quality control system for all incoming raw materials and outgoing finished products. During this quality control, we test for color, viscosity, and odor before use.

“Each year we purchase over 100,000 lbs. of liquid glue from LD Davis. Our sales representative, Jeff Palmiter, has been with us every step of the way through recommendation, trialing, and implementation. Our team recently completed our annual supplier score card for LD Davis and they received an ‘Excellent’ rating for performance, quality and responsiveness. We appreciate Jeff working with us and value LD Davis as our supplier.”

— Jim, PSI

“Our bindery manager was struggling with turnover. He was in need of training for the inexperienced operators. LD Davis offered to set up seminars for training in the preparation and the application of their adhesives. The result was a significant reduction in our training costs and the elimination of a lot of waste. Because of their dedication and efforts, LD Davis was chosen as our vendor of the year.”

— Wayne, Berryville Graphics

“We greatly appreciate LD Davis Industries’ customer service and your visit to our facility to perform a glue audit. Bill and Stacy made a significant difference regarding our glue preparation and application. The increased glue temperature made the greatest impact on the box bonding issues we were experiencing previously. By maintaining temperature, solids, and viscosity of glue to LD Davis recommended starting points. I’m sure we will see more positive results. Thank you also for the positive interaction with our mechanics and the overall Protein Glue 101 training for our “EMMECI’ production line.”

— Frank, Custom Paper Products

“Bill McCalla and his team at LD Davis have worked to provide us with the best possible glue for our Emmeci laminating machine. Bill is always very accommodating to our needs and has visited our facility often to make sure operations are running smoothly on our Emmeci. We have been LD Davis customers for several years and feel that their technical assistance has always been beyond our expectations.”

— Steve, Campbell Printing