Which Casamid® Grade Should You Choose?
Polyamide resin binders are essential to high performance industrial inks and coatings. Whether you’re formulating flexible packaging inks, varnishes, adhesives, or industrial coatings, choosing the right polyamide binder directly shapes print quality, adhesion, gloss, and processing efficiency.
At Thomas Swan, our Casamid® Polyamide Resin Binders portfolio is built around two core families:
Casamid® Alcohol Soluble and Co Solvent grades.
These two families are highlighted directly on our Polyamide Resin Binders page.
Understanding the difference helps formulators select the right binder, faster and ensures your formulations consistently deliver superior performance.
What Are Polyamide Resin Binders?
Polyamide binders are versatile film‑forming resins used extensively in:
- Flexographic and gravure printing inks
- Lamination adhesives
- Overprint varnishes
- Industrial coatings
- Packaging applications
They’re known for:
- Excellent adhesion on polyolefin films
- Strong, flexible films
- Fast solvent release (critical for high‑speed printing)
- Good re-solubility and press stability
But the key performance differences come from whether the binder is Alcohol‑Soluble or Co‑Solvent.
Alcohol‑Soluble Polyamide Resin Binders
Alcohol Soluble is one of two principal families in our polyamide binder group.
Performance Characteristics
- Rapid drying for high‑speed presses
- Excellent clarity and gloss
- Ideal for surface and reverse‑print flexible packaging
- Lower viscosity for smoother ink transfer
- Clean re-solubility during press stops
Best For:
- High‑speed flexographic and gravure inks
- Food packaging & fast‑moving FMCG packaging
- Printers needing rapid turnaround and consistent re-solubility
Why Choose a Thomas Swan Casamid® Alcohol‑Soluble Grade?
Thomas Swan’s polyamide binder families are designed for efficient product selection, supported by the new website’s product structure, which helps customers quickly navigate between families.
Our alcohol‑soluble family provides formulators with consistency, quality, and compatibility across a broad range of packaging and ink systems.
Co‑Solvent Polyamide Resin Binders
The second family featured by Thomas Swan is Co‑Solvent Polyamide Resin Binders, highlighted on the same product‑group page.
Performance Characteristics
- Higher viscosity for stronger film formation
- Broader solvent compatibility (alcohols + hydrocarbons/esters)
- Better heat resistance and anti‑blocking
- Stronger adhesion on more complex substrates
- Ideal for inks requiring durability and tougher mechanical properties
Best For:
- Lamination inks
- Overprint varnishes
- Industrial & technical coatings
- Applications requiring higher durability or heat resistance
Request a sample – see the performance for yourself!
Why Choose a Thomas Swan Casamid® Co‑Solvent Grade?
Co‑solvent grades offer robustness, versatility, and a proven fit across multiple industrial markets, including inks, coatings, rubber, and flexible packaging. The Thomas Swan product structure allows customers to easily navigate to these binder families and explore the right chemistry type.
Alcohol‑Soluble vs Co‑Solvent:
This comparison table highlights the key performance differences between alcohol‑soluble and co‑solvent resin systems, making it easier to select the right option for your specific ink or coating application. While alcohol‑soluble grades excel in fast drying and high gloss, co‑solvent systems offer stronger film formation, broader solvent compatibility, and are generally recommended for lamination. Understanding these distinctions helps formulators balance aesthetics, functionality, and processing needs to achieve optimal results.
Why Formulators Choose Thomas Swan
Choosing a Casamid®polyamide resin binder from Thomas Swan means benefiting from:
- A clearly structured product family (Alcohol‑Soluble vs Co‑Solvent) that simplifies selection
- Tailor-made options available to suit your requirements
- Decades of manufacturing expertise
- Global customer service support
- Quality, consistency, and reliability
- Materials trusted across industrial and printing markets
The most effective way to compare Alcohol‑Soluble and Co‑Solvent polyamide resin binders is to test them in your own formulation.
Whether you’re optimising ink viscosity, improving adhesion, increasing press speed, or developing tougher coatings, our team can help you identify the right binder — and send a free sample to evaluate.
Email: perfomancechemicals@thomas-swan.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1207 505131
Web: thomas-swan.com
