zip dry update!

i have GOOD news for you zip dry lovers out there! the “new” bottle, isn’t really new, it’s just temporary! YIPEE!

mike with beacon, was kind enough to take the time to personally and QUITE THOROUGHLY address the issues i had with the “new” applicator tops. i thought the information contained in his response was very informative, and i asked for and received his permission to post his reply on my blog…. here are his comments in their entirety:

Hi Tami,

I’m terribly sorry you are having trouble with the substitute caps we had to use on the  Zip Dry.

This is only a temporary situation. We had run out of our usual precision caps with the hanger top and had to resort to these plain caps in order to make sure people didn’t run out of Zip Dry. I guess it wasn’t the greatest move we made! Below please find an explanation of the different caps and the correct way to use them. We are for our shipment of precision caps with the hanger top to arrive. So please allow me to start from the beginning.    

When we created the formula for Zip Dry we tried to take into consideration all the different ways it would be used. We tried to build in some features that would be helpful such as the ability to rub it off if a mistake was made; that it could be used on metal, plastic rhinestones without attacking the backs, acrylic and of course, photos and paper. We spent a few years tinkering around with the formula until we thought we got it right. Next came packaging. We figured that folks who would use it would be holding it a lot since there are always a ton of things being glued down, so we put it in our normal round bottle only to discover that the plastic the bottle was made out of would not keep the chemistry intact. Basically if we left it in the bottle we normally use it would dry out very quickly. So we needed to put it in a special bottle. Zip Dry is the only product we make that is in this crystal clear oval bottle!

Now the caps we used were usually made of the same plastic as our normal bottles. If we put the glue in the clear oval bottles and used a regular cap, guess what, it would dry out through the cap! So we had to devise a way where we could get the glue to our consumers as fresh as possible yet still have an applicator that delivered precise results. Hence the reason that Zip Dry has two caps in the package; the flat cap and the precision cap.

If you see the first picture above, the flat cap is on the bottle and the precision cap was stored next to it. The idea is to use the flat cap to store the glue ( Keeps it fresh much longer) and use the precision cap to apply the glue. When you finish using the glue, replace the flat cap for storage. The plain top white precision cap in the photo above has quite a thin nozzle. It would create a fine line, but folks complained it was too thin and clogged to easily.

So I redesigned the cap to the ones with the hanger top in the second photo. I made the cap a bit wider to allow the glue to flow more easily and still kept the applicator hole small and precise. 

When we ran out of the precision hanger top caps we needed to get orders out on time so we subbed in the plain cap you see in picture three. This cap unlike the two previous ones should not be cut, but punctured. Since the only thing we changed was the cap, the directions on the back still said to cut the cap. The plain cap in picture three should not be cut, but punctured with a large paper clip. That is why so much glue is coming out and why the cap does not fit back on top. 

When we heard from so many concerned people, we realized we had to do something. 

We are still waiting for our hanger top precision caps to arrive. In the meantime, we went back to using the precision cap featured in the first picture. We’re sorry about that and will go back to the hanger top caps as soon as they arrive! 

In the meantime, let me answer the question that posed about the formula and the tape runner. 

We NEVER change a formula unless a component is no longer being made or we find something better. When we do change, we let our customers know with a new package or an announcement. So Zip Dry is still being made with the original formula. The reason you may be having trouble with the tape runner is that when you cut off the top of the plain cap, a lot more Zip Dry come out of the bottle. That means there is a lot more glue to effect the items you are applying to your page. From your description it sounds like the components in Zip Dry is reacting with the glue in the tape runners. When we go back to a precision cap and a smaller amount of glue is being used, I’m guessing the problem will no longer exist. 

While I’m at it, please let me address another issue that we often hear. “my Zip Dry dries out in the bottle too quickly!” More often than not, when I speak to the person with that complaint, they tell me that they store the glue with the applicator cap. The glue will dissolve through the applicator cap, that’s why we have it as a separate item in the package.  

The other complaint I hear is that when folks store the glue with the flat cap, their applicator caps get clogged because the glue dries in it. So , when you are done using Zip Dry, give the applicator cap a few minutes to drip back into the bottle. Then remove it and insert a pointy wooden toothpick into the cap. It’s ok if the tip of the toothpick come out through the hole you made, just don’t push it in so far as to make the hole any wider. Zip Dry sticks to a lot of things but it can’t stick to the applicator tip very well. When the glue in the applicator tip is dry. It will bond to the wooden toothpick. Just pull the tooth pick out and all the glue in the cap will come out with it! It will even be in the shape of the inside of the cap! I’ve also done this with paper clips. 

We’ll have a lot of these tips and methods to use Zip Dry on our new video series posted on our Beacon You Tube Channel and Facebook. Please look for me, I’m Mike the Beacon Glue Guy! We’ll have a lot of fun showing how our products work and offer a slew of helpful hints. I’ll any question you have about glue and be honest about it, even if it’s not mine! If one of my competitors products is better for the job you want to do, I’ll recommend it! I’m here to help. 

Thanks you so much for letting me explain the issue with the caps. Please know we are correcting it. 

Thank you,

Mike Assile

The Beacon Glue Guy

 

who knew making glue was so complicated!

i found a lot of “good to know”, and “that’s why it is the way it is” info in his answer. i also realized that maybe the new “precision hanger” applicator, not the new/temporary/yuckie one, was the reason my zip dry was clogging less lately.

so, i can scratch “find a new glue” off my to-do list. i’ll just keep hoarding those old applicators to replace the yuckie ones until zip dry starts shipping with the “good” applicator tops again.

if you appreciate the info, please drop mike an e-mail at mike@signaturecrafts.com and let him know. i think companies who obviously care about their customers deserve customer loyalty AND customer appreciation. there aren’t too many companies out there these days who do care.