Today, I am going to do a comparison review of different scrapbook adhesive systems. I will compare the Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner, the 3M ATG 714, the Hermafix Vario, and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Mounting squares.
First, it must be pointed out that a direct comparison of all four of the above adhesives is difficult at best. They are all four very different products, and it is a little "apples-to-oranges" to lump them all together. So, I will do head-to-head comparisons of the products within the two groups- adhesive runners and mounting squares- and then share my thoughts about which product is superior overall at the end.
Lets look at the adhesive runner group- the Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner and the 3M ATG 714 adhesive applicator. Shell gave me a "hand-me-down" Xyron Adhesive Runner that she had barely used. It was compact, lightweight, and fit well in my hand. The refill cartridges snap into place easily, and the adhesive itself rolls out smoothly with a minimum of fuss. The 3/8" adhesive strip was a convenient width for the back of photo mats, borders, and other large to medium-sized elements on my 12x12 page. The "dot matrix" adhesive pattern was a little disappointing, as it seemed to be a bit patchy if insufficient pressure was applied while applying the adhesive bead. In all, though, I must say the Xyron performed admirably, and I thought I had found a new favorite adhesive applicator, right up until the applicator ran out.
ON MY SECOND PAGE!
At first, I thought the tape had misfed, and I opened the applicator to check, only to find that I had, in fact exhausted the entire supply of adhesive after only two full-size pages. The refills claim to hold 14ft. of adhesive tape. Either they do, and 14 feet is not nearly as much as it sounds like, or I use a lot of adhesive on my pages. Regardless, refilling after two pages does not seem like an appealing prospect, and at almost $4.00 for a 2-pack of refills, it translates to about $1 a page in adhesives.
Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner
The 3M ATG 714 is on the totally opposite end of the spectrum from the Xyron. Where the Xyron is compact, cute, inexpensive, and purpose-made for home papercrafting, the 3M ATG 714 is bulky, intimidating, expensive, and a professional-grade tool repurposed from the custom framing industry for papercrafting. To be honest, the first time I saw this being used on another scrapbooking site, I thought, "Wow! That's excessive!". I honestly could not see myself using such a tool for my own scrapping and card-making projects. Shell saw things differently, and sprang for the ATG. I remained skeptical at first, but I was quickly impressed by how smoothly it operated. After watching her glide effortlessly through pages, I had to try it for myself. Though the applicator itself is fairly large, the handle fits comfortably in my hand, and the action of the trigger is smooth and precise. The rubber wheel that rolls the adhesive tape on to the paper rolls smoothly and easily across the page. The adhesive itself is what really sold me, though- a continuous, solid band that bonded instantly and firmly. The 1/4" width was convenient for my medium to large- sized page elements on my 12x12 page. After using the ATG, I could immediately see why such a pricey professional tool had been appropriated by scrappers- it gets the job done right, the first time, with a minimum of fuss. The refills come in 36 and 60 yard lengths, so running out after two pages is highly unlikely. I also think the solid, high-tack nature of the adhesive makes it unnecessary to use as much of it to securely adhere page elements.
3M ATG 714
In the other category, we have the mounting squares. Instead of a continuous band of adhesive, squares are self contained, double-sided stickers. The Hermafix Vario (also called the Herma Vario) dispenser was the first purpose-built scrapbook adhesive dispenser I ever owned, and it has been my workhorse these past five years. The dispenser places the mounting squares at a set interval on the page when you roll the wheel over the paper. Or at least, it is supposed to. I found the Vario dispenser to be a bit temperamental at first, and learned over time that it is often quicker and easier to advance the wheel and peel the squares off by hand. If the tape the squares are on gets off the gears, it can also be a pain to rethread. The squares themselves provide a moderately tight bond, and are fairly forgiving in the fact that they can be repositioned once and still stick if you peel them carefully from the paper. At 1/2" in width, the squares must often be cut in half (a tedious process) to be used on small page elements, but work well on medium to large-sized page elements. At one point I had taken to peeling the squares directly off the backing by hand, and had stopped using the dispenser all together, though I have gone back to it now since I have become more adept at refilling it. In all, it gets the job done, and with 1,000 mounting squares per refill roll, it lasts through several projects.
Hermafix Vario
Finally, we have the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Mounting Squares. When I was going through my peel-the-squares-off-the-backing-by-hand phase with my Vario, I decided it would be reasonable to eschew the pricey (approx. $5-6 per refill roll) Vario refills, and by the cheaper Scrapbook Adhesives mounting squares (approx. $3-4 per box)in their own dispensing box. The squares themselves are similar to the Vario squares in dimensions and in level of tackiness, with the main difference being in the delivery system. The SA squares roll out on a tape like Vario; but each one also has a little individual wax paper tab you peel off the other side.
It was loathe at first sight for me and the SA mounting squares. I found the two-sided wax paper peeling to be time-consuming and annoying, and the blizzard of tiny wax paper bits produced by the squares was a huge, hard to contain mess. Add to that the fact that the boxes I have run across contain only 250 or 500 squares. All of this motivated me to go back to my Vario the minute my box of SA mounting squares ran out.
Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares
So, in the end, what would I recommend? Since these two categories of adhesives are so fundamentally different, I recommend a mix of both. In the adhesive runners department, I recommend the ATG. For scrappers who are serious about the hobby, the ATG is just going to be the better long-term investment. In the mounting squares department, I would definitely recommend the Vario, or at least the Vario refills. Squares are versatile, more forgiving, and can be useful in situations where it would be impossible to run adhesives in an unbroken strip. Even the tedious cutting of squares in half for smaller elements is actually a boon in those situations where glue isn't the right answer, and smaller spot applications of adhesive are needed. Serious, high-volume scrappers will want to have both of these tools.
For the beginning scrapper, or someone who wants One Adhesive To Do It All, the Vario would be the best bet. It's relatively low price and versatility make it a clear favorite.
The Xyron is a good, low-priced, easy-to-use adhesive runner, but I could only recommend it to someone who was planning on using adhesives VERY sparingly on their projects. I would not recommend the Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares to anyone, unless they really, really like picking little squares of wax paper off of stickers, and picking them up off the table, floor, etc. after every project.
Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner- $9-12 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores. Refills- $3-5 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
3M ATG 714 Adhesive Applicator- $41.69 at framingsupplies.com (I do not recommend buying the ATG 714 second-hand as an entire lot of defective products entered the marketplace a while back, and some people have been reportedly trying to unload these defective applicators) Refills of 908 acid-free tape- $3.49.
Hermafix Vario- $9-14 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores. Refills- $5-8 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares- #3-4 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
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