Glad Press 'n Seal

denise_jer · December 12, 2003

I love this stuff! It works better than we thought it would, but we can't figure out what it actually is. It feels like cross between plastic wrap and parchment (to me, anyway!), but how does it stick to the bowl and not my hand? Or everything else for that matter. We went to the Glad ® Press 'n Seal Wrap website, and all I got was a new word: Griptex™.

Does any one any ideas? I live with an engineer; he's dying to know the mystery of the Press 'n Seal!

tommy · December 12, 2003

i hear they're made with rare earth magnets.

i'm surprised they work. i have to admit that the commercial left me curious.

fifi · December 12, 2003

SSB checking in here. I haven't tried this stuff yet but it is next on my list. I have seen a couple of commercials and I find it fascinating. I keep wondering about some research I read about recently on geckos. Yes... geckos. It seems that the question was how they manage to run around on ceilings. Well, their cute little feet have microscopic hair-like projections that vastly magnify the surface area, likewise magnifying any hydrogen bonding effects or... ummm... something like that.

I'll get back to you. :blink:

**Dave the Cook** · December 12, 2003

I'm interested in your report, fifi.

Without doing any research, I assumed this stuff was related to the adhesive used on Post-it notes, but if it is, it must be a pretty aggressive version.

Jinmyo · December 12, 2003

I've heard (but not seen) that Molto Mario is doing an advert for this stuff.

I've heard of (but not seen) about this stuff for over a month now but cannot find it in Canada.

**Dave the Cook** · December 12, 2003

I've heard (but not seen) that Molto Mario is doing an advert for this stuff.

He is. It's kind of goofy, but not entirely out of character.

fifi · December 12, 2003

You are probably closer to right on this one, Dave. I just found the gecko thing interesting and wondered what utility would come out of it. Do you remember when someone figured out that dolphin skin had these microscopic striations, disrupting turbulence, allowing them to move through water with greater ease? Then they started plastering the hulls of America's Cup racing yachts with a plastic equivalent of dolphin skin. My brain is an absolute stew of weird and mostly useless information. That is why I leaped to the gecko thing. :biggrin:

I think the Post-It technology has more promise. BTW... Did you know that the Post-It adhesive is actually a failed attempt to develop an adhesive?

**Dave the Cook** · December 12, 2003

Back in the early 80s, a guy came into my print shop with a few pieces of 12x12 linoleum, printed in a cork pattern, with a vaguely sticky surface on it. He said it was a new technology,and that the company he worked for (he was a manufacturer's rep, not a direct 3M guy) was trying to figure out how to market it. He showed me how paper would stick to it, but come off without a residue. He tried to get me to take on a POP display to sell this "bulletin board" on consignment, and there was talk of a regional distribution agreement if it was successful.

I told him I was busy and sent him packing.

Toliver · December 12, 2003

I just found the gecko thing interesting and wondered what utility would come out of it.

What got the scientific folk interested in the lowly gecko was its ability to cling to glass, even upside down. You're right about the microscopic hair on the gecko feet. They create a sort of suction where there shouldn't be any suction.

Here's a story on some man-made developments in this area:

Click Here.

As for Press 'N' Seal, I'm a fan. I have no idea why it works but it does (see the "This Really Works" thread). Unlike normal plastic wrap, though, you have to be careful when you remove the Press 'N' Seal in order to reseal the container with the same piece of wrap. Otherwise the wrap stuff tends to become un-reuseable (hey, a new word!) quickly.

fifi · December 12, 2003

As for Press 'N' Seal, I'm a fan. I have no idea why it works but it does (see the "This Really Works" thread). Unlike normal plastic wrap, though, you have to be careful when you remove the Press 'N' Seal in order to reseal the container with the same piece of wrap. Otherwise the wrap stuff tends to become un-reuseable (hey, a new word!) quickly.

Cool link, Toliver. You are a true internet wizard.

Do you think that the un-reuseability :biggrin: might be due to condensation as it comes out of the fridge?

He tried to get me to take on a POP display to sell this "bulletin board" on consignment, and there was talk of a regional distribution agreement if it was successful.
I told him I was busy and sent him packing.

The champion story of this sort... (off topic but what the hell)...

My sister is a nursing student in the late 50s. She is doing her turn on the psych ward and has this patient in there with a nervous breakdown or some other disorder. This guy tells her that he has invented a way to make integrated circuits with photographic methods. She can have 100 shares in the company for $50. She is a poor student and this is the psych ward after all so she doesn't bite. Can you spell Texas Instruments?

Mayhaw Man · December 12, 2003

This is one of those products that I would have probably never purchased, but I was putting up leftovers at my Mom's after the leftover feast on Thanksgiving night and there was a roll of the stuff in her pantry.

I will admit to becoming a convert with the first glorious tear and stick. The stuff works (although as to how, the old joke about thermoses comes to mind "How does it know?") well and sticks to just about every kind of container or plate. I like it.

Varmint · December 12, 2003

For any smug scientific bastards out there who have used the Press 'n Seal, how does this stuff differ from the laboratory gold standard of sealant films, Parafilm, which has been around for ages?

fifi · December 12, 2003

Oh my! I had forgotten about Parafilm. Too many years out of the lab I guess. That stuff would be great for sealing off jelly jars.

MichaelB · December 12, 2003

(although as to how, the old joke about thermoses comes to mind "How does it know?")

Off topic but the funniest clean joke ever!

hillvalley · December 12, 2003

I bought a box after reading about it on the "This really works thread" and have become completely addicted. My only deterrent is that it is expensive, compared to regular plastic wrap. On the other hand, I use it for everything, as long as it is not touching the food directly. We used it in the classroom a few weeks ago to help explain how lizards can defy gravity.

The only draw back I have found is that sometimes it does not reseal very well. I wonder why?

John Braise · December 12, 2003

For any smug scientific bastards out there who have used the Press 'n Seal, how does this stuff differ from the laboratory gold standard of sealant films, Parafilm, which has been around for ages?

First off, I'm the curious engineer referenced in the first post :wub: . It's not at all like parafilm. If you were to compare them, the cling-n-seal is much thinner, less stretchy, and noticably sticky only on one side. The parafilm kind of molds itself on whereas this stuff adheres. The color is similar though, and it's much closer to parafilm than to regular cling wrap.

From what I can gather from the Glad website, it seems like they have a process to apply this adhesive (a food-based one that is found in chewing gum) to the web of material, somehow slightly texturize it and then remove some of the adhesive from the "hills" and leave it in the "valleys." So the fury of the adhesive is only unleashed when the material is pressed on. I think that's why it doesn't work so well the second time around - the adhesive has already been exposed at those points. But I think if you put it back on slightly off of its previous position, you can get some fresh glue to work with.

I could be wrong.

It's weird wild stuff.

Edited December 12, 2003 by John Braise (log)

herbacidal · December 12, 2003

(although as to how, the old joke about thermoses comes to mind "How does it know?")
Off topic but the funniest clean joke ever!

i don't get it. guess i'm too young.

John Braise · December 12, 2003

i don't get it. guess i'm too young.

It keeps the hot stuff hot and the cold stuff cold.

denise_jer · December 12, 2003

I've heard (but not seen) that Molto Mario is doing an advert for this stuff.
I've heard of (but not seen) about this stuff for over a month now but cannot find it in Canada.

I know! It took me a while to find it myself. I kept going to that aisle, whether I needed to or not!

But it's weird, because it doesn't feel sticky like a post-it note does when you pull it off the pad. It does feel textured, though. I wonder if they are little bubbles with something that kind of burst when apply pressure? Like the jojoba beads in my facial scrub?

denise_jer · December 12, 2003

For any smug scientific bastards out there who have used the Press 'n Seal, how does this stuff differ from the laboratory gold standard of sealant films, Parafilm, which has been around for ages?
First off, I'm the curious engineer referenced in the first post . It's not at all like parafilm. If you were to compare them, the cling-n-seal is much thinner, less stretchy, and noticably sticky only on one side. The parafilm kind of molds itself on whereas this stuff adheres. The color is similar though, and it's much closer to parafilm than to regular cling wrap.
From what I can gather from the Glad website, it seems like they have a process to apply this adhesive (a food-based one that is found in chewing gum) to the web of material, somehow slightly texturize it and then remove some of the adhesive from the "hills" and leave it in the "valleys." So the fury of the adhesive is only unleashed when the material is pressed on. I think that's why it doesn't work so well the second time around - the adhesive has already been exposed at those points. But I think if you put it back on slightly off of its previous position, you can get some fresh glue to work with.
I could be wrong.
It's weird wild stuff.

Do you think it feels sticky? I guess I think of sticky as in, for example, the mystery sticky spot on the floor that I can only find again with my sock when I come back with a wet paper towel.

It does have little bit of stretch to it, so if you give it a little tug, you can usually reseal it again at least once.

herbacidal · December 12, 2003

i don't get it. guess i'm too young.
It keeps the hot stuff hot and the cold stuff cold.

i know what a thermos is and what it does.

speaking of which, i wonder where my old blue one is. hmm.

i don't understand the part about a thermos knowing.

Toliver · December 13, 2003

Do you think that the un-reuseability might be due to condensation as it comes out of the fridge?

Nope. I think it's because I used it to wrap something as opposed to sealing something. I don't think it's really intended to be used like "normal" plastic wrap where if you unwrap that piece of cheese, you can rewrap it using the same piece of plastic wrap. This stuff is REALLY sticky and seems to be intended for sealing/covering bowls, cups, etc.

I made the mistake of wrapping a piece of cheese in it and had a dickens of a time trying to get it unwrapped. I ended up going postal on that piece of cheese just to get it open! :laugh:

The piece of Press 'N' Seal I finally got off the cheese was toast, so to speak. It was just a clump of Press'N'Seal that was really, really sealed on itself.

Hey, I guess the stuff really works! :wink:

Arey · December 13, 2003

On the other hand, I use it for everything, as long as it is not touching the food directly.

Why shouldn't it touch the food directly?

sparrowgrass · December 13, 2003

Jeez. The thermos joke.

Actually, 2 of them, which I first heard in MN, so they star a Swede and a Norwegian.

1. Norwegian comes in to work with a new thermos, which he shows to the Swede. Norwegian says, "It's a great new invention--keeps hot food hot and cold foods cold."

Swede says, " How does it know?"

2. (Better one) Swede comes into work with new thermos. Says the wife bought it for him, and told him it would keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Norwegian asks him what he brought for lunch.

Swede says "Coffee and a popsicle."

whosrbud · December 13, 2003

hate to be a contrarian here, but i think the stuff sucks in spades. it was bad enough that we just had to have 'blue' and 'yellow' in addition to the conventional 'clear' but at least they seem to work. my wife bought a roll of 'press and press and press and maybe possibly seal' and i struggled valiantly-but in vain to get the bowl sealed. second try was no better. re-read instructions. how hard can this be? third attempt. not even close. what IS this shit? is this the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on resealers? i gave up and went back to 'blue' as i recall and it worked just fine.

upon questioning, (as in 'whatever possessed you to buy this instead of the conventional stuff?) she said "oh i love it."

un-hunhhh. "so what's the secret?"

"well, you have to have a perfectly flat surface and it must be completely dry and it must have enough of a lip for the plastic to take hold."

"that might explain why this plastic bowl with a pouring spout is...un-sealable"

"oh yeah, it won't work on that."

"well then what's the point? if it doesn't cling to plastic and it won't work on a thin rim, it's pretty useless."

sadly there are no winners. the box of the stuff just sits there and trys its best to lure me into trying it again...just so it can laugh and laugh at not doing the only thing it's supposed to do. has no one else had even the least problem getting this stuff to cling?

-b.g. gloot

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