The coating, printing and bonding of both single and multi‐layer paper, plastic, foil, and tin‐plate products can be a complex process. Creating an environment where adhesives, inks or substrate materials will adhere successfully to each other, demands that certain essential parameters are fulfilled. Two examples serve to highlight these; the printing of ink onto a metallised or foil surface, such as is commonly used in the food packaging industry, and the application of plastic materials onto coated paper substrates, as found in the manufacture of photographic printing papers. In the first example, ink must adhere and dry quickly and evenly to prevent lift‐off and scuffing. In the second example, the coated paper must be prepared so that it bonds immediately in accordance with pre‐determined process parameters, to prevent the future separation or delamination of individual layers. In both examples, the base material must be smooth and clean, exhibiting a neutral electrical status, in order to make effective product adhesion and ultimately product presentation possible,