But perfumes and colognes, and scratch and sniff scent stickers, aren’t the only places that have used the technology. The process for making the scent strips is similar to the process for making scratch and sniff stickers. The perfume and cologne strips in magazines are from the same technology, except when the tab is lifted from inside the magazine, the capsules are then broke open. A few of those capsules continue to hold their scent for years and years since some of them are still stuck to the paper. The reason a scratch and sniff sticker can still let off a smell years from when it was first scratched is because the capsules are at the micron level, smaller than a human hair. When friction from scratching the sticker happens, the micro-capsules are broke open, and the smell is released. A simple process takes place when a sticker is scratched. Now to get the wonderful smell of all those oils. Of course, the process is much more complicated than this, but you get the idea. From there, the printing process can take place as the minuscule capsules are printed on paper. The capsules are then washed and added to a water base with an adhesive. A catalyst is added, and the polymer forms a shell around the beads of oil. It’s blended by a rotary blade at high speed until the oil beads into tiny droplets that can’t be seen by the naked eye. The micro-encapsulation process for scratch and sniff stickers begins when scented oil is mixed with a polymer in a reactor. 3M found that they could use the patented process for something else - to hold a smell from scented ink. A scientist at 3M in the 1960s came up with and patented a process of micro-encapsulation that allowed copies to be made without carbon paper. A piece of carbon paper had to be inserted between other pieces of paper, which was a messy process. To make a copy of a document wasn’t as easy as sticking it in a copy machine. It started when scientists were looking for a way to have carbonless paper. How does the scent happen, and why can it sit in a box for ten years and still give off a scent when it’s scratched? The technology wasn’t initially invented for stickers that could have a scent. The smell from a scratch and sniff happens, of course, when the sticker is rubbed. But there is an interesting technology behind scratch and sniff stickers that make it all possible, and it has even been used to entice adults into buying products based on their smell. Popcorn, root beer, strawberry, and pizza - those are just some of the familiar smells we remember from scratch and sniff stickers as kids.
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