In Praise of the Honest Data Sheet

There is a quiet document at the bottom of the website. It does not ask for attention. It simply tells the truth. It is the technical data sheet.

Trade fairs love ambition. Banners promise revolutions by Tuesday. Videos glide in slow motion. A graph climbs like a ski jump while the axes hide. In the corner sits the data sheet. It clears its throat. It has numbers. It has test methods. It has footnotes.

Truth is awkward because it insists on context.

A modulus without temperature is a bedtime story.

Shrinkage without dose, wavelength and atmosphere is a hope.

Excellent adhesion means little until you name the substrate and the cleaning method.

How to spot a good one:

·      Viscosity with temperature and shear.

·      Optical data with wavelength, haze and yellowness after ageing.

·      Adhesion with a standard and a surface that was actually cleaned.

·      Storage stability with inhibitor level and what happens when the cap is left loose on Friday afternoon.

·      Batch variation stated plainly.

Factories are rarely impressed by compliments. A vague data sheet is paid for in scrap and stoppages. A candid one shortens the trip from first trial to stable production. It tells the truth about the trade-offs and treats the reader as someone who can think.

Your turn

If your data sheet pulled up a stool at the trade-fair bar this evening, would it offer calm numbers or a brilliant adjective?

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