An industrial pressure-sensitive adhesive was microencapsulated by spray-drying using an aqueous colloidal ethylcellulose dispersion (Aquacoat (R) ECD) plasticised by triacetin to form the wall material. Unloaded (0:100) and adhesive-loaded (25:75) particles were produced in a Buchi B-191 mini spray-dryer with product yields of 62% and 57%, respectively. Microparticles were spherical and narrow sized with mean D-3,D-2 diameters of 3.165 +/- 0.001 and 5.544 +/- 0.105 mu m, respectively. The microparticles were found to redisperse well in water and exhibit enough stability in neutral and alkaline aqueous media to be further used in a coating slip. Crush tests on single microparticles with diameters ranging from 2 to 12 mu m were performed using a nanoindenter. They revealed that the crushing force of both kinds of microparticles increased linearly with their diameter and that the adhesive loading reduced the mechanical strength of the prepared microparticles.