Weld (stronger than rivet)*; light in weight; can be made with access to one side only; making and breaking requires little energy= tight junction
Rivet (loss in strength); some flexibility; heavier; requires access to both sides (2 cells); making and breaking requires energy; = desmosome
*http://www.1920-30.com/architecture/rivets-welding.html : this source says there is no loss of strength with a weld, but particularly, when i viewed micrographs of spot welds, sometimes the sheets of metal look thinner and the texture of the metal has changed under the electrically produced weld.

The desmosome is not really a butt joint, since the center plate in a butt joint is the intercellular space and there is no edge to be joined in the respective adjacent cells. Maybe it could be considered more like a double-rivet lap joint. Or a double-rivet double strap joint.

Environmental impact on desmosomal joints are: tack ( how easily a bond is made and broken  ); peel (the force needed to break the bond between two cells – including peel angle and direction); shear (sliding between surfaces), and then there is the list of molecular forces (Ions, enzymes, water, heat and energy).

Here is an interesting quote from label makers, “Non-carboxylated emulsions tend not to build adhesion over time, an important attribute in removables. Tg influences pliability, especially at low temperatures. (Think labels applied in the freezer section). Gel content is a measure of cross-linking within a styrene-butadiene emulsion polymer. Less cross-linking results in higher tack, but more cross-linking provides higher shear. If necessary, a tackifier can be added to the emulsion to raise tack even more.” and one wonders how this polymer science stuff relates to the polymers in desmosomes.

The desmosome, the adherens junctions — both have attributes, there is a  trade-off from one type to the other, for different jobs and  modifications  within each category.

Shear testing for desmosomes, as layered structures,  disruption along the plane of the cell membranes. I guess a desmosome can be called a viscous adhesive.  haha. or a velcro spot.