Tape securely seals boxes, containers and surfaces to protect them from damage and tampering.
Tape: Basics
If you want to secure something, close something or protect something, then tape’s for you.
Tape is a carrier material (usually made from paper, film or fabric) coated with an adhesive. It’s then rolled up for easy storage and use. Some (double sided for example) can have a release liner, designed to protect both sides until it’s ready to be used.
Tape: How to Choose
There are plenty of uses when it comes to tape. Most can close a box. But some keep water out of containers, others make sure parcels aren’t tampered with and some keep paint off of surfaces.
Think about the task at hand. If you’re marking down a walking path in a warehouse, aisle marking tape is right up your alley.
Sealing up pipe joints requires pipe wrapping tape. And if it needs to be removed later on, low-tack tape is your safest choice.
Tape: Types
Acrylic Carton Sealing is one of the most economical ways to seal a box. It’s clear, resistant to yellowing and handles humidity well.
Aisle Marking & Safety are made of vinyl and adhesive. Designed with high visibility in mind, they’re used for lane marking, hazard labeling and area cordoning.
Bag Sealing is used on poly bags, firmly sealing them while being low stretch and chemical-resistant. They come in an assortment of colours for coding and organizing. And are often used in flower shops, hardware and grocery stores.
Custom Printed makes your packaging stand out in the crowd. Save box space and make your advertising mark with your logo.
Double Sided Extended Liner has a release liner wider than the tape itself. This makes it easy to hand apply.
Double Sided Film creates a strong bond between two surfaces. That’s thanks to a strong adhesive and high tensile strength rating.
Double Sided Foam is a strong polyethylene tape with an equally strong adhesive. It can hold to a wide variety of surfaces and securely fastens signs, store displays, and product dispensers.
Double Sided Paper Tissue is the perfect choice for office projects. You can splice together paper, mount presentation materials and laminate basic objects.
Duct is a versatile tape, available in a wide variety of styles and tacks. Patch up holes, splice wiring, bind books, seal gaps, and make works of art.
Electrical is used for temporary applications. This includes handle wrapping, binding, splicing and protection against electrical current.
Filament is a pressure sensitive tape with high tensile strength. It can stabilize loads, bundling together boxes or items, and secure low-stacked pallets.
Flame Spray withstands temperatures up to 500 F during grit-blasting, flame spraying and plasma torching.
Flashbreaker is used in aerospace and composite industries. Its high-grade and high-temperature properties make it ideal for sealing machinery used in bagging, injection and infusion projects.
Flatback is at home sealing up boxes. Though it’s hand-tearable, it’s strong enough to splice, patch up and tamp down other tape.
Foil & Metalized is used in heat sealing and heat shielding projects. It’s made from blends of aluminum foil and metallized polyester.
Hot Melt Carton Sealing is applied in temperatures of 40 to 120 F. With high adhesion and shearing ratings, it will keep your boxes securely sealed.
Label Protection is a wide and clear tape. It’s designed to roll quickly and evenly over an address label to keep things clean and protected.
Machine Length Carton Sealing is available in extra long-length acrylic and hot melt tapes for use in box sealing machines.
Masking is an all-purpose, basic tape available in an assortment of colours. Thin and hand-tearable, it can be removed with minimal effort and surface residue.
Natural Rubber Carton Sealing is made for use in dirty, rusty and oily environments. Made with rubber tree sap, it has a low UV exposure rating but extremely high tack.
Office & Stationary is the multi-purpose translucent tape we all use.
Painter’s is a low-tack masking tape. Placed over delicate areas or surfaces, painter’s tape can be pulled off with no residue or damage. Proper use ensures clean, straight paint lines.
Paper Gummed is made with Kraft paper. It’s coated with water-activated adhesive and provides a tight and secure seal.
Pipe Wrapping is made for use on pipes, valves and joints. Weather-resistant properties means it’s ideal for above or below ground, indoor or outdoor uses. It also protects against leaking or corrosive materials.
Plating is an engineering-grade, high stretch film tape. It clings to itself or a chosen surface and creates a tight seal. This is useful during difficult projects such as metal plating baths or production of circuit boards.
Polyethylene is an abrasion- and chemical-resistant tape. It’s designed for sealing, splicing and labeling.
Pouch keeps shipping labels and documents inside it. Then it can be directly applied to your shipments.
Powder Coating Masking is resistant to high temperatures and easily removed from surfaces. That makes it ideal for use during powder coating and painting applications.
Pre-Printed Message cuts down on excess labeling. Quickly display important shipping information on your box while sealing it at the same time.
Reinforced Paper Gummed has fiberglass woven into the Kraft paper for reinforced protection. Made with water-activated adhesive that ensures a tight and tamper-evident seal.
Release Paper Splicing is used for splicing and bonding silicone treated papers and films. It has excellent shear strength, provides a superior bond, and can withstand temperatures up to 425 F.
Repulpable is used in paper mills and newspapers for splicing and tabbing. The backing, liners and even the pressure-sensitive adhesive are all reusable.
Roller Wrap is designed for the printing industry and web converting process. It has improved adhesion, less build up and cast-off, and helps minimize production downtime.
Splicing & Finishing are what you’d expect. Splice wiring and then cover it over with color-coding. Ship packaging with simple, colourful tape to stand out in the crowd.
Strapping is a polypropylene tape with high tensile and adhesive strength. Even under harsh conditions, it provides security to any bundle.
Tamper-Evident is so high-tack that it makes removal impossible without leaving evidence behind. If you want to know if a package is being tampered with, tamper-evident tape is the way to go.
Teflon Coated Fiberglass has a silicone or acrylic adhesive. This provides a non-stick surface perfect for heat sealing projects.
Teflon Coated Film creates a non-stick surface while allowing for easy release. Chemical-, weather-, and heat-resistant, they’re non-toxic and self-lubricating.
Thread Seal is wrapped around the threading of metal or plastic joints. This creates a watertight barrier. It’s also known as plumber’s tape.
Transfer has no carrier at all. The adhesive lives on a release liner. Once rolled out, it adheres strongly to rough and uneven surfaces.
Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) is a thin gauge polyethylene tape. Used when friction, wear and tear, and noise from conveyors and machines needs to be minimized.
Very High Bond is an incredibly strong, UV- and weather-resistant tape. Highly conformable and double coated, it can work in place of screws and fasteners.
Water Activated creates a capillary action that bonds the tape to the carton. This permanent bond is tamper-resistant and tamper-evident.
Tape: Words Worth Knowing
Adhesion is the bond between the adhesive and what it’s applied to. This is measured by the tension required to peel it off of a stainless steel surface.
Caliper refers to the thickness of tape. It’s usually expressed in thousandths of inches.
Cohesion is the internal strength of the adhesive layer. It’s a measure of its ability to withstand splitting and tearing caused by external forces.
Creep is the movement of tape over time while under stress.
Elongation is the stretching of tape over time while under tension.
Lathe Cutter is a machine used to cut master rolls down into smaller units. They also carry the curious nickname the boloney slitter.
Log Rolls are master rolls in wide widths. They’re cut down into multiple widths for sale.
Plasticizer Migration is when a plasticizing ingredient in a roll of tape begins to move from one surface to another. For example, when PVC starts to break down and the adhesive oozes out.
Release Liner is the backing placed onto double-sided tape to keep it together until use.
Shear Strength is the holding power of a tape. It’s measured by how long it takes for it to be removed from the surface it was applied to.
Slitting is the action of cutting a master roll into narrower widths.
Surface Energy refers to the surface conditions of an object that tape is applied to. The higher the surface energy of an object, the better and stronger the bond is.
Tack is the quality of bond that an adhesive forms with a material. It’s also known as quick sticking.
Tensile Strength is the amount of force required to break a piece of tape. This is often measured by pounds per inch of width.
U.V. Resistance is a material’s ability to withstand the effects of direct sunlight.
