Make It Or Break It: Know Your Packaging Tape

Make It Or Break It: Know Your Packaging Tape

Everyone wants to make an awesome first impression. Outer packaging is the first thing a buyer sees after they receive your product. No buyer enjoys receiving a mutilated package that is barely held together by something that resembles dental floss. What's worse is that lousy packaging reflects poorly on your model and your business. Whether you might be shipping or storing, you need the tape that may get the job done.

All Tape Bites

Here is a quick lesson that should "stick" with you. All tape bites. It happens when tape is utilized to corrugated because over time, the adhesive "flows" into the fibers of corrugated paper. This creates tape's "chunk" or "stickiness." Matching the correct adhesive with the proper backer at the correct width helps to keep your products secure while in transit. So let's take a look at tape dimension considerations as well as completely different tape supplies and their best makes use of:

Measurement Issues

Most packaging tape comes with a normal width and in a wide range of lengths. A tape's total thickness includes the plastic or paper backer in addition to the adhesive. Thickness is measured in thousandths of an inch. For instance, 1.6 mil is similar as .0016" and 3 mil is the same as .003". For comparability, a typical zip lock bag is .002" or 2 mil. Thinner tapes are really useful for many packages below forty pounds, while thicker tapers are well-suited for packages exceeding forty pounds.

All Tape Is Not The Identical

Pressure-delicate adhesive tape is a standard, versatile alternative that is designed to hold two surfaces together by making use of light pressure with out the need for water or heat. The sticky side is made from an adhesive material equivalent to acrylic, silicone, or rubber that has been heat-treated onto a backing material like paper or plastic. Frequent varieties include:

Packing tape - This extensively-used tape is typically transparent, and uses a strong acrylic glue that's backed onto a high-tensile materials like polypropylene. Acrylic is a superb normal purpose adhesive because it will probably face up to a large range of temperatures, stores for lengthy intervals, holds up well under UV exposure, and would not weaken in moist environments.

Filament tape - This is a superb selection for bundling and corrugated fiberboard boxes. A rubber adhesive is backed by polypropylene that is additional reinforced with fiberglass filaments to offer high, versatile tensile strength.

Masking tape - Generally utilized in painting, this light-use hold consists of paper-backed acrylic that's simple to remove.

Hot melt tape - Available in clear and a rainbow of colors, this tape's artificial rubber or natural rubber adhesive is a superb choice for shipping as a consequence of its capacity to withstand rough handling. While Hot Melt adhesive has a decrease degree of preliminary "bite," it creates a stronger bond over time. Hot Soften adhesives additionally keep versatile in extremely low temperatures making them supreme for situations when the tape is utilized in a freezer or in cold climates. Finally, corrugated boxes often times are covered in a thin layer of dust. This is another scenario where Hot Soften adhesive tape is favorred.

Marking tape - Specialty tape like colored security seals marking and phosphorescent lining typically provide a common-use acrylic hold.

Photo luminescent Tape - This is often known as Glow-in-the-darkish tape. It is used in a wide range of conditions from Aerospace to the Theater. The glow at midnight lines that can lead you to an airplane's emergency exit is made with photograph luminescent tape. If a warehouse or factory go dark, glow in the dark tape used to stipulate travel lanes and emergency exit doors can direct folks toward safety. And in the theater, stage managers use glow at the hours of darkness tape to mark spots on the stage that can be seen even when the lights are out.

Water-activated, or gummed tape is another option for sealing corrugated surfaces. The rigidity of the kraft paper backer along with a water activated adhesive and reinforcing filaments make this tape exceptionally strong. This gives a durable nearly instant bond. Like pressure sensitive tape, gum tape can also be imprinted with a custom logo.