How to Choose the Best Packaging Tape For Your Needs
Searching for a packaging solution? We can help. At Gateway Packaging, we offer a wide range of packaging tapes for business and industrial applications.
Finding the best tapes to secure and protect your products can be challenging. Not only do you need to consider your packages: their shape and weight, you also need to consider shipping stresses. Common stresses can include temperature extremes, aggressive handling, and lengthy storage.
How will you choose the best tape? Keep your primary considerations in mind.
What to consider when choosing the best packaging tape
What’s important for your applications?
Perhaps you’re searching for the best tapes for product protection, or an eco-friendly option. Price is always important, too.
Your considerations may include:
- Heavy duty tapes for the best product protection;
- Printed labelling on the tapes to identify packages, so you can avoid shipping losses;
- Pilfering protection: secure, yet covert packaging and taping solutions can help to hide, or camouflage expensive products;
- Application methods: the best packaging tape for manual sealing, or machine sealing.
Let’s look at popular packaging tapes for manual application.
Popular tapes for manual application: box tape, and protection tape
Every business uses acrylic tape—the type you find on handheld dispensers of various types. This economical tape is often termed box tape, or simply general purpose tape.
Acrylic tape has two layers: the backing, and the adhesive. It’s best used at temperatures up to 65 C, on cartons with a low percentage of recycled materials.
Need extra protection? Consider a heavy duty packaging tape. These tapes are thicker, with high strength and durability, and are available in several widths, usually in clear, transparent tape, or in brown.
When wrapping large, awkwardly-shaped packages, extra-wide tape makes practical sense. Not only does it save time, it offers added protection in shipping.
If you’re packaging fragile or delicate products, you want to protect them, especially from tape residue. We offer protection tapes, which are specially manufactured with low-tack adhesives. Although these tapes are tough, and they conform to various product shapes, they won’t damage delicate surfaces when removed.
Need ultra-strong protection? Filament tapes, or cloth tapes may be the best solution
When you need the best protection for heavy products, consider a “filament” tape. These tapes resist tears and splitting, as well as solvents, and high heat.
As the name suggests, filament tapes are manufactured with fibreglass filaments embedded within them. It makes them much stronger than other tapes. They can be manufactured with one-way filaments—all the filaments in a tape travel in the same direction.
Alternatively, these tapes can have cross-woven filaments, for even more protection. Although the cross-woven tapes are more expensive, they ensure safe protection for your products. Not only do the fibreglass filaments ensure tensile strength, the tapes are backed with a long-lasting rubber adhesive, ensuring moisture-resistance.
An additional advantage: filament tapes can be custom printed. Aside from the marketing advantage of your printed logo, you can choose to print package-handling instructions.
Do you have specific requirements in a heavy duty packaging tape? Cloth-backed tape may meet your needs. Cloth tapes are durable and reliable. They offer a high tensile strength, as well as heat and electrical resistance.
What about packaging tape for machine applications?
Choosing the best tape for packaging machines
Machine packaging tape is manufactured for high-volume packaging in automatic or semi-automatic machines. It’s offered on large rolls of varying lengths and widths. Most packaging machines can use a couple of widths, however, check your machine’s requirements.
Similar to manual tapes, the most popular type of machine tape is a general purpose tape, used to seal cartons of various sizes.
Packaging challenges, and tips and tricks
If you’re experiencing challenges such as product damage because of impact shock on cartons, or products spilling from opened cartons, you need to find quick solutions.
Let’s look at some tips which may help.
- For manual packaging, choose a quality tape dispenser.
- When using your handheld tape dispenser, adjust the tension via the dispenser’s dial. If the tension is too high, you’ll struggle to seal a package. If it’s too loose, it won’t provide sufficient security: cartons may open in transit.
- High-value shipment? Consider taping your cartons’ sides, to protect against shock and impact damage.
- Most packaging tape needs pressure for the adhesive to grip and seal efficiently. Run your hand firmly across packaging tape after application.
- Tape peeling? Cardboard absorbs moisture from the environment in hot, humid weather. Choose a tape with a natural rubber adhesive.
Get the best advice to help you to choose packaging tapes
Take advantage of Gateway Packaging’s long experience with all forms of packaging, and contact us today—we’ll help you to find the best solutions.