Tape Suppliers

About Tape Suppliers and Tape Manufacturers Including: Duct Tape, Electrical Tape, Foam Tape, Foil Tape, Marking Tape, Masking Tape, Packaging Tape, Printed Tape, Sealing Tape, Teflon Tape, Vinyl Tape & 3M Tape

Tape suppliers refers to both tape manufacturers and distributing tape companies that supply tape for a number of industries. Tape, which is a long thin strip of material, is primarily used in a wide range of binding and fastening applications; however tape has several other applications as well. Typically application-specific, many common types of tapes consist of pressure sensitive adhesives, or adhesives that form a bond between the tape and the substrate when pressure is applied. Masking tape consists of an easy-release pressure sensitive adhesive and is likewise easily-torn. Since masking tape is typically used to mark off areas that should not be painted as well as to create straight edges during painting, these characteristics are essential to not damaging newly painted surfaces or leaving behind any unwanted residue. Used in shipping applications to secure packages such as envelopes of larger sizes, bags, cartons or boxes, packaging tape consists of a heavy-duty pressure sensitive adhesive that prevents tearing, breaking, bursting or loosening. Electrical tape is a made from materials that do not conduct electricity as well as a pressure sensitive adhesive in order to insulate electrical wire and other electrical conduits. It can also be used to securing lighting cables and numerous athletic applications, such as preventing abrasions and increased equipment durability. Duct tape consists of a tacky and soft pressure sensitive adhesive that allows for versatility and holding power that is useful in applications such as water resistant sealing for military equipment.

Some of the less common types of tape include sealing tape, marking tape, Gaffer's tape, various types of printed tape and 3M tape. Sealing tape is a pressure sensitive adhesive tape that is used for closing or sealing slotted containers such as packing cartons or corrugated fiberboard boxes. This type of tape is particularly useful in warehousing industries. Marking tape is used to clearly identify areas and equipment in facilities such as manufacturing workshops and nuclear power plants. Marking tape offers high strength and high abrasion resistance, as well as often being waterproof. Gaffer's tape is another type of pressure sensitive tape that offers easy and clean removal; however, Gaffer's tape is typically used in the entertainment industry for applications such as securing cables and laying blocking markers. Printed tape is distinguished by the printing on the tape rather than a specific material construction since printed can be many different types of tape materials. Two common types of printed tape include fragile tape and tamper evident tape. Fragile tape has the word fragile printed on the tape and is useful in order to distinguish containers carrying fragile parts from those that contain more durable parts. In tamper evident tape the printing in the tape only becomes visible if someone tampers with the tape, thus leaving quick, visual evidence. Tamper evident tape is most often used in security and containment applications. 3M tape differs from these other tapes since 3M tape is brand of tape rather than a type of type and encompasses a whole product line that is used in many different industries.

There are many different types of materials that are used by tape manufacturers to produce tape. The different types of materials lend themselves to different applications as a result of the individual characteristics of the material. Vinyl tape, for instance, is made from a durable, flexible plastic that retains color even under heavy abrasion. Offering clean removal and excelled dead stretch, vinyl tape is ideal for applications such as color coding, decoration, safety marking and identification. Teflon tape is a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film that has been cut in thin strips primarily for use in sealing pipe threads. Teflon is a malleable, deformable and impermeable material, which makes it ideal for water and air-tight sealant in applications such as central heating systems and air compression equipment. Foam tape can be made from a wide range of materials such as polyethylene, neoprene, PVC, urethane, cross link PE, nitrile and acrylic. Foam tapes are particularly useful for gasketing, baffle, cushioning, sealing, insulation and other soundproofing applications, as well as in the medical industry. Foil tape is typically made from three types of metal: copper, lead and aluminum. The metal is coated with a rubber-based pressure sensitive adhesive that allows foil tape to be an excellent vapor barrier. Foil tapes are often used in plating, shielding and eliminating chemical impacts caused by processes such as electroplating and chemical milling.

Tape is made in a relatively simple process called coating. Coating involves applying an adhesive to the carrier material. The carrier material can be any one of a variety of moderately thin flexible materials including films, paper tissues, cloth or metal foils. There are three main ways to coat the adhesive on the carrier: solvent coating, water-based coating and hot-melt coating. Solvent coating consists of dissolving the adhesive into a solvent, which creates a relatively non-viscous liquid that can be coated onto the material. The solvent is removed by passing the coated tape through a heated oven. Water-based coating involves mixing the adhesive with water to form emulsions, which are suspensions of small globs of one of the liquids in the second liquid. This solution is then coated onto the carrier and the coated tape also passes through a heated oven to remove the water. In the hot-melt coating process the adhesive is heated until it reaches its melting point and coats the carrier as a hot liquid. The coated tape is then cooled in order to become the finished tape. The finished tape may undergo a variety of converting processes. One such process is winding, in which the sheet of coated tape is wound and formed into a large roll of tape. The slitting process involves take the huge roll of coated tape that is created during coating, and cutting it down into smaller strips of tape for sale. Once slit, the tape strips must undergo rewinding so that they are once more formed into rolls of tape. Tape can also undergo die cutting instead of slitting. The die cutting process is for tape that is not going to be rolled, but made into a certain shape which the die cutter stamps out of the original sheet of coated tape. 

Since tape manufacturing is a fairly basic process, there have not been a lot of changes and advancements in the process itself. However, there has been some advancement in the types of materials used in tape manufacturing. Increased abilities in substrate manufacturing capabilities have lead to the development of thinner and thinner films that can be used to produce tape. An example would be aluminum foil tape, which is a fairly new type of foil tape. Aluminum foil tape is ideal for shielding and covering thermal insulation, since it can easily conform to irregular surfaces. In addition, instead of the original single-coated tape, there is now double-coated tape. Double-coated tape is an adhesive tape that has been coated with adhesive on both sides of the carrier. This necessitates that one of the coated sides of tape must have two layers of silicone release paper laminated over it, with a liner in between the two areas, that acts as a release agent. In single-sided tape the back of the carrier acts as the release agent, but since both sides of double-sided tape have the adhesive coating it would adhere to itself and not unwind from its roll without the addition of a release agent. Designed to stick two lightweight surfaces together, double sided tape is highly effective for bonding materials such as paper, plastic and cardboard; much more so than single coated tape. In addition, double sided tape is more aesthetically pleasing because it is often not visible once adhered, due to being in between the two materials rather than lying atop the materials.

Tape Suppliers and Tape Manufacturers Images Provided by Able Industrial Products, Inc.

Tape Supplier Types

• 3M tape is a highly recognized brand name of tapes and adhesives used for innumerable applications and industries.
  
• Adhesive tape is used for joining items with adhesive that coats the tape. It may be permanent or temporary.
  
• Aisle marking tape is often used to mark areas of caution within commercial, recreational and industrial safety requirements.
  
• Aluminum foil tape is used for vapor sealing sheet metal ducts, fiberglass duct boards and FSK systems because it uses a high temperature acrylic adhesive and has great conformability.
  
• Double-sided tape has adhesive on both sides in order to attach things back to back.
  
• Duct tape is backed by fabric coated in polyethylene and has innumerable uses because of its resistance to chemicals, water and abrasion. Some uses include packaging, sealing, masking and many, many more.
  
• Electrical tape does not conduct electricity and is used for insulation of transformers and inter-phase or to wrap capacitors, coils and wires. 
• Foam tape is a type of tape that has a very strong adhesive on both sides, which may compare to the strength of sponge rubber. 
• Masking tape is made of paper and uses a weaker adhesive so as to be removed without stripping paint or paper from the wall to which it was attached. Often it is used in painting to cover areas not to be pained.
  
• Non-corrosive adhesive does not chemically attack whatever it is secured to.
  
• Packaging tape is used to package boxes, cartons or containers, and is often able to maintain adhesion after a long period of time, in extreme weather and in extreme temperatures.
• Scotch Tape is a popular, transparent cellophane adhesive used in the home and office, manufactured by 3M.
• Tamper evident tape is multi-layered and provides an obvious cue that tape has been detached from the surface of the box which it was keeping closed, thus deterring theft.
• Self bonding tape adheres to itself but does not fuse so that layers may be cleanly separated.
  
• Teflon tape is inexpensive, thin, white and often used to seal water, gas and air from leaking through threaded connections.
  
• Transparent tape usually utilizes a cellulose-based backing and acrylic adhesive, and it is easy to see through.
  
• Vinyl tape has incredible resistance to extreme weather conditions, moisture, abrasion, acids, corrosion and alkalies, and can be used in temperatures to 80 degrees Celsius.
  

Tape Supplier Terms

Abrasion Resistance - Whether or not tape can still function properly after experiencing rubbing and friction.

Adhesion - When two surfaces are held together by the bond between a surface and an adhesive.

Backing - Part of tape that has adhesive applied. Backings may be paper, film, metal foil, cloth and more.

Conformability - Whether or not tape can make complete contact with a surface.

Differential Adhesive - The adhesion of both sides of double-sided tape is different.

Flexible - When a tape can be bent and flexed freely during an application, mostly in low-temperature use.

Gapping - Openings between layers of tape inside the roll.

Low Stretch - Ability of tape to shrink back to original size once stretched.

Ozone Resistance - Resistant to cracking when exposed to the ozone for an extended period of time.

Release Coating - Thin coating applied to tape backing so that tape can be controlled as it is unwound.

Substrate - Surface tape is attached to.

Tack - Sticky feeling of tape.

Telescoping - When the tape layers are slid sideways and one over the other, in order to look like a telescope or funnel.