Unlike most types of tape, which are defined by their properties and materials, printed tape is classified by printed words on its surface. This is done by lock-in printing, where the text is printed between the film and adhesive to prevent smudging. This kind of tape is very useful for any sort of business or manufacturer that packages and ships their products, especially if they are valuable or breakable.
Printed tape is a useful form of advertising as well as helping prevent theft, looking professional, encouraging brand equity and promoting the ease of stock handling and identification. Tape suppliers may custom print, stock print or create the tape to be tamper evident. Some tape manufacturers allow companies to have their name, logo, a message or a photograph printed on the tape. This feature is common on sealing tape and used for identification during the shipping process. Stock tapes are purchased because they are printed with a useful phrase, such as fragile, rush or repack. This kind of tape, like packaging tape, is mostly used for shipping and is often a bold, red and all-caps text upon a white background. Tamper evident tape is multi-layered and provides an obvious clue that the tape has been detached from the surface of the box, thus deterring theft or tampering. If any unauthorized person attempts to open a package sealed with tamper evident tape, the opened portion will reveal a hidden message. Even if tamper evident tape is opened by heat, water, low temperatures or chemicals it will still reveal the hidden message. This tape is often used in security and containment applications.
Because printed tape is used in whatever context text covered tape is helpful, details like the adhesive strength, size and materials made to produce it vary depending on the application it is meant for. Be it plastic, metal, vinyl or a combination of two or all three, as long as the text is able to be inserted between the filming or coating and the adhesive a roll of tape can be considered printed tape. The general coating process that manufactures tape of all sorts involves three different styles with three to four steps each. They are all fairly similar processes. The first one, solvent coating, makes a non-viscous liquid by dissolving the adhesive in a solvent and then coating the tape material. Water-based coating paints the tape material with a water and adhesive solution. Both of these first two processes pass through a hot oven to complete the coating process. The final hot-melt process simply needs to cool after the boiling adhesive has been applied to the tape material. After one of these three initial applications of adhesives, tape undergoes secondary conversions to become specific types of tape, including a printing process to become printed tape.
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Printed Tape Image Provided by SpecialtyTapes.com
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Printed Tape Image Provided by Carolina Tape & Supply Corporation
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