'The Tackifier' Blog by FindTape

Future Market Insights (FMI) this week published the market report Gaffers Tape Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027 showcasing the increasing opportunities in the gaffers tape markets.  The accompanying press release to the report stated, “One of the significant factors contributing towards the growth of the gaffers tape market is the rampant growth of (the) industrial tape industry.” This started a hearty discussion at FindTape about gaffers tape and common gaffes made in understanding the reasons people use or don’t use this versatile tape.

The Right Product for the Right Application

As the demand for packaging increases so does the need for tape. The market report comes to the same conclusion, “The introduction of gaffers tape over duct tape has provided the manufacturer a wide range of packaging advancements.” While we applaud the increasing need for tape and more advanced options it is important to note that gaffers tape may not always be the right choice for shipping packages.  

The main industry users of gaffers tape include the entertainment, photography, hospitality, theater and audio production industries. Gaffers tape - also known as gaff tape - is primarily used to secure cables to floors, walls and other surfaces where you do not want a sticky residue left behind. Clearly, this is not the packaging industry as stated in the summary report from FMI. Although it can be used for packaging, due to its water resistant backing and other factors, gaffers tape will be a costly choice. Military specifications, such as ASTM-D 5486M-99 Type IV Class I (replaced PPP-T-60E Type IV Class I) and CID A-A-1586A, are examples of where gaffers tape is the right choice. It's about using the right tape for the right application. 

Gaffer Tape vs. Gaffer-Style

The FMI press release explains that “Global Gaffers Tape market is segmented on the basis of product, backing material, and application. On the basis of backing material, gaffers tape market can be segmented into polypropylene, paper, PVC and others.” Technically speaking gaffer tape is defined as being vinyl-coated cloth with a matte finish and completely removable from most hard surfaces. Any other “gaffer” tape is really just gaffer-style.

Who's Really Making it Stick

The companies identified in the FMI market summary as "Some of the major players identified across the globe in the Gaffers Tape market are Henkel AG & Co., KGaA, 3M Company, The Dow Chemical Company, Avery Dennison, Ashland Inc. and H.B. Fuller.", is misleading. These companies are adhesive and raw material suppliers not manufacturers of the end-use product. The major players in gaffer tape manufacturing are Shurtape, Polyken and Scapa.

At FindTape.com we agree that the global gaffer tape market is strong and growing! Head over to FindTape.com and use our Advanced Tape Finder to see the largest selection of gaffers tape available for any purpose. We’ll help you avoid any tape gaffes.

Now Available - Worldwide Gaffers Tape Market Report 2017-2027

Posted on Monday, January 23, 2017 at 4:42 pm CST

Global packaging industry has witnessed a number of technological advancement from last couple of decades. As packaging is unexecuted without the use of tape, the increasing demand for packaging from industrial sector in turn is creating huge opportunity for industrial tape market. The introduction of gaffers tape over duct tape has provided the manufacturer a wide range of packaging advancement. Gaffer's tape which is also known as camera tape or spike tape is regarded as heavy cotton cloth pressure sensitive tape that delivers high adhesive properties. Through gaffers tape, now the manufacturers can use the tape on any kind of packaging material without the need for a solvent (such as water) or heat for activation. Gaffer tape is widely used in theatre, photography, film –television production and industrial staging works.

View the full press release at ReleaseWire >

It happens all the time: A customer orders a product. Your fulfillment team pulls and packages the item. Then they ship it to the customer, who receives the package, opens it and discovers that the item is defective or it's the wrong one.

Returns are a part of doing business, and with the holiday shopping season just around the corner the shipping season is about to ramp up into high gear. According to the Internet Retailer website, the top 500 online merchants report an annual return rate of 3 percent. When you consider that online sales raked in $289 billion for retailers in 2012, that's a lot of merchandise being shipped back and forth.

Your goal should be threefold:

1. Minimize the public relations hit you take for shipping the wrong or defective product.
2. Get your item back in one piece.
3. Make the return-shipping process as easy as possible on the customer and your team.

And it all comes down to adhesive tape. Yes, adhesive tape for returns is the gift that keeps on giving.

Including adhesive tape for returns with the replacement item you send to your customer sends a message to your customer that you acknowledge the mistake and want to make the return process as easy for them as possible. It also makes it much more likely that your customer will ship the original item back in a timely manner; and that you'll get it back in one piece.

See? Everybody wins when you include adhesive tape for returns with your replacement items; especially when you send your customers JVCC RT150 Return Tape.

First, JVCC RT150 Return Tape is pre-cut, meaning that all your fulfillment team needs to do is drop a few pieces of the tape in with every replacement item being shipped out. Second, it's been proven to be effective in securing boxes; including in industries such as pharmaceuticals and printer ink. Third, it's easy to use. Decker RT 150 has been designed with a center split paper release liner, making it incredibly easy to use. All three are not only a nice thing to do for your customers, but they are also make for really good public relations.

The holiday shopping season is right around the corner. Give your customers, and yourself and your company, the gift of JVCC RT150 Return Tape this year. You (and the roughly 3 percent of your customers who are likely to return products this year) will be glad you did.

JVCC SLPT20 Designer Packaging Tape offers custom designs or patterns printed on standard polypropylene film carton sealing tape. This tape is great for projects such as crafting, hooping, fashion and others; but is also exceptional at basic box and carton sealing or for just grabbing attention. Patterns include boat flags, chain, color bars, dashed-line road, purple circles and scissor cut.

Duck Brand Printed Duck Duct Tape Patterns is patterned duct tape with high performance strength and moderate adhesion characteristics. Excellent for repairs, color-coding, fashion, crafting and imaginative projects. Patterns include ACU digital camouflage, black and white checker, blue tie-dye, dragon, hot rod flames, hardwood camouflage, leopard, orange tie-dye, paint splatter, pink zebra, skulls and zig-zag zebra.

Duck Brand Printed EZ Start Packaging Tape is a 2.6 mil thick high performance packaging tape loaded into a disposable dispenser. The tape offers a wide temperature range; doesn't split or tear; and offers ultraviolet resistance to eliminate yellowing and to increase shelf life. Patterns include black olives, peace sign, pink zebra and tie-dye.

Platypus Designer Duct Tape comes in 14 patterns which include Argyle, Candy Cane, Denim, Diamond Plate, Grass, Houndstooth, Jolly Roger, Leopard, Paisley, Polka Dot, Snowflake, Wicker, Wood Grain and Wool Stocking. It's the perfect tape to use for your next duct tape project. The polyethylene coated cloth is 10.5 mils thick and offers 32 ounces per inch of peel adhesion.

Due to customer demand we've recently added the Powerseal 808K bag sealing dispenser to the web site. It has a wide neck so it handles heavy mil bags better than the Powerseal 760K dispenser which we've had for a while now on the site (but which has a standard size neck). In general these bag sealers are used with UPVC film sealing tape like the JVCC BST-24 to seal produce bags, bakery products, candy items, floral arrangements, industrial parts, newspapers and hardware.

The following are some general recommendations or guidelines to follow when applying a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape:

1. Make sure the surface you are applying the tape to is completely dry and free of any debris before the tape is applied.
2. If any cleaning supplies were used recently on the surface please make sure no residue remains from the cleaning product (if so please use water to remove and then let it dry completely).
3. Unwind the tape from the roll (if the tape has a release liner remove it now). During this step be careful not to contaminate the adhesive by touching it at all with your fingers since it will transfer natural oils over to the adhesive side. Also try to immediately bond the tape to the surface without entrapping air between the tape and the surface it is being applied to.
4. Use some application pressure (it doesn't have to be that forceful) in order to achieve maximum bond strength. Make sure there is no gapping remaining between the tape and the surface it is being applied to which would allow water to come into contact with the adhesive-side of the tape over time. This would deaden the adhesive and shorten the life span of the tape.
5. If the tape has an acrylic adhesive the dwell time the tape needs to be in contact with both surfaces (before it reaches it maximum adhesion) is typically 1 to 24 hours. For best results during this dwell time try to provide some application pressure (e.g. clamps, tape over it, etc.); also if holding an item vertically against a surface try and support the weight if possible.
6. For even better adhesion you can also use an adhesion promoter or primer; can see some options at Adhesion Promoter/Primer on FindTape.com.