'The Tackifier' Blog by FindTape

The tape converters we work with have received correspondence from most of the major adhesive tape manufacturers announcing new upcoming price increases. Below we've included links to copies of each letter which includes details about the percentage increase and which of that manufacturer's product line it will affect. The prices on our web site will typically be changed the business day before the manufacturer's increase goes into effect (or soon thereafter) so please use this information to plan accordingly.

• 3M - 2/1/2014 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Berry Plastics (Polyken/Nashua/Ludlow/Patco)- 6/2/2014 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Intertape - 2/8/2014 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Jaybird- new pricing came out 1/1/2014
• Nitto Denko (Permacel)- TBA
• Scapa - TBA
• Shurtape - 3/14/2014 Effective Date Increase Letter
• JVCC and Pro Tapes - since they source most of their material from the manufacturers listed above they typically will also be passing along corresponding price increases

* last updated 5/1/2014

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.

The tape converters we work with have started to get letters again from all the major adhesive tape manufacturers on a pretty regular basis now announcing new upcoming price increases. Below we've included links to copies of each letter which includes details about the percentage increase and which of that manufacturer's product line it will affect. The prices on our web site will typically be changed the business day before the manufacturer's increase goes into effect (or soon thereafter) so please use this information to plan accordingly.

• 3M - 2/4/2012 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Berry Plastics (Polyken/Nashua/Ludlow/Patco)- 3/14/2012 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Intertape - 2/11/2012 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Jaybird- new pricing came out 2/1/2012
• Nitto Denko (Permacel)- TBA
• Scapa - TBA
• Shurtape - 3/12/2012 Effective Date Increase Letter
• JVCC and Pro Tapes - since they source most of their material from the manufacturers listed above they will also be passing along corresponding price increases

* last updated 2/14/2012

Ludlow M-Tak HI/LO Extended Liner Tape is now being stocked in liner widths of 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch and 1 inch wide (the tape comes in lengths of both 216 feet and 1,300 feet per roll). The extended liner on the tape allows end users to easily remove it since there is a 1/8 inch overhang on both the top and bottom of the tape (the liner is also printed with the words "TO EXPOSE ADHESIVE REMOVE LINER"). Ludlow HI/LO is differentially coated which a clear, lightweight adhesive for temporary bonding and repositioning on one side, and a permanent adhesive for long-term bonding on the other side. Its perfect for lightweight attachments where removability from one surface is key, e.g. business forms, mailers, envelopes, posters, labels, etc.

The double-sided film tape we typically sell for adhering window insulation film to the interior of windows during the winter season is JVCC DC-4109RS tape. If the film is heavier and you need a tape with a stronger adhesive then JVCC DC-4199CS would be another to look at. These would be the closest double-sided tapes our converter stocks which are similar to 3M's 2145C product for indoor insulator film mounting. As far as these tapes' removability you'd want to test them first on an inconspicuous part of the window frame to make sure it removes as desired. Please also remember the more adhesive the tape you go with the harder it will be to remove in the spring. Also both of these tapes are coated with an acrylic adhesive which provides moisture, UV and temperature resistance; however tapes with acrylic adhesive need a few minutes to an hour for the adhesive bond to set correctly when applying them. See our blog entry on general instructions on applying pressure-sensitive adhesive tape for more detailed instructions. Thank you.

UPDATE: We also now carry Duck Brand Window Kit Replacement Tape if you are looking for shorter length rolls for both indoor or outdoor window film installations.

Our converter has recently made available a new test pack that contains a variety of double-sided tapes. FindTape DC-TP Double-Sided Tape Test Pack consists of 12 rolls of 1-inch wide x 3-yard long tape. The carrier varieties included in the pack are: polyester, polypropylene and PVC film; tissue; crepe and flatback paper; polyethylene foam; cloth and scrim; and foamed and solid acrylic polymers.

Currently the specific double-sided tapes offered in the pack include: Polyken 105C-P Cloth Tape; JVCC DC-4199CS Polyester Film Tape; JVCC DC-1503 Polypropylene Film Tape; JVCC DC-4420LB Clear PVC Film Tape; JVCC DCP-01 and DCP-02 Crepe Paper Tape; JVCC DCP-04 Flatback Paper Tape; JVCC DCT-40R Tissue Tape; JVCC DC-SCRIM-9 Polyester Scrim Tape; JVCC DC-PEF06A Polyethylene Foam Tape; JVCC DC-UHB45FA-G Foamed Acrylic Tape; and JVCC DC-UHB45 Solid Acrylic Foam Tape.

Inc. Magazine today ranked FindTape.com #1848 with three-year sales growth of 141% on its fifth annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy - America’s independent entrepreneurs. Online retailer ideeli tops this year's list. FindTape.com joins Spirit Airlines, television maker Vizio, Honest Tea, Dunkin Donuts and Metrokane, makers of the Rabbit corkscrew, among other prominent brands featured on this year's list. In other sub-groupings we were #86 overall in the retail industry and #338 overall out of Internet companies. In the geographic sub-groupings we were #132 overall for companies based out of the NYC metro area and #57 overall in NJ.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/5000.

The tape converters we work with have continued to get letters from all the major adhesive tape manufacturers on a pretty regular basis now announcing new upcoming price increases. Below we've included links to copies of each letter which includes details about the percentage increase and which of that manufacturer's product line it will affect. The prices on our web site will typically be changed the business day before the manufacturer's increase goes into effect so please use this information to plan accordingly.

• 3M - 2/5/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 4/30/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 8/13/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Berry Plastics (Polyken/Nashua/Ludlow/Patco)- 2/14/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 4/2/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Intertape - 2/15/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 5/14/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Jaybird- 1/28/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Nitto Denko (Permacel)- 6/13/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Scapa - 4/18/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• Shurtape - 1/3/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 2/21/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 3/9/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter, 5/16/2011 Effective Date Increase Letter
• JVCC and Pro Tapes - since they source most of their material from the manufacturers listed above they have also had corresponding price increases

* last updated 8/15/2011

We've seen over the last several years incredibly creative work done with tape purchased from our web site. From hula hoops to art installations to window displays customers have used our tape in a myriad of ways. We just saw a new window display one recently posted online so we thought we'd showcase a few of these now.

Monika Grzymala's Distortions 2008 art installation in Vancouver, BC

POST 27 window display in Chicago, IL

Martha Stewart gift wrapping in Blueprint November/December 2007

Martha Stewart halloween decoration in Martha Stewart Living October 2008