Adhesive packing tapes must be one of the greatest inventions in the world, but we hardly give it a second thought. Instead, we complain if we can’t find the start of the roll when we’re wrapping presents, let smaller rolls fall off desks and get lost and, well, just fail to appreciate the sheer ingenuity of this invention.
Every home and business across the world has at least one roll of sticky tape, but we don’t realise how lucky we are to be able to just tear off a length to use as the solution to a multitude of problems.
Before American surgeon Dr Horace Day invented adhesive tape back in 1845, people had to rely on ropes, strings and ribbons to tie things up. This was a time-consuming and inefficient way of keeping everything together, including people, which was why Day tried combining rubber-based glues and strips of fabric to bind incisions and wounds. We haven’t looked back since.
Nowadays there are dozens of different styles and varieties of tape for hundreds of different uses.
This tape is used mainly in manufacturing and commercial applications, however it is now becoming more commonplace in society. It is ideal for sectioning off areas and creating a one-way system down narrow aisles.
Packaging tape
Does what it says on the tin. Well, on the roll. You can’t send parcels, move house or seal your old school reports in boxes for the next 50 years without packing tapes. Durable but with relatively low adhesion, this tape stays put until you need it to not stick anymore.
This is used to seal up cartons for cold storage, as well as in publishing and framing. It works well at extreme temperatures.
Strapping tape
This tape helps to secure pallet loads so that they can be moved and shipped without any damage to the goods or the people handling them.
Filament tape is a very strong tape as it has a powerful adhesive as well as fibreglass strands along its length to increase its strength and durability. You’ll often see this sort of tape used in the transportation of building materials and piping.
You’ll often see this sort of tape used in industrial applications such as warehouses. These tapes enable a workplace to highlight unsafe areas and act as a warning to people to not enter certain spaces.
This tape is made from vinyl so that it’s very durable. It’s also very stretchy and flexible so that it can offer great electrical insulation.
