What is industrial floor marking?

When it comes to organizing a school, office or warehouse, floor safety markers help people identify specific work areas, recognize hazards, or find their way around a building at-a-glance. In fact, these kinds of floor markings are so widely used, a standardized 5S color coding system has been developed to help organizations sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain various business operations.

So how do you start applying these industrial floor markings? There are two widely used options: Paint and tape. While paint remains a popular choice, we generally recommend using a vinyl floor marking tape. Paint comes with several characteristics that pose some practical concerns, both when applying the paint, and maintaining it. Even then, the normal wear and tear of everyday traffic tends to leave scratches, scuff marks, or fading.

But all of those concerns go away with industrial floor tape. This kind of floor marking tape is designed to improve efficiency with different styles of tape catered to different purposes, all to help you create a more organized operation. Let’s take a look at some of the ways how.

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Easy to install. Ready to endure.

When painting safety signs onto a floor, you need to lay out some painter’s tape, paint out your lines, then wait several hours for things to dry. But if you’re laying down tape before you paint anyway, why not cut out the middleman to save time and money?

With a 3M floor tape, it’s simple to apply onto multiple kinds of surface materials. Simply lay down the tape, remove any air pockets to ensure a good bond, and admire your handiwork. Better yet, vinyl floor tape like 471 3M everyday marking tape uses a special formula to ensure durable, long-lasting, high visibility floor markings. When you’re ready to update your layout, removal is quick and residue-free, leaving you with a clean floor.

No solvents or fumes.

Industrial floor paints tend to be solvent based and create fumes in enclosed spaces, so when using paint for floor markings, it needs to be applied in a well-ventilated area. As you wait for things to dry, people are prevented to doing their work, creating a loss in productivity.

All of those troubles are eliminated when you use an industrial floor tape. 3M vinyl tape is solvent and fume-free, allowing for instant floor safety signs, so you can organize your space without interrupting anyone’s progress.

Instant patterns that last

Painting patterns or multi-colored floor markings is a tedious, time-consuming process that most enterprises simply don’t have time for. However, there are many kinds of vinyl floor tape specifically manufactured that incorporate common hazard markings. For example, the 3M 5700 and 5702 safety stripe tape respectively come with black/white and black/yellow stripes, helping you easily install critical safety features in high-traffic areas.

On top of all that, a painted floor marking in busier areas of a facility tends to easily scratch, chip or fade, resulting in regular maintenance and downtime for your workforce. On the other hand, safety marking tape like the 3M 471 line includes a heavy-duty pigmented backing built to maintain vivid colors. This kind of marking tape is designed to withstand substantial abuse, such as abrasions from a forklift or a dragging pallet, minimizing the upkeep you need to perform.

Ready To Learn More?

For more information on floor marking tape, please visit our masking tape page today.