A funny thing is happening in the world of packaging tape. Thirty years ago a push began to convert packing stations from ancient water activated paper tape to nice clean plastic backed pressure sensitive tape. The argument was the polypropylene or PVC backed tapes were stronger, cleaner, more portable, and fast. The paper backed tapes of the era were messy and slow to set, the equipment was mostly manual so it was an early ergonomic issue, and the adhesives (animal glue!) smelled bad and didn’t always stick that well. The switch was easy since you only had to leave a few rolls and a free inexpensive tape gun with the shippers to create a battle between purchasers and shippers that almost always resulted in a conversion.

The pressure sensitive packing tape industry has not changed much in the past 3 decades. They still make the same tapes, though the majority are now much thinner. They still function much the same as always; grab a hand tape dispenser and swipe down a few strips and your carton is closed. Give your package to a delivery service and you hope it isn’t thrown or dropped too much. Worse yet, you hope it isn’t pilfered along the way and quickly resealed to hide the theft. So while the pressure sensitive tape makers battled to an always lower cost per roll and off-shored their manufacturing plants, domestic paper tape manufacturing almost went away. They would have except for a couple of principles that plastic tape can’t overcome easily or at all.

So what is this resurgence of water activated tape all about anyway? Why would anyone consider going back in time to use paper based tapes? How could the largest online company in the world reconcile the purchase price for new equipment and somehow refit massive distribution centers that ship millions of cartons each day? It’s pretty simple really because today’s water activated tape is much better than the old stuff. Starting with the adhesive, it is now synthetic so it grabs much quicker, stays wet longer to allow for better handling, and it doesn’t smell bad anymore. Lifting and curling are greatly controlled so the paper lays flat and sticks tight. The paper is also stronger and custom printing capabilities are vastly improved. Most importantly the dispensing equipment has evolved to eliminate old messy issues.  The advantages of water activated paper tape vs. plastic backed pressure sensitive are still there too. Paper tape looks better on cardboard boxes plain and simple. Kraft paper tape on kraft cardboard is a very polished look, add custom printing and flow coated colors and the look is spectacular. Paper tapes are available in reinforced to create very strong shipping cartons too, and since most truckers only have a pressure sensitive tape gun in the cab it will be very difficult to hide a damaged or pilfered carton. Another consideration I’ve mentioned here is the custom printed tape. Intertape (IPG)  has a very small minimum case buy for the option and the upcharge is minimal. If you currently buy custom printed cartons, why not eliminate that expense and use custom printed tape instead? This gives your brand a presence on your packages and gives a large measure of security from pilferage while saving money. If you reuse boxes like CW Hayden sometimes does, using custom printed water activated tape attaches a small degree of ownership to those boxes while still providing the security of a closed box and tamper resistance.

But how do you put this tape on? Dispensers have come down in price and up in performance. New push button dispensers shoot premeasured lengths fast and clean. Manual packing stations benefit from being better able to neatly close boxes with a single strip down the middle instead of swiping over the same  carton 3 times then once in a cross direction to bring the flaps together. Automatic equipment perform just the same as pressure sensitive tape sealers; quick and neatly with flaps tight and automatic adjustment for various sized boxes.

So it’s a compelling story here. Better appearance, improved security, better branding capabilities, simple dispensing, and ease of use improve your product packaging and branding in one easy step.

For more information go to www.cwhaydenonline.com/water-activated-tape