Which adhesive tape is better to seal boxes?
Which adhesive tape is better to seal boxes? Let’s begin from a fundamental premise: cardboard, in general, is a material whose surface allows for a high level of adhesion, thus making the most of the adhesive capacity of a tape roll.
It must be noted, however, that if the surface of typical pure Kraft cardboard offers a very high level of adhesion, this can be significantly reduced in the case of regenerated cardboard, the surface of which cannot boast the same homogeneity as non-recycled cardboard.
Starting from this initial consideration, therefore, we understand that in choosing the best double-sided adhesive tape to seal a cardboard box it is necessary to consider not only the overall load, but the type of cardboard as well.
And again, it’s best to keep in mind the temperatures hose boxes will need to withstand, the overall timing, the possibility of water exposure, the customization needs, the purchase price, and so on. In short, there are many factors to consider, and that’s why, today, we decided to create a guide to understand which the most suitable adhesive tape to seal a cardboard box is, on a case to case basis.
Which adhesive tape is better to seal a cardboard box? Paper tape
Let’s begin with paper adhesive tape. First of all, it should be noted masking tape, which is rather weak, isn’t the only paper tape there is.
There is also resistant paper adhesive tape, reinforced with an internal texture which makes it much stronger: a famous for example is the reinforced paper tape used by Amazon for its shipments.
Paper tape has several advantages, including ease of use, the ability to be recycled along with the cardboard without having to be separated, the possibility of writing over it, ease of removal, and so on.
But there are also disadvantages: paper tape cannot boast the same resistance as other synthetic tape, neither in time, nor in water, nor when subjected to heavy loads.
Which adhesive tape is better to seal a cardboard box? PPL tape
Another adhesive tape commonly used to seal cardboard packages is in PPL, or polypropylene. It could be said that this is an adhesive located halfway between paper tape, which we have already discusses, and PVC tape. It is, in fact, a durable type of tape, easily customizable and environmentally friendly.
Among the flaws of this adhesive, typically transparent or brown, there is the noise made when unrolling it; it must be noted that there are also many silent PPL tape rolls, suitably treated to produce no noise at the time of unrolling.
It should also be kept in mind that PPL tape is cheaper than PVC tape.
Which adhesive tape is better to seal a cardboard box? PVC tape
And then, there is PVC adhesive tape. Slightly more expensive and non-recyclable, PVC double-sided adhesive tape stand out from the others for its strength.
And this should be understood as a general assessment: they are in fact tapes with higher grip power, and with a greater resistance to time, humidity, temperature changes, and so on.
As mentioned, because it contains solvents, this type of tape cannot be recycled, and should therefore be used only for heavy boxes, which need strength that paper and PPL tape cannot always guarantee.
Moreover, PVC tape is becoming less and less noisy than regular PPL tape. But be careful, to understand what the best adhesive tape to seal a cardboard box is, it is not enough to look at the material alone: the width counts too!
The width of adhesive tape used to seal packages
As the adhesion surface increases, the strength of powerful double-sided adhesive tape increases. This means that, ironically, a very wide lower quality industrial double-sided adhesive could offer a greater resistance than a very narrow higher quality adhesive tape.
Thus, as the load of a box increases, it will also be necessary to increase the width of the adhesive tape used for its sealing as well; for example, from 25 mm to 48 mm, and from there to 60 mm (0.9, 1.8, 2.3 in).
Customised packaging adhesive tape
When choosing industrial double-sided adhesive tape to seal packages, finally, it is a good idea to also consider the possibility of customizing it.
This opportunity obviously does not make sense for those who need to use tape just to seal boxes when moving houses, but companies preparing packaging for their products may be interested, as this aspect contributes, with others, to the final image of their product.
It would therefore be silly not to make use of the communicative potential of tape, to differentiate and make themselves recognizable immediately, with a very small investment, especially when the result is kept in mind.
