Fun Facts About the Tape That Holds the World Together!

1st September 2020

The world has many random objects that we’d be lost without, yet never give any thought to. One such object is adhesive tape. You’ve probably never given any thought to its origins or evolution, yet this object is in millions of households and businesses. Used in one form or another by just about everyone, adhesive tape should rank in the top 10 inventions of all time.

Adhesive tape comes in many forms with multiple uses:

• Packaging tape distributed by companies such as Venus Packaging is used for sealing cartons for storage and distribution.
• Double-sided tape is used in manufacturing and commercial settings such as carpet laying and industrial design. Strong and durable, this tape is perfect for attaching two items to each other. Retailers might use this tape to stick advertising posters to windows.
• Paper tape or water-activated tape is used to seal cartons stored in cold storage and widely used in the publishing and framing industries.
• Strapping tape – used for securing pallet loads for safe shipping and distribution.
• Filament Tape – a very strong adhesive tape containing fiberglass strands to increase it’s strength, as such it is used broadly for bundling applications such as packaging piping, transporting building materials, and securing loose parts in the delivery of white goods.
• Cloth tape – used in industrial applications such as sand blasting but also to secure cables and other OHS uses in productions and at events.
• Masking tape can be used broadly indoors and outdoors, in high and low temperature environments and often used by painters to create sharp paint lines. This type of tape is easily torn by hand.

Tape is everywhere, so shouldn’t you know more about it?

When Was Tape Invented?

The first variation of tape was invented in 1845 by a surgeon, Doctor Horace Day. After continuously struggling to keep material on his patients’ wounds, he tried applying rubber adhesive to the strips of fabric. And that’s how the world has come to know surgical tape.

What Was Used Before Tape?

An assortment of things was used before tape. The most common was string and rope to hold pieces of material together.

The Many Uses of Different Types of Tape

There are at least 50 different types of adhesive tape, each with their own specific uses. At Venus Packaging, we stock a range of Venhart Adhesive tape. Here are a few of the most popular:

• Box-sealing tape: Comes in a broad range of sizes and usually in three colours, clear, brown and white. Used to seal boxes and often valuable for moving or storage purposes.
• Duct tape: Venhart cloth tape comes in 12 colours, is pressure sensitive, polyethylene coated and used for multiple applications, including quick fixes because of its ability to stick to almost anything.
• Floor marking tape: This is a heavy-duty tape, used to mark directions and outlines on the floors of warehouses and other industrial or public sites.
• Electrical tape: Commonly used to insulate electric wires. Made of vinyl for its durability, it is long lasting with good level of stretch.
• Paper Tape: Venhart gummed paper tapes come with water-activated backing, natural rubber or synthetic adhesive. These tapes are dispensed with a water-activated tape dispenser. They are also the best choice for an environmentally friendly tape.

Venus Packaging, offering Australia’s biggest range of packing materials, is the perfect place to get any type of packaging adhesive product! Whether you’re getting ready for a move, or shipping multiple pallets of product from one location to another, Venus Packaging can supply you with the materials you need.

Contact us today for any packing or adhesive tape requirements:  (03) 9428 1652