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#PACKAGINGKNOWLEDGE
The Total tesa® Tape Guide 

You'll never believe all the places that you can use tape.

TAPE CAN PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN YOUR BUSINESS

Did you know that choosing the right adhesive can help enhance your brand image? Or that you can actually save money, while increasing productivity by using tape instead of other fastheners?

Tape can play a critical role in your business

Most people only think of tape in the household fashion. But it's that same idea that has given way to the removable surface protection from that new stainless steel refridgerator that was just delievered or that may strap together the half dozen steel pipe sets that are being shipped to the local construction site or that holds your rearview and side mirrors in place on your car. The fact of the matter is that commercial grade tapes can take the place of many much more expensive products. 

And when it comes to enhancing your brand image, tesa tapes can play an integral role.

  • Because first impressions matter.
  • Because aesthtics matter.
  • Because structural integrity matters.
  • Because design flexibility matters.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER.

When your customer recieves their product, they expect it in pristine condition. Many manufacturers rely solely on the exterior packaging - boxes and packaging tape - to provide that.

But what about easily scratched, special surfaces like your new stainless appliance or that phone you've been waiting months to be released? With the right protective tape, these surfaces are protected from scratches and dings during shipping.

Then, when the customer recieves the product, they remove the surface protection to reveal the pristine product that they've spent their hard-earned money on.

AESTHETICS MATTER.

Customers today believe looks matter just as much as functionality. We want the sleekest cell phone, the glossiest television, and the refridgerator that resists handprints. Products are a part of the overall design of ourselves.

By using tapes instead of glues or rivets, manufacturers are able to build their products without visible screws, welding marks, or glue seepage.

Sleeker designs, smoother panels, cleaner glass: these are all ways in which manufacturers are capturing the attention of the most discerning customers.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY MATTERS.

A brand is only as good as its product or service performance. When it comes to design and production, tapes offer an advantage over other assembly mechanisms. Mechanical fasteners have limitations. Hardware can become loosened, creating an opportunity for product instability and damage.

And with exposure to different environmental factors, the likelihood that materials could expand or contract increases. However, with the right tape, slight material shifts can be accommodated, as the engineered qualities of specific tapes allow it to expand and contract based on the environment.

DESIGN FLEXIBILITY MATTERS.

As design and style becomes more sophisicated, designers and engineers are looking for products and materials that are more adaptive. When using mechanical hardware, the product must be designed to fit that hardware; with tapes, the tape can be molded, cut, and fitted to the design that the engineer has in mind.

Today, tapes are used to bond panels, nameplates, and electronics. They're found in your car, your cell phone, your appliances, your home, and, sometimes, even your clothes. And with the emphasis on sleek and clean, they've become a critical engineering and design component.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

How exactly do you know if you could use tesa® tape instead of what you've always used?

Did you know that tape is used in may industrial applications including in making electronics, like your cell phone?

Mounting and Bonding

From the touch screens on the front of your smart phone to the electrical components held in place under the battery, today's cell phones rely heavily on mounting and bonding tapes.

But it's not just cell phones: electronics of all sorts, as well as appliances, solar panels, turbines, cars, advertising signs, fixtures, and much more rely on mounting and bonding tapes. These tesa mounting and bonding tapes successfully and seamlessly bond glass, wood, steel, foam, and plastic with the strength and speed necessary for permanent, structural, and repositionable appliations.

Masking 

tesa masking tapes are essential for painting and providing perfect, sharp edges, while also reducing the likelihood of any paint seepage.

Ideal in any detail oriented application from residential and commercial painting to delicate aftermarket car modifications, anytime precision is critical, masking tapes are the only way to go. And with residue-free removability, they can be used on even the most delicate of surfaces.

Tape is used in many industrial applications, like the automotive market.

Surface protection is key in the appliance industry.

Using surface protection tapes on cars or boats can help to protect them from harsh environmental or industrial factors during the manufacturing process.

Surface Protection

From appliances to vehicles, tesa's unique surface protection is critical to protecting items as they move through production process, are shipped, or are stored.

New appliances and electronics - from cell phones to televisions - have a film covering surfaces that are easily scratched or dinged to ensure the quality of the product at delivery.

Vehicles and boats use these protective films to protect them from production and environmental factors, especially during storage.

Surface protection is also used heavily in construction to protect floors, cabinets, and counters during the building process, ensuring the quality and integrity of the finished product.

Strapping and Bundling

The industrial applications for tesa's bundling and strapping tapes are endless, but some of the most commonly used applications include securing palleted goods, bundling units of items, and color coding items or areas. These tapes combine easy application, good performance, and very high tensile strength.

From steel rods and pipes to the intricate wiring necessary to drive a car down the road, tesa bundling tapes have the ability to both bundle and protect products, either for a trip down the road or permanently.

tesa has many tapes that can be used for strapping or bundling.

GETTING TO THE NUTS & BOLTS OF SWITCHING TO TESA TAPE

Why would you continue to use old fashioned adhesion? It presents challenges in design, aesthetics, cost, manufacturing, and performance. It's time to talk about tape.

DESIGN AND AESTHETIC

Design & Aesthetic  

Using mechanical fasteners requires that a designer choose materials with higher strengths that are able to better withstand the localized stresses at the attachment points for the fastener, limiting the materials that can be used.
 
On the other hand, tapes can distribute stress over a larger area and can be used on all types of materials, meaning that a designer is no longer limited in his or her material choices.
 
  • If the two materials are different metals, the tape can act as a barrier to reduce or prevent potential corrosion between the two metals.
  • The materials can expand and contract at different rates from environmental factors.
  • Tape can dissipate stress, providing for longlasting durability compared to fasteners.

It is true that some fasteners can be hidden from view with the right design, but this takes additional cost and processing. Generally, tapes are placed in locations that are hidden from view and can even have different colors to further minimize potential sightings of it, allowing designers greater freedom in the creation of their design and ultimate aesthetic quality of the finished product.

MANUFACTURING AND PERFORMANCE

Manufacturing and Performance

The use of mechanical fasteners often requires holes to be drilled or punctures to be made in the materials being fastened. Other joining methods, such as welding, soldering, or gluing, may require additional finishing and extreme care to achieve a desired appearance.
 
The holes created for mechanical fasteners have the potential to reduce the structural integrity and, thus, performance of the material. 
 
Alternatively, tape does not alter the surface of either material in any way, meaning that neither the material's integrity nor it's appearance will be diminished. They also do not usually need additional finishing, meaning that production time is decreased by replacing fasteners with tapes. It reduces downtime, training time, application time, and total costs, sometimes up to 80%. 

When a hole is placed in metal, even one treated with corrosion-resistant coatings, the edge of the hole has the potential to rust, especially with time and environmental factors playing a role.
 
tesa tapes have been specifically engineered to provide the strength required based on material, separating stresses, and environmental conditions, such as high and low-temperature exposure, humidity exposure, chemical immersion, and cycles of multiple conditions.

TESA CASE STUDIES

Sealing the Deal 

As products for industrial, medical, and personal use continue to become more sophisticated, there is a growing need for enhanced research, testing, and storage techniques to support these evolutionary and revolutionary products. Recognizing this trend, a well-known global provider of environmental chambers has recently fine-tuned its production process to meet the ever-changing needs of its marketplace.

Based in the USA, a renowned manufacturer of all types of environmental chambers is committed to producing high quality and durable products for its customers. One of the products in the company’s portfolio is an ultra-low temperature freezer designed for research and storage applications. As part of its normal freezer production process, company representatives were attaching a urethane foam strip lined with an adhesive tape to the fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) door of the freezer unit; the strip is intended to act as a gasket seal. Throughout the manufacturing and testing processes, assemblers noticed that the adhesive on the foam strip was not securely bonding to the FRP. As an attempt to reinforce the bond, technicians began to apply toxic glue to the foam strip, which ultimately released odors and toxic fumes throughout the manufacturing area and into the environment.

After being apprised of the application and the challenge at hand, a tesa representative, working with business partner Marian, Inc., recommended a tried-andtrue tesa Tape to be adhered to the foam strip to ultimately provide the critical gasket seal between door and freezer. With a series of successful tests, this tape is now the adhesive tape of choice by the manufacturer for this application. In fact, it was so successful, that the manufacturer is now using the same tesa product to replace metal rivets to secure outer unit panels when foam insulation is blown into the unit!

Reaching New Heights with Trip into Space 

With the ability to re-commission spacecraft came the need to mark and identify spacecraft parts and components for inventory and warranty purposes. To meet this need, NASA launched the MISSE (Mission International Space Station Experiment), an experiment designed to test the durability and readability of both human and machine-readable markings and part identifiers after being exposed to environmental elements of the low earth orbit environment (50 to 1,240 miles above earth’s surface) for an extended time period.

NASA has conducted several MISSE experiments, each one containing an array of marked and coded sample materials to be positioned on the exterior of the International Space Station for a defined period of time, and then removed and returned to earth to be inspected for readability. Each of the sample materials is exposed to harsh environmental conditions, including vacuums, solar ultraviolet radiation, micrometeoroids, space debris, atomic oxygen, and deep thermal cycles.

Working closely with NASA through a customer relationship, a tesa representative recommended a tesa laser label product for inclusion in the MISSE 6 Experiment. After gaining acceptance to the mission, the tesa Secure Laser Engraved Label was prepared for its first space mission.

Prior to launching the MISSE 6 Experiment on March 11, 2008, NASA representatives photographed each coded sample specimen and tested each for readability to document its pre-flight status. After being placed on the exterior surface of the International Space Station, the coded specimens, including the tesa Secure Laser Label, remained in orbit for one year and 130 days.

Upon retrieval from orbit, each coded specimen was again photographed and tested for readability using select reading devices. The tesa Laser Engraved Label was successfully read with various scanning devices and is now considered one of the acceptable marking and coding methods for NASA.
 

Marking Vehicles with ID Codes

As part of an effort to reduce vehicle thefts in its regional area, a Mid-Atlantic State Police Department launched a program entitled H.E.A.T. - "Help Eliminate Auto Theft”. 

As part of its holistic program approach, members of the police team began to search for ways to ensure that vehicle identification numbers (VINs) were permanently adhered to all motorcycles and ATVs, as opposed to removable identification tags.

While attending a SEIAATI (Southeast International Association of Auto Theft Investigators) Conference, members of the State Police H.E.A.T. Program were introduced to representatives from tesa tape and the company’s unique label identification systems. Members of the H.E.A.T. team were intrigued with tesa’s offering, but they ultimately sought a system that could allow VIN identifiers to be fully embedded on vehicles, even if the VIN labels / tags were removed.

By the next SEIAATI Conference, a solution had been developed. Utilizing a unique tesa tape product, in conjunction with a newly-developed laser-etching technology by CodeSource (a tesa partner), vehicle identifiers could then be transferred onto vehicle components and remain visible with an alternative light source, even if the VIN label was removed! The tesa / CodeSource laser technology is also capable of micro-etching the VIN into the tape label material in a data matrix format, all in a space smaller than two stacked human hairs!

After seeing the technology, members of the H.E.A.T. Program requested two complete laser systems from tesa tape and partner CodeSource, and they traveled around the region providing free embedded vehicle identification codes to anyone with a motorcycle or ATV.

READY TO DIVE DEEPER?

We've given you the basics, and you're well on your way to making some very smart decisions about using tape in your processes. Now is the time to dive deeper with our specialists.

Who is tesa Tape?

tesa® Tape is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of self-adhesive product and system solutions. Since 1936, the name tesa® was first used for an adhesive tape; later to become the umbrella brand used for all self-adhesive products manufactured by our group of companies. The name covers a wide range of different system solutions for industrial and professional applications, as well as about 300 products for consumers offered in select parts of the world.

    • tesa® Tape offers more than 6,500 process-optimized and design-oriented self-adhesive product and system solutions for the industrial market.
    • tesa® Tape also offers approximately 300 products for the office, home, and gardenfor everything from mounting to dust protection.
    • With some of the top engineers in the world and over 100 years of experience in coating technoloties and the development of adhesions, tesa® comes up with about 70 patents a year on new innovations.

tesa tape logoInnovation is the basis of tesa’s success and the engine driving the company’s dynamic growth. The company’s two hundred employees at its own laboratories in Germany, the United States, Japan, Singapore, and China are constantly at work on transforming innovative ideas into new products, applications, and system solutions and on improving existing products. 

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