Adhesive tape

Adhesive tape refers to any one of a variety of combinations of a backing materials coated with an adhesive. Different backing materials and adhesives can be used depending on the intended use.

Pressure-sensitive adhesive, a key component of some adhesive tapes, was first developed in 1845 by Dr. Horace Day, a surgeon. In 1901, the German Oscar Troplowitz invented an adhesive patch called Leukoplast for the German company Beiersdorf AG.

Pressure-sensitive tape, PSA tape, self-stick tape or sticky tape consists of a pressure-sensitive adhesive coated onto a backing material such as paper, plastic film, cloth, or metal foil. It is sticky (tacky) without any heat or solvent for activation and adheres with light pressure. These tapes usually require a release agent on their backing or a release liner to cover the adhesive. Sometimes, the term "adhesive tape" is used for these tapes.

Many pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes exhibit triboluminescence, observable in a dark room, when peeled off a dispenser roll or other surface.

Water activated tape, gummed paper tape or gummed tape is starch- or sometimes animal glue-based adhesive on a kraft paper backing which becomes sticky when moistened.

A specific type of gummed tape is called reinforced gummed tape (RGT). The backing of this reinforced tape consists of two layers of paper with a cross-pattern of fiberglass filaments laminated between. The laminating adhesive had previously been asphalt but now is more commonly a hot-melt atactic polypropylene.

Gummed tapes are described in ASTM D5749-01(2006) Standard Specification for Reinforced and Plain gummed Tape for Sealing and Securing.

Water-activated tape is used for closing and sealing boxes. Before closing corrugated fiberboard boxes, the tape is wetted or remoistened, activated by water. The tape is mostly 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide. Such tape is considered 'good' to chew on, as many believe it whitens teeth.[citation needed].

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