Authored by Phil Webster, Head of Industrial Sales, EMEA, at Drytac.

Bristol, UK: While high-quality adhesive tapes allow users to take on all manner of work and assist them with creating applications of all shapes and sizes, you can push the boundaries even further by thinking outside the box with double-sided tapes.

These tapes can be used in a wide range of applications including mounting signage and graphics materials, bonding point-of-sale displays, adhering badges and emblems to cars, fixing internal car mirrors and sealing ecommerce packaging.

As for the benefits of double-sided tapes, the stand-out advantages of these products include that they are easy to apply, clean, consistent, bond instantly, conformable, and lightweight. Add in that they can be applied manually or with an automated system, and this makes the process even more flexible for the customer.

So, how do double-sided tapes work? These products contain a thin carrier material that is coated on both sides with adhesive. This carrier can be as thin as 12 microns for an invisible bond line, or up to 1,000 microns if gap filling properties are required for the application you are working on.

The actual adhesive is protected by a release liner that can be two-side silicone coated to produce a self-wound format, or a twin liner if the tape needs to be die-cut or sheeted.

Users have even more choice when it comes to the adhesive, with the ability to have different types of adhesives on each side of the tape, depending on the technical requirements. For example, you could coat one side with an aggressive, permanent adhesive, and the other with a low tack, removable adhesive that does not leave any residue upon removal.

There are also options to pattern-coat adhesive dots or stripes on one side of the tape with an all over coating on the other, again depending on the type of application and the specific requirements of each job.

Double-sided tape options from Drytac include self-wound or twin release liner format, with carrier types covering PET, PP, UPVC, Scrim and Cloth in a range of thicknesses. Tapes can be supplied with a paper release liner (glassine, kraft or PE coated) as well as filmic (PET, PP and PE).

As for adhesive types, Drytac double-sided tapes are offered with hot melt, water- and solvent based adhesives, available as full web or pattern-coated with stripes, dots, or other custom shapes. Tapes can be coated in widths ranging from 650mm to 1,500mm with coat weights up to 40gsm for water- or solvent-based adhesives and 750gsm for hot melt types.

If you need to make something sticky and want to explore some of these innovative options, contact Drytac to discuss your double-sided tape requirements.