What is the Best Packing Tape? - for Shipping Parcels & Moving Boxes
To answer this question properly we firstly need to understand what you are packing and what’s the purpose like do you need Packing Tape to ship parcels for your online business or are you packing because you are moving. The weight and how fragile the item you are packing also come into play which later we will break up into sections of application.
Before we go into detail about the different applications, let’s first understand the different elements and specifications relating to Packing Tape:
Tape Width: the width of the tape, the most common width in the market is 48mm
Tape Length: the length of the tape, the most common length in the market is 75m
Tape Thickness: the thickness of the tape, the most common thickness is 45 microns. Also this is the most important element when determining what Packing tape is the best for the job
Tape Colour: the colour of the tape, the most common colour is clear but sometimes brown tape is used.
Adhesive: the glue that determines the stickiness of the tape, the most common type is Acrylic, while sometimes hot melt adhesive is used for some certain applications which we will discuss later.
We at Awesome Pack have listed the Best Packing Tape for each type of application as every job is different and may require a different type of Packaging Tape.
- Best Packing Tape for Shipping Parcels in your eCommerce Business
Being a packaging supplies business we get plenty of these questions “what is the best packing tape for posting my parcels?” Below we have listed the specifications for the perfect Packing tape for shipping parcels with:
Tape Width: 48mm is the most preferred as it fits perfectly on the hand held tape dispenser
Tape Length: 75m is the most common and is a perfect weight on the tape dispenser as if you will be doing a lot of taping you want to do it comfortably. Lengths of 100m, 150m, 200m and 400m are also available in the market but may be a little heavier when holding it down to tape.
Tape Thickness: the most recommended thickness for packing tapes when shipping parcels is 45 micron, it is not too thin and not too thick but just perfect for taping most boxes for shipping. While 45 micron thickness is perfect for taping boxes that weight less than 15 kg, if you ship goods heavier than that, then we recommend at least 60 microns or using 45 micron tape but double tape it. Please note the thickness of the packing tape will heavily impact on the cost of the tape so don’t over do it as it will be just wasting money.
Adhesive: Acrylic is the go-to adhesive for packing tapes, firstly It is clear and stays that way over time with no stains on your box which may be important if your box is not brown. Shipping your product in your box is all about presentation so if you have a nicely designed box you only want to use clear tapes with acrylic adhesive for that clean look. Although Acrylic tape is not the strongest adhesive out there, it does the job fine for taping boxes for shipping.
If you are packing fragile items also consider buying some Fragile Tapes which has the printed word Fragile on it and in bright red so that your courier will take a little more extra care when handling the goods in transit.
- Best Packing Tape for Moving & Storage of boxes
The most suitable packing tape for Moving & Storage may be the same as shipping parcels but there are some subtle differences as it depends on the how long you want to store the goods and the weight of the goods.
Tape Width: 48mm is the most preferred as it fits perfectly on the hand held tape dispenser, this is the same as packing shipping boxes.
Tape Length: 75m is the most common and is a perfect weight on the tape dispenser as if you will be doing a lot of taping you want to do it comfortably. If you are packing boxes when moving and storage then an extra long tape is not necessary as you wouldn’t be needing to change the tape rolls that often.
Tape Thickness: the most recommended thickness for packing tapes when moving and storage is 45 micron, if the goods in the box is over 15kg then again we suggest a minimum 60 micron so the tape wouldn’t snap in half.
Adhesive: Acrylic is the go-to adhesive for packing moving boxes and storage boxes, but if you plan to store boxes for an extensive period like 10 years than we suggest a hot melt adhesive to be most suitable given it is a considerable amount of time. For everything else Acrylic is cost effective and will be good enough to do the job.
I hope we at Awesome Pack have helped you in some way by reading this article and we wish you the best of luck in the ever changing eCommerce industry.
Always bringing you value to your eCommerce journey,
Bill Li
Director
Awesome Pack