phoenix, Author at Phoenix Tape & Supply

Packing Tape or Duct Tape: Each wins the gold in their own applications.

Packing tape and duct tape share some similarities, as well as differences that have an impact on your usage. When you are preparing packages for moving or shipping, you want to make sure you’ve made the right choice. Seeing everything arrive at its location safely is a benefit that everyone will enjoy.

Here are the considerations you need to keep in mind when buying tape:

5 Benefits of Custom Packing Tape for Small Businesses

small businesses use custom packing tape to elevate their packaging, highlighting the benefits of this economical branding tool.

Are you a Funko Pop collector? If you’re like many pop culture enthusiasts, you are. This widely popular company designs and sells whimsical and nostalgic collectibles, accessories, and toys based on pop culture themes like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Seinfeld – and fans go gangbusters over them. Just ask our customer, 7 Bucks a Pop (7BAP). This husband-and-wife duo of Funko Pop (“Pop”) collectors turned their passion into a business when they discovered a huge demand for previously owned Pops at reasonable prices. So, they launched an e-commerce website selling many sought-after Pops for just seven bucks. One of their first orders of business? Custom branded packing tape that popped.

In this article, we’ll tell you a little about how 7BAP and a few other small businesses use custom packing tape to elevate their packaging, highlighting the benefits of this economical branding tool.

Benefits of custom packing tape for small businesses

When 7BAP first started in 2017, they loved using custom packing tape because it was a cost-effective way to brand their packaging while also providing the much-needed security to protect these sought-after collectibles. Whether you’re a small business selling goods directly to the consumer or you ship your wares to retailers, there are many attractive benefits of choosing custom packing tape.

Saves money on expensive printed boxes

When running a small business, every dollar matters. Perhaps the most significant benefit of custom packing tape is that it packs a big punch without breaking a tight budget. Our VP of sales, Matt Clarke, hears from many small – and large – businesses that have ditched printed boxes because of the expense and high minimum orders. In its place, these budget-savvy customers are choosing affordable branded packing tape because it delivers the same impact for much less.

Learn more about the perks of swapping your printed boxes for custom packing tape on our blog.
Builds brand awareness

It’s difficult for small businesses to compete with national retailers for brand awareness. However, custom packing tape is an economical way to increase exposure and enhance recognition of your brand, no matter the size of your operation. Our sales and customer service manager Elizabeth Fish loves how our small business customer Ayla, a beauty boutique offering nontoxic, hypoallergenic products, designed its branded packing tape. She noted how the tape makes Ayla’s packaging match the branding elements on their website, Instagram feed, and other social media channels, providing a consistent look and feel for greater brand awareness.
Adds a layer of package security

Unlike larger companies with the budget to replace missing or damaged packages, small businesses often have tighter financial constraints, making a secure shipment essential for success. For 7BAP, package security is a huge priority, especially when shipping high-value and rare Pops to its customers. Compared to plain clear tape, a box wrapped in 7BAP’s branded packing tape makes it easy to detect – and deter – tampering and pilfering. They’ve also doubled down on package security with a 2.5 mil heavy-duty polypropylene tape for added thickness and peace of mind.
Promotes customer loyalty

What’s one thing you can do that will keep your customers coming back for more? Create an unforgettable unboxing experience. As we covered in a previous blog post, an unboxing experience is the feeling you create for a customer opening their highly anticipated package. Unique packaging materials, personalized notes, samples, freebies, and of course, custom packing tape are some of the essential wow-factor elements that will give your customers a reason to look forward to receiving your shipments again and again.
Expedites product placement on the retail floor

If your small business ships to a retailer, custom packing tape makes your boxes easier to recognize and identify, expediting the time it takes for your goods to travel from the shipping dock or warehouse to the retail floor. This idea is precisely the motivation for our customer, Bakerly, to use custom packing tape. A USA producer of French-inspired crepes, brioche, and traditional pastries, Bakerly wraps its shipments in branded tape to make it easier for its retail food customers to locate, properly store and restock its baked goods.

If you’re one of the many innovative entrepreneurs or pandemic-spurred side hustlers who have turned their hobby into a new revenue stream, branded packing tape can help your small business reap these and many other benefits. Our helpful team and easy online ordering system make it easy to create packages – and revenues – that truly pop. Shop our branded packing tapes online or reach out to our experts to learn more.

Does Custom Packing Tape Expire?

If your stockroom or warehouse is bursting with extra rolls of custom packing tape, you may wonder whether they can expire – and the answer is yes. Just like the appeal of your favorite foods dwindles with time, most types of custom packing tape will lose their zest when they’re past their prime. While an expiration date for packing tape may sound surprising, it’s just another helpful nugget of information we love to share on our mission to help you package your goods smarter.

This post is loaded with helpful insights on the shelf life of custom packing tape, including signs that it’s expired and tips for prolonging its useful life. Let’s get started.

What’s the Difference Between PVC Tape and Duct Tape?

If you need strong and durable tape for your application, PVC tape and duct tape might be on your shortlist of options to consider. So, which one should you choose? The answer comes down to how you’ll use it. As we covered in a previous blog post on choosing the right tape for the job, each solution has a different purpose. Just like you wouldn’t use scotch tape to seal ductwork, you wouldn’t use duct tape to wrap holiday gifts.

This article will look at the differences – and similarities – between PVC tape and duct tape to illustrate the ideal applications for each one, helping you build a better and smarter arsenal of packaging materials.

What is the Strongest Tape?

When it comes to choosing the right custom packing tape for your application, strength is often one of the first factors to consider. If your tape isn’t strong enough to seal your packages, it instantly loses its purpose and value. When our customers ask us which tape is the strongest, our response always depends on the end-use. For general use, polypropylene tape is an affordable and versatile solution that’s strong enough for most packages. However, if you’re sealing heavy or bulky boxes, you may want to go with a heavier duty PVC tape for a stronger alternative.

In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about both types of custom printed tape to help you select the strongest option for your packaging needs.

What is Strapping Tape?

What is Strapping Tape?

While top-selling packaging tapes like polypropylene, PVC, and kraft paper tape often get all the glory, other lesser-known varieties have unique and noteworthy advantages that are worth a second look. One such variety is strapping tape, or filament tape. In this article, we’ll reveal the most frequent questions our customers ask about strapping tape to help you learn more about this utility-grade packaging solution.

Is PVC Tape Waterproof?

PVC is short for polyvinyl chloride, a versatile and flexible plastic polymer that forms the base of PVC tape, a thicker and stronger alternative than polypropylene tape. PVC tape may be best known for its quiet pull from the roll and ease of use because it doesn’t stick to itself. Practically speaking, the durability of PVC tape makes it especially ideal for sealing packages containing large parts and bulky supplies, which is why PVC tape is our top-selling custom packaging tape for heavy shipments.

4 Ways to Design the Look of Your Box with Custom Packing Tape

With so many shipping boxes transported to and fro, companies are continually looking for ways to rise above the competition. The answer is custom printed boxes, right? Actually, no. There’s a better solution. Custom packing tape lets you design a standout package without having to pay for expensive custom printed boxes. By increasing brand visibility, improving package security and traceability, and reducing costs and inventory space required, custom packing tape can run circles around printed boxes. So, how can you customize your tape so that it tells your story? It all comes down to the design.

Learn About Water Activated Tape

Water-activated tape an eco-friendly paper tape, or kraft tape, with an adhesive that is activated by – you guessed it: water. This water-activated feature sets paper tape apart from traditional self-stick pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes, such as PVC or polypropylene. This article will break down how water-activated tape works, starting with a detailed description and the best uses for this specialized tape.

The Best Tape for Your Project

Tape comparison PVC, Paper, Poly

Most of us know that different tapes have different jobs. You wouldn’t use Scotch tape for home repairs, nor would you break out a roll of duct tape to wrap presents.

The same is true in the world of custom packing tape. PVC tape, polypropylene tape, paper or flatback tape: they’re all highly-effective tapes, but there are some situations where one might work better than the others. Let’s take a closer look at the features of these different tapes. Continue reading “The Best Tape for Your Project”