Choosing Industrial Adhesives and Sealants—Adhesive Tape Products for Industry


You might not think about it all that often, however, industrial adhesives, sealants, and tapes have a wide range of different applications and are used in almost every industrial sector. From insulating high-voltage electrical cables to other, simpler applications such as packaging, there’s practically nothing that tape can’t do in the industrial world.

If you search online, there are literally hundreds of different types of tape to choose from. And, not only do you have to decide on the type of tape that you’re looking for, but you’ll also need to choose a supplier, such as adhesive tape manufacturer Advance Tapes, to buy your adhesives and sealants from.

Therefore, it’s important to fully understand what sort of applications are suitable for different types of tape, as well as what to consider when choosing a type of tape to purchase.

Below, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on choosing the best adhesive tape products to meet your individual needs.

So, what are industrial tapes used for?

There are a number of different applications for industrial tapes and due to this, there is also a variety of different types of industrial tapes as well. Industrial tapes can be used for applications such as bonding materials together, sealing threads, wrapping, packaging, insulating electric wiring and fixtures, as well as ESD control and other more specialized applications.

In general, there are three different types of industrial tape. This includes non-adhesive tapes, adhesive tapes, and specialized types of tape.

Non-adhesive tape and specialized tape are used more specific purposes, while adhesive tapes are used for joining and bonding materials together.

Some of the most common specific uses for non-adhesive tape include:

  • Thread sealing
  • Insulating electrical wiring
  • Electronic device or die carrying (TAB)
  • EMI or RFI shielding
  • X-ray shielding
  • Controlling static discharge
  • Label protection
  • Parts identification
  • Welding
  • Thermal protection
  • Bundling cables or other products
  • Anti-slip tapes
  • Friction reduction

Read more about the different industrial applications of tape here.

What to Consider When Selecting Adhesive Tape Products

When it comes down to selecting the best type of industrial tape for your needs, it’s crucial to know exactly what type of tape you’re looking for, what you plan on using the tape for, as well as a few other factors such as the dimensions and physical properties that you’re looking for in an adhesive.

Furthermore, other factors such as type of adhesive and the carrier material are also important to consider as parameters for choosing the right industrial tape.

Types of Industrial Tape

When you break things down a bit more, you can divide industrial tapes into four separate categories: single-sided adhesive tape, double-sided adhesive tape, non-adhesive tape, and transfer tapes. These categories will help break down the individual uses of each type of tape and help you understand the difference between each one.

Single-sided adhesive tapes are mostly used for applications such as packaging or insulating, and only have one side of their backing coated in an adhesive substance.

Double-sided adhesive tapes have both sides coated with an adhesive substance and are usually designed to join two separate materials together in a way that is not visible, since the tape is usually in between both pieces as opposed to overlaying it. Depending on the application, sometimes, two different PSAs, or pressure sensitive adhesives, are used on each side.

Read more about adhesive tapes here:

Non-adhesive tapes do not actually have any adhesive applied to them at all. However, they may be self-adhering and still designed to stay in place once applied. The most common type of non-adhesive tape is PTFE thread sealing tape, which is commonly known as Teflon tape, a product created by DuPont and used in a variety of plumbing applications.

Finally, transfer tape is an extremely versatile type of industrial tape that is made up of a thin adhesive film that doesn’t have any type of carrier or backing to support it. Transfer tapes are readily transferable to practically any dry surface after being peeled-away from their disposable release liner.


When trying to decide on a type of industrial tape for your needs, it’s important to consider the actual dimensions of the tape that you’re looking for. There are basically two dimensional factors to consider: width and thickness.

The width is the tape’s cross-section, while the thickness, usually displayed in millimeters or thousandths of an inch, is the distance from one surface of the tape to the other.

Physical Properties

When choosing tape, there are several physical characteristics that need to be taken into consideration. For starters, you’re going to want to choose an industrial tape with a peel strength that is adequate for the application you intend using it for. The peel strength is the amount of force needed to separate two surfaces that have been bonded together using the tape.

Another important factor is the tape’s tensile strength. This is the amount of force required to physically break or tear a piece of tape apart by pulling it apart from opposite ends.

Lastly, two other physical properties to keep in mind are the tape’s temperature resistance and its dielectric strength. The temperature resistance is the maximum temperature that a tape can withstand before melting or taking any physical damage. Whereas, the dielectric strength is the voltage that the product can withstand without allowing a current of electricity to pass through it.

Materials and Substrate

It’s also important to understand the different materials that are used in making the industrial tape of your choice. Before making a choice, consider the adhesive that is used and make sure that it was designed for the substrate that you plan on using it with.

Each type of industrial tape is typically rated for specific uses with different substrates. Some of these substrates may include concrete and masonry, glass and ceramics, metal or composites, plastics, paper or plasters, as well as many others. Therefore, it’s important to know what type of substrate you plan on using your tape on before deciding on which type of tape to use.


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