The term “Pressure Sensitive Tape” can refer to any type of tape that has a layer of adhesive on one side. More often, this is referred to as (base material) tape with pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) – e.g. Neoprene® (DuPont Trade Name) rubber foam tape with PSA backing. As the name suggests, the adhesive layer will be firmly stuck to the base tape and will have a layer of peel off backing (paper) on the outside. Once a length of tape has been cut off and the backing strip removed, it can be placed on a clean surface and easily pressed into place where it will remain stuck. This could be advantageous to anyone using the Neoprene® Pressure Sensitive Tape as a gasket or sealing tape that needs to be positioned on surfaces that are not in the horizontal plain – the pressure sensitive adhesive will hold the gasket in place until the assembly can be closed and the surfaces to be sealed can be clamped or bolted together.
Although electrical insulation tapes, duct type tapes and masking tapes could be thought of as being examples of Pressure Sensitive Tape the term is more often applied to tapes that have a backing strip to stop the adhesive sticking to anything until that “release” strip is removed. However, the differentiation is a somewhat moot point that is defined more by the users’ personal preferences and the “jargon” used in their activities. Even something as simple as the roll of Scotch Tape® (3M Trade Name) in your desk draw is a roll of Pressure Sensitive Tape (in the sense that you unroll it, lay it onto something, apply a light (finger) pressure and it sticks in place without you having to mix anything, heat it up or wait for it to cure).
So What Do You Ask For When Buying It?
You can go on line and search for Pressure Sensitive Tape and you are likely to find only tapes similar to Scotch®. Even Band Aid® (Johnson & Johnson Trade Name) adhesive bandages, strips and tapes crop up under the general term Pressure Sensitive Tape.
You may even get leads to the companies that make the actual adhesive for others to add to their tape material in order to convert it into a Pressure Sensitive Tape. So, unless you want something like Scotch® Tape, you will need to be more specific in your request and include details about what you want to do with the tape in your specification.
Engineered Materials Inc. is a supplier of pressure sensitive tape. They can also laminate pressure sensitive adhesive onto a substrate of your choice to produce a pressure sensitive tape of your choice. For full details, browse their website.
