How to make masking tape?

Raw Material

The masking tape is made of  paper and adhesive.

Probably half of the fiber used for the paper today comes from wood that has been purposely harvested. The remaining material comes from "wood fiber from sawmills, recycled newspaper, some vegetable matter, and recycled cloth. "(Hunter, 1927)

The adhesive, which must be able to be removed without leaving a residue, is a "synthetic rubber, including petroleum, petroleum by-products, natural rubber, acrylic resins, silicone rubber, dispersions, polymers, solvents and other chemicals."(Glasse, 1982) the properties are similar to organic latex-based rubber adhesive.

Process

Large (much wider than the finished tape) sheets of the backing paper are passed through a roller after being coated with adhesive, using thousands of pounds of pressure to laminate the adhesive to the backing.

Once the adhesive has dried, it is run through slitting machines that cut it down to usable widths.

Finally, the slit masking tape is wound onto paper or plastic hubs and the final packaging is applied.

Reflection

I have been using making tape nearly everyday for sticking notes, making model, fixing paper, making mark and so on, but never thought of the raw material of it and the process of making it, as it is naturally exist. From doing this exercise, I now have a more clear idea about the background of maskidgtape, but also and started to question the what material of the objects surrounded me are made of and the process. I realized that one simple objects could made by complex materials and design process. The objects than become richer to me as it consists of lots of substance from different places of the world.

Reference

Hunter, D. (1927). Primitive papermaking. 1st ed. Chillicothe, O.: Mountain House Press, pp.32-33.

Glasse, M. (1982). Adhesives, adherends, adhesion. International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives, 2(1), p.12.