What is the difference in the glue of polypropylene tapes compared to PVC ones?
What is the difference between polypropylene tape and PVC tape? When it’s time to buy packaging adhesive tape, and especially so when you need to buy large quantities of tape for sealing boxes and packages online, it is definitely worth trying to understand what the concrete differences between the various types of tape available are.
In our e-commerce site for the sale of customized adhesive tape for professional use there are many types of products, from industrial double-sided adhesive tape to high-strength one, from insulating tape to duct tape.
While narrowing our search to packaging tape, there are many different types of it, in terms of materials, dimensions, resistance, and so on. Adhesive tape meant for packaging is mainly divided into two groups: on the one hand there is polypropylene tape, or PPL adhesive tape, and on the other there is PVC tape: but what is the difference between these two kinds of adhesive?
And how can you choose the most suitable ones according to your needs? To make the right choice – and possibly to request customization via the printing of logos or writing – first you need to know how all of those different types of tapes will actually be used.
They could be used on light or heavy boxes, on boxes which will remain sealed for a few weeks or even months (or years), on boxes which will be stored in dry places and average temperatures or on packaging which will be exposed to extreme temperature changes and perhaps humidity. Let’s have a look at what the difference between PPL tape and PVC tape is, even just on the basis of the adhesive used.
Mono-adhesive tape: which is better, polypropylene or PVC?
Mono-adhesive tape is mainly split based on the support employed, either PVC, PPL, paper, or other materials. It must be noted, however, that the grip and strength of the adhesive tape also mostly depends on the type of adhesive substance used.
So, it is useful to keep in mind that adhesive tape is made of – in short – three different layers of material. At the top, on the outer side of the roll, there is the support, i.e., the real “tape”.
This can be made of, mainly, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), or PPL (polypropylene): as we will soon outline, these two materials have different characteristics, peculiarities, and limitations. Immediately below the support layer there is an intermediate layer, whose aim is to keep the industrial double-sided adhesive tape anchored to the underlying layer.
The latter can be made of different glue types: hot melt adhesive, natural rubber, or acrylic adhesive.
What is the difference in the glue of polypropylene tapes compared to PVC ones?
Adhesive tape was developed for the first time about a century ago: the first models of double-sided adhesive tape in the modern sense of the term were made of PVC, which is an extremely versatile thermoplastic material.
Everything started, in fact, from the processing of polyvinyl chloride, a white powder of fossil origin. If once all adhesive tape rolls were made of PVC, over the years other options have taken over, so much so that today, on the Italian market, only a small percentage of the adhesive tape rolls available is made of this material.
Of course, PVC has its advantages, such as the fact that it can be cut by hand; but it is an expensive option and not a particularly environmentally friendly one. PVC, for example, cannot be burned, because it emits dioxins when exposed to fire.
The material which has gradually replaced most PVC rolls, PPL, on the other hand, can be burned without generating particularly pollutant emissions, while still being a plastic material.
The difference on the basis of adhesive
Large differences exist on the basis of the adhesive used. It can be hot melt, acrylic, natural rubber, and so on.
For example, PPL packaging adhesive tape with an acrylic adhesive is common, which guarantees a long grip for double-sided adhesive tape once applied; even more powerful is the PVC packaging tape, for example high-strength tape, ideal for sealing medium or heavy boxes.
There is a difference on the level of sustainability too, as there is the possibility of solvents being present in the adhesive. Speaking of sustainability, it is not possible to neglect natural rubber, which is also used on PVC mono-adhesive tape, ensuring excellent performance (in any case superior to hot melt adhesive).
