Adhesive tapes and films vary in terms of a carrier or backing material. Here are the most common backings/carriers.
- Paper: Paper tape products feature a paper backing, also known as flat back tape.
- Cloth: Cloth backing typically incorporates woven cloth or fabric layers for reinforcement, extra strength, and heat resistance properties.
- Felt: Felt or non-woven tapes are applied to substrates to prevent scratching.
- Foam: Adhesive-coated foam backing tape contains a protective liner and is often used for sealing, weather-stripping, and mounting.
- Metal Foil: Aluminum, aluminum-reinforced, and lead backings resist flames, temperature extremes, and high humidity. They are commonly used for taping joints and seams against moisture or vapor.
- Plastic Film/Polymer: Plastic products contain one or more plastic layers and can be clear, colored, printed, or plain. They may be single-layered or multilayered and combined with materials such as paper and/or aluminum.
- PET/Polyester: PET/polyester products utilize a PET or polyester backing, also known as Mylar.
- Polyimide: Polyimide tape consists of a polyimide film and a heat-resistant, silicone adhesive. It maintains excellent physical, mechanical, chemical, and electrical properties over a wide range of environments.
- PVC/Vinyl: PVC/vinyl products use a vinyl or PVC backing to resist wear, weathering, and abrasion.
- Rubber: Rubber backing is used for producing conformable self-fusing rubber electrical insulating and sealing tape.
- Silicone: Silicone backing is superior for gaskets, insulators, press pads, and die-cut parts, offering various grades to match varying requirements.
- Acrylic Films: Acrylic films are plastic or thermoplastic resin films with excellent clarity and UV stability.
- Glass/Fiberglass: Fiberglass composite material or glass layers provide exceptional stability in harsh environments.
- Filament: Filament tape, or strapping tape, is strong and versatile, composed of thousands of filaments woven into yarns embedded into the adhesive.
- Fluoropolymer/PTFE/PVDF: These materials offer superior chemical resistance, good dielectric properties, and water and stain repellent characteristics.
- Films: Synthetic resin adhesives that may include a carrier, but not all do.
- Transfer Tape: A thin adhesive film with no carrier, transfer tape can be transferred to most dry surfaces as a peel-away release liner.
- Double-sided Tape Liners: Incorporate differentially coated release liners for easy peeling, made of paper, film, or silicone.