Caution Glass Tape

Secure mail and parcels with damageable contents inexpensively with the Caution Glass Fragile adhesive tape

When shipping fragile goods, a special warning label on the package can be useful. For this purpose, caution glass tape is usually the means of choice when it comes to buying and/or sending glass. All information about this special adhesive tape can be found here at a glance.

Caution glass tape can be used in various situations. When moving house or sending important family property, the adhesive film is without question of great importance, but also in online trade: If you send the goods in a lined box and your adhesive tape says Caution Glass, your customers will buy from you again next time if they see that you take care of the packaging and that the goods always arrive in one piece. The most important uses are presented in the following sections.

How cheap parcel tape protects your delicate and breakable goods during shipping

Parcel delivery companies often have tight schedules. Fixed routes have to be covered in the specified time so that all parcels reach their destination on time. Sometimes the cartons are handled roughly or moved around. Accidental drops cannot be ruled out either. With most parcels, this is not a big deal because the shipping cartons are strong enough to absorb shocks. However, if the contents are fragile or delicate, damage to the goods can quickly occur. If you're an online retailer and your customers buy glass, you're probably familiar with this problem.

You can't blame the postal delivery people for this, because they don't know what's inside the parcels. That's why our adhesive tape says Caution Glass. By using it, you can point out to the parcel deliverers that special care is needed with a cardboard box. With a quick glance, the delivery person can see that fragile goods are packed and can protect the affected parcel from impact accordingly. Therefore, when shipping glass, it is convenient to place an appropriate note clearly visible on the surface of the carton.

Buy tape that warns warehouse staff of the risk of breakage

But it is not only the post office that handles fragile goods. In warehouses, too, goods are packed in cartons. They are then transported to their destination shelf. This often involves the use of pallet trucks, pallets and forklifts. The employees usually have to work under time pressure as well. Of course, safe transport is part of the core task in the warehouse, but uneven floors or evasive manoeuvres can still cause the cartons to shake. Depending on the sensitivity of the goods, this is sometimes enough to damage or even break particularly fragile items.

If the parcel tape says Caution Glass, warehouse staff are warned of the risk of breakage of the parcel contents. Cartons with this warning label are therefore transported with particularly low vibration and are additionally protected against impacts or accidental dropping. No matter if the glass was cheap - our warning tape is guaranteed to be cheaper than buying new glass!

Protect cherished items during a move with warning tape

Moving house is another important use for warning tape. As a rule, the person moving stows away the furnishings in boxes and cartons; only he or she knows which ones contain fragile items. A removal company or private helpers then collect the boxes and load them into the transport vehicle. In the case of a private move, this is often only available for one day, so haste is required. But haulage companies, which usually carry out several removals a day, also have to work quickly. In both cases, this means that the boxes have to be packed and transported in a hurry.

So that the person moving does not have to tell every helper which box contains sensitive items, the boxes should be labelled: With appropriate labelling, it is clear that careful handling is of high importance so that the box contents arrive at their destination in one piece. Anyone who then picks up the packed furnishings can see at a glance that special care is required here. The annoying scenario of cherished items arriving damaged in the new home can thus be avoided.

Save yourself a step in the process of closing your parcels with our warning tapes

With conventional folding boxes according to FEFCO 0201, the bottom and lid flaps must be sealed with adhesive tape to ensure the stability of the packaging. Our warning tape for glass products has a sufficiently high adhesive strength to be used for this purpose. So if there are fragile goods in the box and it also needs to be sealed with adhesive tape strapping, one step can be saved by using the warning tape.

The following properties should be taken into account when purchasing caution glass parcel tape

Dimensions: The standard size is 50 mm x 66 m, because with this size the Caution Glass label on the parcel tape is exactly large enough and clearly legible. The width may vary slightly by a few millimetres up or down. Significantly thinner tapes usually make little sense, as this reduces the intended signalling effect. Furthermore, these dimensions ensure that the tape can be processed with commercially available dispensers.

Colours: The use of warning tape is intended to draw special attention to packages containing sensitive or fragile goods. Caution glass should be favourably placed and prominently printed on the tape so that the inscription is also noticed. Therefore, it is usually produced in eye-catching signal colours. Most warning tapes have a bright red colour, but there are also products in orange and white. The decision here should be made depending on the colour of the carton. Red certainly stands out best on a classic brown package. For white packaging, orange has a similarly good signalling effect. The advantage of these tapes is that they are used less frequently by senders. This could encourage the parcel deliverer to take a particularly good look at the warning tape, drawing his attention to the fragile contents of the consignment. White tapes are not suitable for very light boxes. However, due to the bright red imprint, their signalling effect is guaranteed for brown or darker packaging.

In addition to the standard wording, you will also find these inscriptions on warning tape

The purpose of warning tape for glass articles is to draw the parcel delivery person's attention to the fragility of the contents so that he or she will handle the box in question with particular care. In addition to the colour, the printing or inscription on the tape plays a decisive role. There are several variants to choose from for this feature as well.

The most common version catches the eye with a large print that takes up most of the width. In much smaller print, the words "Don't throw - don't fall" are printed below. This sums up the sender's request briefly and succinctly. Above the warning in German, there are often requests in English and French. Especially when sending abroad, attention should be paid to multilingual notices. The symbols of a wine glass and an umbrella round off this version of the tape.

For domestic shipping or when labelling moving boxes, the warning notice in German is probably sufficient. The market also offers such tapes. The inscription takes up the entire width of the tape, followed by the glass symbol.

Another print for the warning tape is "Risk of breakage! Do not throw! Protect from moisture!" These three statements are one below the other and take up half of the tape. The second half contains the same warnings in English. A drawn, detailed wine glass also indicates the contents of the consignment here.

The instructions in German, in English and in French ensure more caution during transport. So it also says: "Handle with care! Attention fragile!" The terms are written in the same size on top of each other and are completed by an adjacent glass symbol. The alternative text is "Risk of breakage! Do not throw! Attention! Très fragile! Handle with care! Breakable!" is offered.

In international shipping, the simple warning "Fragile" can be particularly meaningful. It takes up the entire width of the tape, is particularly easy to grasp with just one word and, due to the similarity of the word in many languages, can be understood almost everywhere.

Which imprint is best suited to your message depends first and foremost on who is going to read it. Multilingual messages are particularly suitable for sending abroad, while short, concise messages are much quicker to grasp. Bear in mind that parcel delivery staff usually do not have time to read the instructions on every box they are asked to deliver. The interplay of colour and print should therefore be well considered to achieve the desired effect.

The advantages and disadvantages of polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride for adhesive tapes

The film used for adhesive tapes is either made of PP (polypropylene) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Both materials have their advantages and disadvantages.

PP is a mouldable plastic that is very tear-resistant. Its production is environmentally friendly and recycling is also possible without any problems. A disadvantage is its sensitivity to extreme temperatures. Especially at very low temperatures, such as those found in cold stores, the material is attacked and loses its adhesive strength. In addition, it tears more quickly than PVC.

PVC surpasses PP in terms of mouldability. It is also more tear-resistant, even at extreme temperatures. This is why PVC tape is particularly suitable for sealing very heavy cartons. However, its production is much more environmentally harmful than that of PP tape. Recycling is only possible at great expense, while incineration produces toxic residues.

PVC therefore trumps PP in terms of tear strength and resilience, but PP is much more environmentally friendly. Both plastics have in common that they are both lightfast and resistant to ageing. If the adhesive tape says Caution Glass, this means that the signal colour does not fade even after some time, the important labelling remains clearly visible and that the backing material above the adhesive does not become porous. This plays a role in the warehouse, for example, when the tape is used to seal cartons.

What adhesives are available for PP and PVC warning tapes?

There are also several options for the adhesives of the warning tapes. PVC adhesive tapes have natural rubber as standard. It ensures particularly quiet unrolling of the film. In addition, it is the most environmentally friendly of the various adhesives and still has a high adhesive strength. While extreme temperatures do not cause it any problems, its weakness lies in its low UV resistance.

PP adhesive tapes can also use natural rubber as an adhesive. However, acrylate can also be used. This is easy to unroll, particularly suitable for long-term adhesion and, in contrast to natural rubber, UV-resistant. On the other hand, it only has a low shear strength, so if, for example, a very heavy cardboard box is pulled across the floor, the adhesive tape on it can come loose if the adhesive is acrylate.

Hotmelt adhesive is rarely found on PP adhesive tape. It adheres particularly quickly and almost indefinitely without any loss of quality, but has only a low UV resistance.

Even though many manufacturers advertise that their adhesive tapes can be removed without leaving any residue, this is unfortunately not always the case. Adhesive residues can become a problem, especially with long adhesion and UV radiation. Natural rubber is the most likely to be removed without residue, whereas hotmelt usually leaves traces.

Different film thicknesses determine tear resistance

Warning tape is available in different thicknesses. This has an influence on how tear-resistant the tape is. Adhesive tapes made of PP usually have a film thickness of 28 my, the total thickness is specified as approx. 45 my. PVC adhesive tapes are somewhat thicker overall. They usually have a film thickness of 33 my and a total thickness of 53 my.

Unwinding behaviour - volume and difficulty of unwinding are relevant for adhesive tape

The term unwinding behaviour refers to various properties that the adhesive tape exhibits during unwinding. On the one hand, it is relevant for the packaging industry whether the tape can be unrolled loudly or quietly. Anyone who is permanently exposed to a loud unwinding noise during their working hours may have to be provided with appropriate noise protection by their employer. How loud or quiet the noise is when unrolling is largely determined by the adhesive used. While natural rubber and acrylate allow a quiet unrolling, hotmelt leads to a loud unrolling noise.

In addition, the difficulty of unrolling is relevant. However, the three adhesives mentioned all fall into the category that allows easy unrolling.

Caution glass warning tape is also available in paper or sticker form

Finally, we present two alternatives to the plastic adhesive tapes described so far.

Sustainability is a topic that is also becoming increasingly relevant in the packaging industry. Every year, the mail-order business produces tons of packaging waste, which then has to be recycled or disposed of. In order to contribute to environmental protection, suitable alternatives are constantly being sought.

If the adhesive tape is to say Caution Glass, paper adhesive tape is just as suitable. In this case, the backing material is not PP or PVC, but paper. Natural rubber is used as the adhesive. Some manufacturers also use water-based inks when printing the ecological adhesive tape, making production even more sustainable.

The advantage for the recipient is obvious: while an adhesive tape made of PP or PVC must be removed without leaving any residue so that the cardboard can be disposed of as waste paper, the paper adhesive tape may remain on the packaging and be disposed of with it. This makes the tape not only more sustainable, but also more convenient for the customer. The adhesive strength, on the other hand, is comparable to that of tapes made of PP.

With folding cartons, Vorsicht Glas tape can be used directly to stably seal the package as specified. However, if cartons with self-adhesive strips are used, an additional seal with tape is unnecessary. In this case, warning stickers can be a useful alternative, as they serve the same purpose with significantly less material consumption.

Consider the many features of warning tapes before you buy

What you should take away from this text is that caution glass tape can protect mail and parcels with fragile contents through its notice function whenever people are unknowingly transporting fragile items. Parcel tape makes the fragile contents of parcels immediately obvious and usually results in much gentler handling of boxes.

Even though at first glance it is "only" adhesive tape, the various properties show that it is worth taking a closer look at the subject. Especially in the case of longer storage or special requirements such as extreme temperatures, care should be taken to ensure that the materials can cope with it. The choice of colour and imprint can also be decisive in ensuring that the parcel tape serves its purpose.

Paper tapes are a particularly ecological alternative and can help reduce packaging waste. But you don't necessarily have to buy Caution Glass tape. Stickers should also be considered if you need to label boxes that already have self-adhesive strips.