Had a $200 print job get wrecked by cheap tape

Printing full color labels for a client. 500 sheets. Used the bargain brand transfer tape from the hardware store. Liner wouldn't release cleanly. Pulled up half the ink on 50 sheets before I caught it. Had to redo the whole run on my own dime. Never again. Anyone else learned this lesson the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana721mo ago

Take it with a grain of salt, but cheap transfer tape is often lower tack and can cause adhesion issues with certain inks. The liner release coating might be inconsistent on budget brands, which is what got you here. I'd suggest testing a small batch first next time, even if it slows things down a bit.

graytorres1mo ago

Wait, is the issue really about lower tack though? Ngl from my experience cheap transfer tape is usually too sticky, not the opposite. The real problem with bargain brand tape is that the adhesive is super aggressive and the liner is garbage quality. So you get this combo where the tape sticks to the printed surface way harder than the liner releases, and that's exactly what happened here with the ink pulling up. The tack being lower might be true for some brands but honestly most cheap tapes I've used are way too grabby and the liner has zero slip. It's more about the liner release coating being inconsistent like you said, but the adhesive itself is usually overkill, not weak.