A tape dispenser is a really important and fascinating invention that has crept into our daily life. An adhesive tape is used by almost everyone as it helps to stick any two pieces of paper, cardboard, plastic, etc together. Also, it helps alot in packaging of objects.
To ship anything from one place to another, it needs to be packed. Packing makes the shipment safe and secure.
In the early 19th century, when tapes first came into existence, they were simply sold and used as a roll, which had to be peeled carefully and then cut. It became popular quickly because of its unique way of sticking two parts together. Then, to save time and to increase productivity, tape dispensers came into existence. The first tape dispenser was designed in 1932 by John Borden. This little machine would hold the tape at one end and a built in cutting machine at the other end so that it becomes quite easy to crop the tape until next use.
Today, dispensers have come a long way helping business owners and consumers alike. They have also been modified in various ways to help people with different needs, thus making them useful and time saving for everyone.
The various types of tape dispensers available today are:
- Handheld Dispensers: These are the most common tape dispensers used by everyone due to its size and effectiveness. They are quite portable and can be carried to anywhere. These are quite handy and are used in shops, in packaging companies, by consumers, etc. They are operated manually and does not any electrical supply.
- Tabletop Dispensers: These kinds of dispensers are operated with electrical supply. Lengths are pre-determined and set according to which the tapes are dispensed and cut. These removes the need to manually peel and cut each piece required. This is an automated process generally used in industries or big business where high volumes of product need to be taped or packaged. No wastage, high precision, absence of human error, time saving are some of the perks of table top dispensers.
- Automated Dispensers: As the name suggests, these kind of dispensers are fully automated and does not need any operator. Just the product or shipment needs to be placed within the machine, and the rest takes care of by itself. The machine automatically applies the tape and packages the entire shipment within seconds, thus saving a lot more time than any other and increasing productivity!
- Gummed Tape Dispensers: Other than the common pressure-sensitive tapes or PSA tapes, there exists another type of tapes know as Gummed tapes. The adhesive on it becomes these kinds moistened and comes in contact with water. Since, it requires water, a special kind of dispenser was made that not only measure and dispenses the tape but also moistens the tape as it dispenses to activate its sticky property. A heater is also present to maintain the water temperature in the dispenser.
Tape dispensers have really helped industries to increase productivity, especially shipping companies and packaging companies.
