Custom Coloured Packing Tape

Choosing Width and Adhesive

Tape width should match the box. 48 mm is the standard width for most shipping cartons and fits ordinary tape dispensers. 72 mm tape gives a stronger seal on heavy or double-wall boxes and offers more space for printed branding. Narrower widths such as 25 mm suit small mailer boxes and colour-coding labels on stock bins.

Adhesive matters as much as colour. Acrylic adhesive is clear, resists yellowing and works well across a wide range of temperatures, which suits boxes stored for months. Hot melt adhesive grabs fast and holds strongly on rough and dusty cartons, which suits busy dispatch benches. Tell us what you are sealing and where the boxes will be stored, and we will recommend the right combination.

Setting Up a Colour Code That Works

A colour code only works if everyone follows it, so keep it simple. Choose a handful of colours with clear, different meanings, and put a printed chart on the wall above every packing station. Avoid pairs that look similar under warehouse lighting, such as orange and red, unless the difference really does not matter.

Some businesses go further and print a short word on each colour, such as RETURNS or PRIORITY, so the meaning is still clear to anyone who is colour blind or new to the team. Printed tape can also carry a batch or date-code area where staff write by hand. Pair the tape colours with colour-coded labels for shelves so bays and boxes match.

Branding Parcels With Tape

If tape is your main branding on a shipping box, plan how it will look on the finished parcel. A single strip across the top seam shows the logo once or twice. An H-seal, with strips across the top and down each end, shows it on three faces. For a premium look, a printed tape in your brand colour on a plain kraft or white box gives a surprisingly polished result.

Keep the design bold and simple. Tape is narrow, often slightly wrinkled where it meets the box edge, and seen at a glance. A clear logo with a short website address works far better than detailed artwork or small text.

Tape works well alongside other low-cost branding. A logo sticker on the box face, branded tissue paper inside and printed tape on the seams give a plain carton a complete brand experience. Because each element can be ordered separately, you can start with tape alone and add the rest as your order volumes grow.

Tape for Removals, Storage and Office Moves

Coloured tape is a favourite with removal firms and anyone organising a move. Give each room its own colour, tape every box for that room in the same shade and put a strip of matching tape on the door frame at the new address. The people carrying the boxes do not need to read anything; they simply match the colours. It makes unloading faster and stops boxes for the kitchen ending up in the spare bedroom.

Office moves benefit in the same way. Each department or floor gets a colour, and IT equipment gets its own distinctive tape so it is handled with extra care and set aside for the technicians. Printed tape reading the company name can also deter boxes from wandering on a shared loading bay.

For long-term storage, choose an acrylic adhesive that stays put for months and does not dry out. Colour tells you what is inside a stack at a glance, and a write-on panel lets you add the date the box was packed, which is handy when you are deciding what to clear out later. Removals firms usually order the tape alongside large cardboard boxes for moves in the same job.

Write the Colour Key Down Before You Order the Rolls

Coloured tape is only useful if everyone reads it the same way, so start by writing the colour key: one colour per destination, department or priority, with returns in a colour used for nothing else. Keep the list short, because a six-colour system is remembered and a twelve-colour one is not. Then check the width your dispensers take, usually 48 mm, and whether the cartons are dusty or cold, since that decides the adhesive. If a colour also needs a logo, a printed sealing tape with a logo can carry both.

Send the colours, width, roll length, quantity and any artwork, and a custom quote comes back by email within one working day. Plain coloured tape has its own minimum, printed tape another, and both are stated in the quote. Printed designs get a free proof showing the repeat along the roll. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval, rolls arrive by tracked courier to UK mainland addresses, and damaged or misprinted rolls reported within 10 days are reprinted or refunded.