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Sign Making

The R Tape Family of time proven and reliable application tapes and premasks

Sometimes it’s the little things in life that can make a big difference. Take application tape for example. If you thought all application tapes were created equal --- well, time to take a fresh look. The right application tape can actually serve as an extra pair of hands in your shop. Which means jobs get done faster, easier and without the potential of losing your valuable graphics in the process. Our Conform® application tapes lay flat to your cut vinyl graphics, so your prints stay neat, clean and more professional in appearance. You can premask all your work in advance. Store graphics on a shelf or roll them in a tube --- without dog-earring or tunneling away from the liner.

Conform, ClearChoice® and ApliTape™ all tear cleanly, without gooey adhesive stringiness. The adhesive stays with the tape, so your cut vinyl graphics remain clean and residue-free. With R Tape application tapes on the job, costly rework is virtually eliminated! Not sure which application tape to use. Just call your R Tape Distributor. Or you can e-mail us at Sales@RTape.com. And tell us about your application. We will be glad to send you a sample for your evaluation.

Why So Many Tapes?

R Tape manufactures dozens of paper and film tapes, which are designed to satisfy some specific customer applications. R Tape manufactures a wider range of application tapes than any other
tape company. The variety of tapes include different weights of paper, different film facestocks, different adhesive formulations and coating thickness.

Believe me, if we could make one application tape that would work for every conceivable application, we would. The fact is that many end users have specific applications that require tapes with specific performance properties. The R Tape Product Selector Guide lists all of the different type of tapes that we make for the graphics arts industry. Some of our most popular paper application tapes, premasks and surface protection tapes and their applications are listed below.

About Application Tape

Application tape is quite a bit more complicated than sticky paper. In the diagram below, you can see a cross section of a typical paper application tape. The various layers of the construction illustrated include the release coat, the paper facestock, the primer and the adhesive.

Two grades of paper are used in manufacturing application paper: a standard weight paper and a premium heavyweight paper. One key difference between the two types of paper is the thickness. Heavyweight papers are approximately one mil thicker than the standard grade. Standard weight application tapes are 4 mils (101 microns) thick. Heavyweight premium papers are 5 mils (127 microns). Most of what is used in the sign industry is the lighter weight paper. In the large format screen print market, the reverse is true. Most fleet graphics printers, on the other hand, prefer using the premium grade paper for a variety of reasons.
 

About Application Films
R Tape manufactures many different types of film application tapes. Four of the most popular application films are:

  1. AT-60 Clear Choice
  2. AT-42RLA® Clear Conform®
  3. 2576RLA® Clear Conform®
  4. AT-75 Clear Choice

About AT-60

AT-60 Clear Choice is an economical, ultra-clear application film which is priced as an alternative to standard grade application paper. AT-60 Clear Choice features a slightly tackier adhesive, which facilitates the transferring of problematic vinyl films. The new adhesive system is very forgiving. If adhesive touches adhesive, the Clear Choice™ film pulls apart easily, with no adhesive delamination. An exceptionally clear facestock aids precise registration of multiple color overlays. Its rigid polypropylene film minimizes stretching to prevent misalignment of graphics.

AT60 Features & Benefits

  1. Exceptional Clarity. Facilitates precise registration of graphics; Clear & clean appearance for presentation.
  2. Works Great in Wet Applications
  3. Pulls Apart Easily. No adhesive delamination if adhesive touches adhesive.
  4. Easy Unwind. Eliminates exhausting application tape struggles: “Waste no more — use to
    the core!”
  5. Rigid “No-Stretch” Facestock. Minimizes misalignment problems.
  6. Excellent Lay Flat to Resist Curling.
  7. Unique Medium Tack Adhesive System. Will not build or yellow over time.


About AT-42RLA®

AT-42-RLA® Clear Conform® was the first clear application film on the market with RLA® Release Liner Adhesion technology, which allows the tape to stick to slick silicone release liners and lay flat, even if graphics are rolled. The embossed facestock imparts micro-tunnels in the adhesive, which allows lamination of the application tape without trapping air bubbles between the tape and the graphics.

AT-42RLA®
Features & Benefits

  1. Lays Flat to Slick Release Liners. No tunneling, wrinkling or edge curling. Graphics stay cleaner, neater and more professional-looking.
  2. Textured Facestock Snaps & Tears Easily in a Straight Line. Eliminates need for a knife.
  3. Air-Egress Technology. Micro Tunnels in the adhesive eliminates bubbles.
  4. Good Clarity. Easier overlay work— even graphics with finer detail. RTA graphics are clearly visible.
  5. Factory Cut Rolls™. Clean cut edges prevent untimely tearing.
  6. Stable, Higher Tack Adhesive System. No adhesion growth to vinyl during prolonged storage.


About 2576RLA® Clear Conform

2576RLA® is a clear film is perfectly suited for protecting and transferring domed emblems. Its high tack adhesive provides excellent “quick stick” for immediate pick-up of graphics without its mark on impressionable doming resins. 2576RLA® is also an excellent choice as a general purpose application film. 2576RLA® is matte finish, clear, 3.5 mil polypropylene film coated with a high tack rubber adhesive. The abrasion-resistant facestock makes it an excellent surface-protection masking for domed graphics. Its high tack adhesive cleanly transfers all types of cast or calendered vinyl. The stable adhesive will not build in adhesion, when applied to vinyl graphics for extended periods of storage.

2576RLA®

Features & Benefits

  1. Excellent all-purpose, clear application tape for domed graphics or computer-cut vinyl emblems.
  2. Exhibits excellent lay flat to the liner to keep Ready-to-Apply graphics neat and clean during long-term storage, transport and field application!
  3. Excellent “wet application” performance!
  4. Rigid facestock will not stretch causing misalignment of multi-layer graphics!

About AT75 Clear Choice

AT75 is in the Clear Choice Family of Products. AT75 is a general purpose application film, which consists of an EZ-Tear textured plastic facestock (similar to AT42) and a tackier yet easy to handle acrylic adhesive. AT75 is a hybrid product. It combines two very different film tapes to create an application tape with very unique properties. With AT75 your get “Two Tapes In One”. By crossbreeding the EZ-Tear AT42 facestock with a tackier version of the AT60 adhesive system, AT75 incorporates the most user friendly features of out most popular application films in one product.

AT75 Features & Benefits

  1. Air-egress micro-tunnels in the AT75 adhesive allows for bubble-free lamination of the tape to vinyl graphics.
  2. The deeply embossed facestock tears easily by hand, in a straight line, for easy dispensing.
  3. Easy unwind of the film. Rigidity prevents stretching and misalignment problems.
  4. Exceptional lay flat to resist curling and tunneling.