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Come up with the design of a sticky tape that would let you always easily find its edge and easily detach it

Image credit: https://alitools.io/en/showcase/sink-kitchen-waterproof-transparent-tape-nano-mildew-strong-self-adhesive-pool-water-seal-bathroom-gap-strip-silicone-stickers-4000619718099

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Povilas S
Povilas S Jul 25, 2022
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If you need to tape something, and especially if you need to do this a lot, searching for the edge of a sticky tape each time you need to cut a new piece might become very annoying. The problem is especially relevant for transparent tapes. It's a very common and simple problem, but the one that doesn't seem to have any truly convenient solutions. There's an article about it on wikiHow.
Using a tape dispenser seems to be the most practical solution, but a tape dispenser is an additional thing to handle, which is rather bulky and takes space, many people feel more comfortable not using it.
Could we come up with the design of the sticky tape that would solve this problem once and for all?
Ideally, there would also be a design element to let one detach the edge of the tape easily, without scratching with your nail. It would be a roll of tape that has the built-in functions of the tape dispenser.
sticky tapeartifact design
5
Creative contributions

Color marker that is activated by the breaking of the tape

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Povilas S
Povilas S Jul 25, 2022
This might be an expensive solution, but the tape could be infused with pigments that get activated when the tape is cut or pulled off, in other words, they'd get activated by mechanical damage. The pigments would then mark the edge of the tape with a specific color and you'd find the edge easily each time.
However, you'd then have colored ends of the piece of tape you stick to the surface and in some cases, this would be a problem because of aesthetic reasons.
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Povilas S
Povilas S3 years ago
Color markers on the detached piece of tape could then be erased by thermal activation (rubbing the colored edges, blowing warm air from your mouth, etc.) as suggested by Florin Buda here.
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The provided cutter is coated with something that makes the tape not sticky around where it was cut

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Darko Savic
Darko Savic Jul 25, 2022
The provided cutter could be coated with something that makes the tape not sticky where it touched the cutter.
Alternatively, the tape cutter could use heat to melt the cut, thereby the edge could easily be felt. A millimeter of it would be melted

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Povilas S
Povilas S3 years ago
Good suggestions. I think with the additional cutter (dispenser as shown in the picture you attached) the idea is that the tape stays on the edge of the blade (or you can stick it to the surrounding parts and secure it that way). But the best would be if you could have only the tape roll which would be designed to let you always easily find the edge and (preferably) easily detach it, that way you wouldn't need additional tools (cutter, dispenser).
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An elastic strap/thread to wrap the cut end of the tape around

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Oguntola Tobi
Oguntola Tobi Jul 27, 2022
A suitable solution for this will be to have straps to mark where you last cut the tape. These straps will wrap around the tape through the middle. When you unroll the tape and cut it, you will move the strap to the new position and layer the tape over it. That way, the next time you want to use the tape, you can easily tell where you cut it last.
The strap can be a thread or an elastic band so that you can adjust it to the tape's new size everytime you cut a part of it. Besides, these materials are easy to make and, as a result, can be mass produced. They are also inexpensive, which means they won't add much by way of cost to the production of these tapes.
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Michaela D
Michaela D2 years ago
I think he meant something like this. An elastic band all around the tape (pink in the picture). When you cut the tape you put the edge over the elastic band, so it remains lifted and easy to find both by seeing it and feeling it. The band can either be removable by a clicking mechanism or it just comes attached to the tape and stays there. In that case, it should not be too tight and interfere with the tape unfolding. Oguntola Tobi that's a pretty cool idea! It's also easy to DIY, by wrapping an elastic band and tying it around the tape.
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Povilas S
Povilas S2 years ago
Michaela D Yes, I understand it thus far, but when you start thinking about the details, it wouldn't be very convenient unless developed into something more complex like I mentioned in the previous comment. A few reasons why:
  • The tape would stick to the band and might not be easy to detach or pull the band with it once detached. The tape would also get less sticky due to this once detached. Therefore the band has to be made from a specialized, non-sticky material.
  • You'd have to remove the band manually each time and wrap it around in another place, this is inconvenient when working extensively with the tape (you hold the detached, sticky edge of the tape with one hand, then try to wrap/unwrap the band with another, etc.).
  • If the thread is attached to the edge of the tape (like by clicking the mechanism you propose) that mechanism will prevent the tape from unfolding at some point, so the best would be to attach it to the base ring the tape is layered over (the paperboard). Also, if you attach it, then it has to be able to slide around, otherwise, it's stuck in that particular place and it would be messy to work with.
Does that make sense?:)
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Povilas S
Povilas S3 years ago
I think I get the idea, but as often happens with technical descriptions, I'm not sure if I understood correctly what you had in mind, it would be best if you could draw a sketch of it and post it here. Do you layer the tape over the thread or do you layer the thread over the tape (around the edge where it was cut) ?
The thread would have to be integrated into the tape roll to make this convenient. I imagine it would have to be attached to the side of the inner ring (the base on which the tape is layered) of the tape roll. And it would have to somehow slide around it to let you layer it over the tape wherever it is cut. It would also have to be folded and somehow hidden inside the base ring when not used.
I imagine something similar to dental floss, just elastic, it is rolled up inside the base ring of the tape roll. You pull the elastic thread through a tiny hole in the side of the ring. The base ring would be thicker to contain the thread inside. The side of it would also rotate similarly to a bearing and the hole through which you pull the thread could therefore be moved next to the edge of the tape and the thread placed over it. When you want to use the tape again, you release the thread and it gets pulled back into the base ring automatically. Is that more or less what you had in mind?
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With a clasp mechanism that opens and closes

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Michaela D
Michaela D Nov 09, 2022
The idea is further described here

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A pattern like 23456789123456789

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Florin Buda
Florin Buda Jul 26, 2022
I'm imagining it that the solution should be something like the superglue that is hardening using the humidity from the air. Or like postal stamps that need your saliva. So we can make the glue from tape to be sensitive at the exposure of one of the folowing: humidity, oxigen/CO2/N2, or even...fat from the fingers (fingerprints). In the same style like the chemical pencils. BUT in this case the problem would be how you remove the marks when you use the band? Perhaps the dye must become clear when is exposed to direct sunlight? Or heat, like those friction pencils?
Also, more simple: add a thin line of thermo ink on the tape that will become red if you're holding it in your hand or blow hot(-ish) air from your mouth. The ink is in a pattern that will be visible when interrupted.
I'm going to push it further: are you from that generation that played with liquid crystal screens? They are very cheap and very sensitive to electrostatic electricity. So you could embed it in the transparent band in some pattern (a curved line) and when you're searching for the end just scratch it to your hair and the pattern will become visible (the transparent line turns black) and just follow the line.
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Povilas S
Povilas S3 years ago
Your suggestions described in the first two paragraphs are similar to what I've suggested here. And you have a good idea of how to solve the aesthetic issue of having the color markers left at the edges of the piece of tape you detach from the roll and stick somewhere - rubbing the edges or blowing warm, humid air from your mouth could make the color markers disappear. They could get activated by mechanical damage of cutting or tearing the tape off and get erased by thermal activation.
Regarding the pattern from LCD screens - you could simply paint the pattern on the tape, again - an aesthetic problem when sticking the tape somewhere, but I think embedding a tiny line of LCD materials in the tape might be a too sophisticated and too expensive approach to be used for such a simple tool as sticky tape. Also, I'm not sure if the pattern approach is that effective, I mean you might not notice the breaking of the pattern if the same pattern continues after the break, the gap is very tiny.
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General comments

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Subash Chapagain
Subash Chapagain3 years ago
This is a genuine problem. As I work in biosafety level 2 and 3 labs, I am usually required to tape my sleeves around my wrists (over the latex gloves). I always frustrate myself trying to find the edges of the tape. We usually fold the edges, but it wastes the tape. This needs a solution.
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Shireesh Apte
Shireesh Apte3 years ago
If a tape dispenser is not needed, plug the hole in the tape roll with a suitably sized plastic bottle cap. This cap will have a thread attached to it. Once the tape is dispensed, place the thread across the tape, then tape some over the thread. Ideally, the tape should not stick to the thread.
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Povilas S
Povilas S3 years ago
Shireesh Apte It's hard for me to imagine what you mean without visual demonstration. Could you paint an approximate sketch? Also, the challenge is more about the design for the tape that could be mass-produced, not a DIY solution.
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