Embossing tape is a

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

ling medium usually of hard

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

. Embossing tape is used with embossing machines, often handheld. The company name and trademark " Dymo" is often associated with this sort of label as their

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Rudolph Hurwich first introduced it as a consumer product in 1958. Embossing tape have largely been replaced with

thermal transfer printing A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

tape used by

label printer Brother P-Touch 540 label printer A label printer is a computer printer that prints on self-adhesive label material and/or card-stock (tags). A label printer with built-in keyboard and display for stand-alone use (not connected to a separate ...

Method

The machine features multiple embossing dies arranged on two parallel wheels. Each character has one positive die and one negative die. Typically all of the negative dies are constructed on one rigid wheel, while all the positive dies are constructed on a divided flexible wheel, similar to the daisy wheel of a daisy wheel printer. The user turns the wheel to align the desired character with the tape and then presses a trigger, which forces one positive die against the tape, which deforms some of the tape into the negative die. Upon releasing the trigger, a mechanism advances the tape to the next character position. The embossed characters stand out from the tape and look white due to stretching of the plastic. Embossing tape and the embossing device itself are relatively inexpensive to buy, usually around $10 from

stationery Stationery refers to writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery usually specifies materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer p ...

stores. Because of this, embossing tape has found popularity with children and adolescents. Unlike paper labels, embossing tape is very durable, does not fade over time, rarely leaves a sticky residue, and does not break upon removal. Because of the method for embossing, the characters can only be white in color. Sometimes, the adhesive backing of the tape can weaken, especially if it is placed in liquid or dust. The tape is more rigid than most other labeling materials, and may come loose if the labeled object bends or under the force of its original curvature, if the label is not straightened after being printed.

Braille label maker

There are also portable Braille labelers, made by various manufacturers, (Dymo, Scotch, Reizen) which use the same mechanics and tapes as those with other glyphs but with a Braille wheel. The embossed shape is particularly practical for use by the blind or visually impaired. Braille labelers also allow the use of aluminum labeling tape, which is specifically designed to be used with Braille boards and can be easily attached to the surfaces to be labeled, being more resistant to wear than vinyl.

Graphic design

Because of the distinctively industrial, workaday image of embossing tape, it has been common for designers to use images of embossing tape as lettering. The practice was particularly common during the ' grunge typography' graphic design period of the 1990s and 2000s, which often used composited images produced by computer. Embossing tape lettering has been used by bands such as

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

and

The Libertines The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...

and poet

Rick Holland Rick Holland is an English poet and independent artist. He was born in Aldershot in 1978. Published work His first book 'Story the Flowers' was made at Calvert's Co-Operative Press in Bethnal Green in 2010. The work is constructed within the tra ...

; it may be intended to evoke labelling used to mark

magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...

s or radiographs.

References

External links

* {{cite web , title=dymo-self-adhesive-embossing-labels , website=www.dymo.com , url=https://www.dymo.com/labels-tapes/embossing-tapes/dymo-self-adhesive-embossing-labels/SAP_1741670.html , language=en , ref={{sfnref , dymo.com , access-date=2022-08-12 Stationery Graphic design 1958 introductions Adhesive tape