Visual cues are important for safety and efficiency in industrial facilities. One of the most common ways to provide basic instructions is to paint lines and shapes on warehouse or factory floors—but painting has its drawbacks. Here we explain why floor marking tape is often the better option, and what you should consider when making decisions for your facility’s visual communication strategy.
What is Floor Marking Tape?
Floor marking tape is a visual communication tool used in industrial facilities, warehouses, and other worksites to mark lanes, highlight hazards, display workflow instructions, and improve worksite safety. The durable tape is backed with a pressure-sensitive adhesive that withstands everything from daily foot traffic to dragged pallets. Floor marking tape is used in place of paint in order to provide visual cues and instructions for employees and visitors.
How Long Does Floor Tape Last?
Our heavy-duty Superior Mark® Floor Tape can withstand regular foot and forklift traffic in industrial settings thanks to a unique beveled edge design and industrial-grade adhesive. Our economical, heavy duty vinyl floor tape is ideal for labeling hazards and communicating directions in industrial or commercial locations with low foot traffic. While every facility has different results, our patented floor tape outlasts other brands and has a much longer lifespan than painted lines. To get an accurate idea of how long an application will last in your facility, we provide free sample boxes filled with our most popular floor marking products. This way, you can test the durability of the application.
Floor Tape Better Versus Paint: Which is Better?
Floor tape is often a better option than paint because it applies quickly, causes limited disruption, and there’s no dry time necessary—and it lasts longer than paint, too. Here are the top three reasons floor marking tape beats painted lines in industrial facilities.
1) Endless Options for Customizing
With paint, you are limited to colored lines and minimal text or graphics, but floor marking tape offers the ability to present printed text and graphic messages to make your intent clear. A red line may not be enough to communicate that forklift traffic may be present or that there’s a hazard ahead—but, red floor marking tape with bold, contrasting letters can literally spell out the danger for employees and visitors alike. We carry a range of repeating message floor tape, and we can custom-print tape to suit your needs using a combination of text, logo, and graphics. When paired with additional signage and with adequate safety training, floor tape is one of the most important communication tools in industrial workplaces.
2) Floor Tape Installs Quickly, No Dry Time
Painting warehouse floors is a slow, taxing process that can take hours to days to complete. Floor prep and paint dry time cut into productivity, and you need to complete the whole process again when lines fade or workflows change. Alternatively, floor marking tape applies quickly and easily, with minimal downtime. Simply prepare the floors, apply the tape, and open the floor again in minutes. Limit physical strain from bending and cutting with a tape application cart.
3) Removal and Repair is Simple
Removing painted lines requires chemicals, hours of labor, and even abrasive blasting that may damage the floor or leave ghost lines behind. Our floor marking tape is designed for easy, one-piece removal with zero residue or damage left behind. When painted floor markings need repair, you must close the floor to scrape, clean, and re-paint the entire application. With floor tape, simply replace sections of tape at a time as necessary, rather than re-marking the whole work floor. This process takes less time and uses fewer materials. Replacing sections as necessary extends the life of your floor markings, as well. Keeping all supplies on a Kaizen Cart ensures you’ve got the necessary tools and tape ready to go, so you can keep your floor marking tape in top condition.
Overall, you’ll save time and money when you stop painting and use long-lasting industrial floor marking tape instead. While each facility is different, floor tape provides a wide range of benefits, making it a better choice than painting. Explore our Floor Tape How-To Guides for visual organization and tape application tips.
