Scotch Tape
 |
Posted by Jim Down in Non Famous section |
|
Scotch tape was the world's first transparent cellophane adhesive tape, introduced in 1930 by a young 3M engineer named Richard Drew.
In 1921 the 3M Company located in St. Paul, Minnesota, hired a Mr. Richard Drew as a lab technician and put him to work in improving their products. Drew invented the first masking tape designed to help auto painters to make two-tone paint applications, a Roaring ‘20s craze, neat and easy. Drew was eager to have the tape sampled by its intended customers.
He brought a prototype roll to a St. Paul auto painter. The painter carefully applied the masking tape along the edge of the color already painted and was just about to spray on the second color when the tape fell off. The annoyed painter examined the 2-inch wide tape and saw that it had adhesive only along its outer edges, but not in the middle. Richard Drew was inspired to invent the world’s first masking tape in 1925, as a solution to the auto painters’ dilemma.
Drew was then asked to develop a waterproof tape to seal insulation panels for refrigerated railroad cars. Overcoming numerous production difficulties, Drew and his colleagues developed the clear, cellophane- backed tape so familiar today.
It was introduced in 1930, and although the insulation firm wasn’t interested anymore, other companies were. Used for a while by food packagers to seal cellophane packaging until a heat-sealing process superseded it, it quickly found its way into general use for things its inventor may never have anticipated.
Scotch cellophane tapes went on to become one of the most famous and widely used products in 3M history. Commercial enterprises used it for packaging. Farmers found it handy for patching cracked turkey eggs. Homeowners used it to repair toys and torn book pages. New uses continue to be discovered ? and product sales continue to grow ? up to the present day.
Sellotape, the British equivalent, arrived in 1937, and also proved itself to be the right product at the right time. During the war, it was used for sealing ammunition boxes and taping up windows to minimise potential bomb damage.
Today, 3M makes dozens of different Scotch tape, from double-coated tape to electrical duct tape; Freezer Tape to Hair Set Tape. And with the development of super-strong industrial tape over the past 20 years, sticky tape is certainly not about to come unstuck.
|
