Barrier tape

Barrier tape for worksites, events and temporary zones

Barrier tape is the fastest way to cordon off an area. A roll, two fixed points and a few seconds are enough to make clear where people should not go. That is exactly why it belongs in the basic kit of every worksite, every event organiser and every technical department.

We supply barrier tape to contractors, municipalities, technical departments, event organisers, fire and emergency services and companies, in standard versions and printed with your own wording.

What it is for, and what it is not for

Barrier tape communicates a boundary. It stops nobody physically, and in practice that distinction matters. For an area that does have to be physically screened off, such as an open trench, a pit or a dangerous machine, you need fencing, barriers or crowd control barriers. Tape marks; it does not secure.

Where it does work well: indicating a freshly painted or freshly mown area, guiding the public at an event, taking a parking space temporarily out of use, marking a zone while permanent signage is still to come, and quickly cordoning off an incident.

Versions

Red and white

The most recognisable version, and the reason to use it: everyone understands it immediately, without text and in any language.

Yellow and black

Generally used for warning and for marking obstacles or changes in level.

Printed tape

With a repeating text such as no entry or works in progress, or with your own company or municipal name. Printed tape carrying your name makes it immediately clear who manages the area, which saves questions and phone calls.

Heavier versions

Thicker tape, or tape with a reinforced core, for exposed windy locations or for longer spans.

Retroreflective tape

Visible in headlights, advisable for night works and incidents.

Material and width

The standard version is polyethylene: inexpensive, light, weather-resistant and resistant to tearing along its length. The width determines how visible the tape is from a distance; narrower tape is enough on an enclosed site, wider tape is better along a road or at a public event.

When buying, look at the roll length and the thickness. Very thin tape tears as you tension it and blows apart after one windy night, which means putting it up again the next morning and picking up the remnants. Slightly heavier tape costs more per metre, but over a site running several weeks it usually works out better.

Putting it up properly

A few points that make the difference between a cordon that stays up and one that is lying on the ground after a single night.

• Do not tension the tape too tightly. Some slack absorbs the wind; taut tape tears.
• Use enough support points. Over long spans the tape sags and gets overlooked.
• Combine it with beacons, cones or marker posts as supports, certainly where there are no posts or fences.
• Remove the tape as soon as the area is clear again. Tape left hanging when nothing is going on teaches passers-by that tape means nothing, and that undermines the next cordon.
• Clear up the remnants. Tape that blows loose ends up in verges, ditches and watercourses.

What determines the price?

Barrier tape has no fixed price per roll. The cost follows from the width and the thickness of the tape, the roll length, the version, whether standard red and white, yellow and black, printed or retroreflective, the number of colours and the print run where printing is involved, and the number of rolls. A printed version carries a set-up cost for the printing form; that is spread over the print run, which makes a larger order noticeably better value per roll.

Tell us the width, the version and the number of rolls you need, and you will get a quotation in which all of that is visible.

Ordering or asking for advice

Tell us what you are using the tape for and how long it has to stay up. We will propose a version that lasts, and we will say when you are better off with fencing or crowd control barriers.