When planning a new floor marking strategy for your facility, you will want to choose the best method for your facility: tape or paint? Although the default option for in the past has been paint, advancements in adhesive tape technology make floor marking tape a preferable alternative to floor paint in many industrial facilities.
Industrial floor paint
Floor paint has been a standard for floor marking for decades now, but it can require more resources and end up being a headache. Some disadvantages of using industrial floor paint are:
- Paint fumes require ventilation, PPE, and even possibly a facility shutdown. The organization often times will face large monetary losses and delayed workflow.
- Dry time is required for paint (usually between three and eight hours) as well as a cure time that may take more than 72 hours.
- Spills are a risk when painting the floors and can leave permanent damage.
- Unless you have the proper tools to do so, it can be difficult to achieve straight or curved lines.
- Installing floor paint usually requires additional accessories like brushes, rollers, sprayers, compressors, masking, drop cloths, etc.
- While the facility is prepped for painting and the paint is drying, work will most likely be disrupted for an extended period of time.
- When it is time to remove the paint from the floor, it usually requires an abrasive machine and/or harsh chemicals.
Industrial floor tape
Floor tape has been improved over the years, and the tapes on the market today are extremely durable in industrial environments and the installation process is relative painless. Some advantages you will find when working with floor tape are:
- Unlike paint, tape gives off no dangerous fumes; employees can work around the tape immediately and not be at risk for inhaling toxic fumes.
- Once tape is applied it is already dry! There is no dry time or cure time necessary.
- Without the possibility of a spill, the installation of floor tape is relatively mess-free.
- Installing tape can be done with no extra tools or accessories. If you are planning to install hundreds of feet of tape, you have the option to use an industrial applicator to make the process faster and smoother.
- When you’re ready to update your floor marking strategy or make some changes to the layout, floor tape can be easily removed with not much effort.
It is important to remember there are advantages and disadvantages to both floor marking options. For instance, tape allows you to install floor markings and get back to work in no time is usually the ideal choice for a project. Paint however, it easier to work with if you are marking confined spaces or tight corners. Be sure to assess the needs of your facility so you know exactly what to look for in floor markings.
Additional Resources
- Types of Floor Marking– creativesafetysupply.com
- Floor Marking Options– floor-marking-tape.com
- Floor Paint or Floor Tape?– blog.creativesafetysupply.com
- Utilizing Industrial Floor Tapes– floortape101.com
- Implementing Floor Markings in your Facility– hiplogic.com
- What are Specialized Floor Tapes?– blog.safetytac.com
- Exploring Different Types of Floor Marking– facilityfloormarking.com
- Floor Marking in Warehouses and How to Get the Best Tapes– heavydutyfloortape.com
- Types of Floor Marking Tapes for Warehouses– babelplex.com