Does your tape have a shelf life?
While tape can have a shelf life of up to 5 years, most tapes have a shelf life of 1-2 years. Each material has a different adhesive shelf life and its importance varies from project to project.
We diligently track the shelf life of our adhesives and re-evaluate our inventory regularly. Purchasing expired products can result in adhesive failure, so in this article, we will help you understand how shelf life can affect your project and plan your purchase orders around the risk of expired materials.
Your Adhesive Shelf Life
Each adhesive product has its own shelf life, which is approximately 1-2 years depending on the manufacturing date, storage conditions, and when it was opened.
One thing to clarify is that by switching adhesive materials, you can extend the shelf life. The shelf life provided by the manufacturer is the shelf life before the conversion. Adhesive converters, such as Strouse, also provide warranties on their products.
We typically provide a 12 month warranty on our parts if the material is still within its manufacturing shelf life guarantee.
Factors Affecting Adhesive Shelf Life
Storage Environment
- Temperature
- Humidity
The environment in which a roll of tape is stored often determines its usability and the shelf life of the adhesive. For example, a sealed, fully packaged roll of tape that has been on the shelf for a full year may still be in better condition than an unsealed roll that has been sitting for a month.
Different facilities have different standards for adhesive storage, so you need to make sure that the adhesive is kept in a temperature-controlled, humidity-controlled environment.
Avoiding Adhesive Shelf Life Mistakes
The more information you tell your supplier or converter, the better you can avoid making simple mistakes with adhesive shelf life. You may not realize it, but many shelf life mistakes are made during the purchasing process.
Placing an Order with an Adhesive Converter
When you order from an adhesive converter, you should know that we get the manufacturer's material lead time. We typically do not keep materials in-house that are not mentioned. Therefore, we need to order your materials after the purchase order.
Longer material lead times are often due to the manufacturer's production schedule. Manufacturers typically do not produce to order. They produce several times a year and keep inventory.
Let's say a company produces a roll of tape on January 1st. They will produce enough tape to last for several months. If you place an order for the product on March 1st, your product is already several months old.
If you are looking at a strict adhesive shelf life, the best thing you can do is to state in advance that your project requires a newer adhesive material. However, you may need to wait for the manufacturer's next production run. While we can't always help you overcome lead times, as your converter, we can still be prepared to help the entire process run more smoothly.
Risks of Bulk Buying
It may become tempting to buy materials in bulk to reduce the cost per roll. However, this idea is not always feasible without considering the shelf life.
Even if you stock up on a large amount of materials to save money, who can guarantee that they will still be useful in eighteen months? The shelf life of adhesives can make buying materials in bulk more challenging.
Once again, the shelf life depends on how you store the tape.
When you buy in bulk, you guarantee one of three things:
You know you will use the material before the shelf life expires
You know the material will expire, but you intend to use it anyway. As long as it sticks, your product will not be affected by the old material
You know the material will expire before we finish making the part, and you have accepted the loss in advance. If the MOQ prices vary greatly, you may save more by accepting the loss of future expired material and buying in bulk (assuming the shelf life is important to your product)
Let's say you are determined to buy in bulk. In this case, you can discuss with the converter whether you are willing to use older material or accept the material loss for the overall economic benefit.
