Hover to zoomCustom Coloured Packing Tape for Cartons and Parcels
From £0.25 per unit Price confirmed on your written quote
Coloured tape seals a carton and tells your team what is inside at a glance. Pick the shades you need and add them to a box order or ask for a written quote on tape alone.
Quick answer
What are coloured packing tape?
Coloured packing tape is a self-adhesive film tape dyed in a solid shade, used to seal cardboard boxes. Warehouses use the colours to sort stock, mark priority orders or flag fragile goods. It goes on with a standard hand dispenser, just like clear or brown tape.
Key facts
- Solid shades, no print needed
- Fits a standard dispenser
- Colour codes stock and returns
- Seals single and double wall
- From £0.25 per unit
- Free digital proof
Coloured Packing Tape specifications
18 rows| Product | Self-adhesive coloured film tape on a cardboard core |
|---|---|
| Colours shown | Red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, purple, pink, orange, grey and brown |
| Typical widths | Often 48 mm for cartons; narrower widths for small mailers |
| Core | Commonly a 76 mm core to suit standard hand dispensers |
| Surface | Smooth glossy face that shows the colour clearly |
| Use on | Corrugated cartons, mailer boxes and folding board packs |
| Applied with | A hand dispenser, a desk dispenser or by hand |
| How it ships | Rolls packed together in a carton with your box order |
| Board options | Single wall B, C or E flute; double wall BC flute; kraft or white folding board |
| Printing | Plain, one or two colour, or full colour CMYK; inside and outside print available |
|---|---|
| Finishes | Uncoated kraft, matte or gloss lamination, spot UV, foil stamping, embossing |
| Sizes | Made to your inside length, width and height in mm, cm or inches |
| Artwork files | PDF, AI, EPS or SVG preferred; high-resolution PNG or JPG accepted |
| Design help | Free layout help from our design team |
| Proof | Free digital proof before anything is printed |
| Production | 4–6 business days after proof approval |
| Delivery | Tracked, 2–3 business days; free across the UK |
| Misprints | Reported within 10 days with photos: reprinted or refunded |
Common widths
| Tape width | Good for |
|---|---|
| 24 mm | Small mailers, sample packs and closing bags |
| 36 mm | Light postal boxes and shoe box sized cartons |
| 48 mm | Most single wall shipping cartons |
| 72 mm | Wide flaps on large or double wall cartons |
What is coloured packing tape?
It is ordinary carton sealing tape with the film dyed one solid shade. Our photos show bright red, blue, green and yellow rolls, plus black, white, purple, pink, orange, grey and brown.
Nothing is printed on it. The colour itself does the job, so a packer can spot the right carton from across the room.
Each roll is wound on a cardboard core and has a glossy face, so the shade reads clearly under warehouse lights. The colour runs right through the film rather than sitting on top as ink.
It sits in our packing supplies and inserts range beside dividers, sheets and paper shred.
Who orders coloured tape?
Most orders come from people who pack a lot of parcels and need a quick visual signal on each one.
Small sellers packing from a spare room use it too. A strip of green on every checked parcel saves a second look before the courier collects.
- Online shops that mark returns, exchanges and replacement parcels
- Warehouses that tag each day of the week with a different colour
- Removal firms and movers labelling rooms or owners on every carton
- Food and gift sellers flagging chilled, fragile or priority orders
- Brands that want the seal to match the shade on their boxes
How do teams use colour coding?
Keep the system short. Three or four colours with a clear meaning work far better than ten that nobody remembers.
Pin a small chart above the packing bench so new staff learn it on day one.
Write the meanings down and keep them the same all year. Changing what a colour means halfway through a busy season causes more confusion than having no code at all.
| Colour | A common meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Fragile, urgent or handle with care |
| Green | Checked and cleared to dispatch |
| Blue | Returns or goods coming back for repair |
| Yellow | Awaiting a check, quality hold or part order |
| Black | Plain, discreet seal for high value goods |
What width of tape do I need?
Match the width to the size of the flaps. A 48 mm roll covers the centre seam on most single wall cartons in one strip.
Wider 72 mm tape suits big flaps and heavier double wall packs. Narrow rolls look neater on small boxes and sample packs.
Measure the gap where the outer flaps meet. The tape should overlap each flap by at least 20 mm on both sides of the seam.
Not sure of the carton itself yet? Our guide to common cardboard box sizes in the UK helps you pick both together.
Does coloured tape hold as well as clear tape?
Yes, for everyday parcels it seals the same way. The dye is in the film, so the sticky side behaves like a standard carton tape.
Grip depends more on the box than the colour. Dusty, damp or very cold board stops any tape bonding properly, so pack in a dry room.
Press the tape down firmly after it goes on. Pressure is what pushes the adhesive into the fibres of the board.
For heavier loads, run a strip along the centre seam and another across each end, an H pattern. Heavy goods also need a stronger carton, such as our double wall boxes for heavy loads.
How should I tape a carton?
A neat, even seal looks better and stays shut in transit. Follow the same steps on every box.
Seal the base the same way before you fill the box. A carton taped only on top can split open when it is lifted.
- Fold the inner flaps first, then the outer flaps so they meet in the middle.
- Start the tape about 60 mm down one end panel.
- Pull the dispenser along the centre seam without stretching the tape.
- Carry on 60 mm down the far end, then cut and press flat.
- Rub the whole strip with your palm so it bonds to the board.
- Add end strips for an H seal if the box is heavy or travels far.
Should I choose coloured or printed tape?
Coloured tape is a single shade with no artwork, so there is no proof stage for the roll itself. It suits sorting jobs where the message is the colour.
Want your logo or a handling note repeated along the seal? Look at custom printed packing tape with your logo instead. Some shops use both, printed tape for customers and coloured tape for internal moves.
Coloured rolls also make sense for stock that moves between your own sites. Nobody outside the business sees it, so plain shades keep costs sensible.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
Most tape problems come from habits at the bench rather than the roll.
A short refresher for the packing team every few months keeps the colours meaning the same thing to everyone.
- Using too many colours, so the code stops meaning anything
- Stretching the tape as you pull, which makes it lift at the ends
- Taping over old labels or dust instead of clean board
- Picking a shade that hides your shipping label or barcode
- Leaving rolls in a cold van, which makes the adhesive sluggish
Can I match tape to my box colours?
Yes. Tell us the shade on your printed boxes and we will suggest the closest tape colour from the range.
Close matching matters most on boxes that customers keep, such as gift and retail packs. On plain brown shippers, a strong contrast is usually more useful.
Black tape on black boxes gives a clean finish. Bright tape on plain kraft board makes a simple carton feel more finished. See our black cardboard boxes made to size for one popular pairing.
How many rolls should I order?
Work it out from your parcel count. Each carton with a simple centre seal on top and bottom uses about four times its length in tape. An H seal uses roughly twice that.
Add a little extra for split strips and rewrapping returns. Running out halfway through a dispatch day costs more time than a spare roll costs money.
If you use several colours, order more of the shade that covers your everyday parcels and fewer of the warning colours. Most teams use far more of their standard colour than red or yellow.
How do I order coloured packing tape?
You can add tape to a box order or ask for rolls on their own. Either way we confirm everything on a written quote.
Send the colours, widths and how many rolls of each through our trade quote request form, by email to info@ordercardboardboxes.co.uk or on WhatsApp.
Once you approve the quote, we pack the rolls into a carton and send them by tracked delivery. They usually reach you in 2 to 3 business days, with free delivery to any UK address.
If a roll turns up damaged or faulty, send us photos within 10 days. We will replace it or refund it.
Coloured Packing Tape: questions
12 answersWhat colours of packing tape can I order?
Our photos show red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, purple, pink, orange, grey and brown. Ask if you need a shade to sit next to a particular box colour.
Can I mix colours in one order?
Yes. List each colour with the number of rolls you want and we quote them together.
Will coloured tape fit my existing dispenser?
Most hand dispensers take a 48 mm roll on a standard core. Tell us your dispenser width if you are unsure and we will check before quoting.
Is coloured tape strong enough for shipping?
Yes, it seals like a normal carton tape. Use an H seal on heavy boxes and pick a carton that suits the weight.
Can you print my logo on coloured tape?
Plain coloured rolls carry no print. For a logo or message, choose our printed packing tape, which goes through a free digital proof first.
Does coloured tape stick to kraft boxes?
Yes. It bonds well to clean, dry kraft and white board alike.
Which tape colour is best for fragile parcels?
Red is the shade most teams use for fragile goods. It stands out on brown cartons and on a busy loading bay.
Will the tape cover my shipping label?
It should not if you tape before labelling or keep the strip clear of the label area. Avoid dark tape across barcodes.
Can I order tape without boxes?
Yes. Ask for rolls on their own and we send a written quote for the colours and widths you need.
How long does delivery take?
Rolls go out by tracked delivery and normally arrive within 2 to 3 business days. Rolls sent anywhere in the UK carry no delivery charge.
What if a roll arrives crushed?
Send photos within 10 days of delivery. We replace the damaged rolls or refund them.
How do I store spare rolls?
Keep them flat in a dry, room temperature cupboard. Cold or damp storage makes any tape harder to apply.
Not covered here? Message the trade desk on WhatsApp or email info@ordercardboardboxes.co.uk.
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Selected: Coloured Packing Tape
Send us the full brief
Give us the size, the board and the print. A packaging specialist replies within one business day with a written price and a free digital proof.
- Free digital proof before anything is printed
- Production 4–6 business days after proof approval
- Free tracked delivery across the UK