This month’s cover image shows a different side of tape. Washington, D.C.-based artist Mark Jenkins makes sculptures using packaging tape as his medium. He has been tape casting since he was a child, when he would make casts of his pencils in class.
“It was a neat trick I’d figured out that my teacher didn’t appreciate,” Jenkins says. “She encouraged me instead to explore my creativity with crayons and pencils.”
For more on Jenkins and his tape creations, including photos, see “Tape Artist.”
We’re also covering the more traditional side of tapes and labels in this issue. “On the Rise” features a study on the world market for pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes. Tape sales are expected to rise 5.3% annually to $26.5 billion, as raw-material costs stabilize following the 2004-2006 runup. Opportunities span a number of tape-using industries, ranging from corrugated packaging and nonresidential construction to motor vehicle and electronics manufacturing.
“Why Most Applications Don’t Work - and What to Do About It” explains how to get the most out of your labeling and film adhesive application equipment.
“3M’s Richard Drew Inducted into International Inventors Hall of Fame” is an article dedicated to Richard Drew, 3M’s legendary inventor of masking and clear cellophane tapes, who was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Welcome!
I’d like to welcome three new members to our Editorial Advisory Board. Frank Burkus is Business Development manager – New Materials at Nordson Corp.’s Adhesive Systems Group. Frank has been with Nordson for 13 years and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. He also holds 11 U.S. patents and is a published author in numerous international scientific and trade journals.Marc Jackson is segment manager, Dimers and Terpenes, at Arizona Chemical. He is responsible for profit and loss of Arizona Chemicals’ dimer acid and terpene product streams. Marc has been with the company since 1996.
John A. (Lex) Reynolds attended Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC. He worked at Tanco Adhesives in Greenville from 1977-1978 and is now one of the principals at The Reynolds Co., which was founded in 1978. He currently serves as president of The Reynolds Co., a subsidiary of Itochu International Inc.
