Small businesses can utilize reflective tape as a nifty marketing tactic. It helps increase visibility in unexpected ways. Let’s see how!
photo credit: Will Floyd / Flickr
Reflective tape isn’t a new phenomenon. It always existed in one shape or another. You’ll notice light refracting off of surfaces all around you. You only need to take a closer look.
Have you ever paid attention to how a cat’s eye works? It’s retro-reflective at its peak! Reflective tape was made with a similar concept in mind. Here’s how you can incorporate it into your business.
What Is Reflective Tape?
Reflective tape is a film that reflects light by utilizing glass spheres and prisms. Glass bead tapes do the same. Microscopic beads act as parabolas that return the light to its source. Similarly, prismatic tapes reflect light using mirrors.
When any tape is painted with translucent color, the reflected light changes hues. Small businesses can use this for marketing purposes. It helps increase visibility on the streets. Pedestrians will want to take a closer look.
But don’t confuse retro-reflective materials with reflective ones. People use them interchangeably. However, they’re different things. A mirror reflects light in multiple directions. A retro-reflective object returns light to its source. It’s more focused.
Do you know what makes reflective tape cool?
It has the innate ability to absorb light and alter its color. Do you understand why stop signs are painted red now? Yield signs look yellowish at night. It follows the same principle! Without reflective tape, traveling at night would be horrendous.
The way this tape contorts light is mind-boggling. It provides a diverse range of colors, forms, and intensities of light. For example, trucks use contrasting red and white reflective tape. This tape helps other drivers notice the vehicle from long distances.
How Reflective Tape Works
You can find reflective tape at many stores or purchase it online. There’s use for this throughout the day. Here’s how it works. The tape transmits light back to the source. It illuminates things that are in line with the light source.
For example, let’s say there’s a trailer parked on the street. It’s covered with reflective tape for better exposure. Now, two pedestrians are crossing. If one of them has a source of light in hand, the tape will reflect the light right back. This action makes it easier to detect the trailer.
The tape doesn’t need to face the source horizontally to reflect the light. It can reflect beams in several directions. However, if you want the light to reflect at sharp angles, it’s best to keep it flat.
You also need to keep eye alignment in mind. Reflective tape works in mysterious ways. When you approach a sign or wall taped with this, you won’t find it illuminated. It only feels that way when there’s a fair distance between the tape and the user.
photo credit: Vincent WR / Flickr
Using Reflective Tape for Businesses
There are several advantages of using reflective tape in your business, like labeling parking spots. Or you can use the tape to impose social distancing guidelines! Here are some other uses for reflective tape.
1. Create a Dedicated Outdoor Place
If you own a restaurant, you can use it to assign outdoor seating. If you want to place outdoor seating near your parking spot, it’s best to mark those areas with reflective tape. You don’t want drivers to park there accidentally.
2. Ensure Safety in Construction Sites
Reflective tape can be used as a safety measure. Construction workers place their lives at risk with low visibility. Using reflective tape offers them direction and prevents accidental collisions. They can also use it in their clothes, making it the perfect alternative for safety tape.
3. Industrial Use
Warehouses need to mark potential risk zones. There’s a plethora of dangerous equipment. Moreover, some situations may call for evacuations as well. Reflective tapes help counteract these issues by marking clear routes to escape. If you are working in inventory, having extra tape around for packaging is definitely a good idea.
4. Keep Vehicles Safe
If your business relies on trucks or trailers daily, then you need to maintain these vehicles on the road. Accidents are never planned. However, once it happens, there is a lot of downtime involved. This ruins the overall efficiency of your company.
The additional expenses associated with accidents are unthinkable. So it’s best to prevent such things from happening from the get-go. Add reflective tape to your trucks so other drivers can detect you. When they notice you from a distance, there’s less chance of collision.
5. Mark Dangerous Objects
Whether you’re in the office or home, there are always objects that require extra attention. Moreover, you could have low entrances or storage spaces that require visibility. Use reflective tape to identify these structures and spots. You’ll lower the risk of injury.
6. Highlight Unfamiliar Terrain
Reflective tape is an excellent way to identify changes in terrain. You don’t want to accidentally trip or fall due to a steep decline. A thin strip of tape on the edge can significantly improve your awareness. Make sure you place it on a straight surface. Otherwise, the adhesive won’t stick.
7. Say Goodbye to Legal Liabilities
Make reasonable efforts to ensure your equipment is safe and visible. You won’t be liable for negligence. People can’t pin their accidents on you. If you’re involved in an accident, you need to assure the investigators that you did your best to raise awareness. So always use reflective tape on your vehicles and equipment!
8. Stay Safe in Water
Water activities are fun but dangerous. Remaining safe and visible is crucial during this time, especially if you’re in a small vessel. Use marine-grade reflective tape on your paddles and rafts to stay visible. Tape important objects like life jackets too. This way, you can detect them in an emergency.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, reflective tape has a multitude of applications. With reflective tape, safety is imperative. It’s used to label low-hanging objects or construction buildings. You won’t accidentally wander into a dangerous area with these in sight. Use it wisely to help your small business flourish!