Who invented scotch tape and worked for what company

Even if users succeeded in getting the right amount of tape, it had to be cut off with scissors or torn haphazardly, a time-consuming and awkward task. As a result, tempers flared and complaints rolled in. Clearly the long-term success of this new product hinged on finding a better way to mete it out.

But what? John Borden, a 3M sales manager, took on the task. In , after eighteen months of experimenting, Borden developed an efficient dispenser with a built-in cutter blade. The dispenser allowed the tape to be unwound, cut, and applied in seconds. It even kept the end of the tape free for the next application. Although there would be changes over the years—including the introduction of the iconic snail-shaped tape dispenser in —Borden's basic design has remained a standard.

Borden's dispenser became a key element in the growing market for cellophane tape. This marks 3M's entry into the tape business.

The first tape was a two-inch-wide tan paper strip backed with a light, pressure-sensitive adhesive. More than different types of Scotch tapes had been developed to meet wartime requirements. The famous plaid design is introduced to Scotch tape packages. More than just transparent, the matte finish tape is virtually invisible on light-colored paper and can be written on with pen, pencil, or marker. The exhibit features more than simple items, including Scotch tape, that are described as "masterpieces of design deserving our admiration.

Paul, Minnesota. The text of the plaque commemorating the landmark reads:. Introduced during the Great Depression, Scotch Transparent Tape quickly filled the need of Americans to prolong the life of items they could not afford to replace. These inventions have grown to a family of more than pressure-sensitive tapes used by professionals and consumers in office, medical, electrical, construction, and many other applications.

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Scotch Transparent Tape. National Historic Chemical Landmark. Dedicated September 19, , at 3M Company in St. Back to top. How Adhesive Tape Is Made All pressure-sensitive tapes share two common, but deceptively simple, traits: They all have some sort of adhesive attached to a backing. Scotch masking tape solved the vexing problem of how to paint popular two-toned cars.

Portrait of Richard G. Although there would be changes over the years—including the introduction of the iconic snail-shaped tape dispenser in —Borden's basic design has remained a standard Borden's dispenser became a key element in the growing market for cellophane tape.

Just 18 months into the program, Drew grew dissatisfied and dropped out. Instead, he turned to the local classified ads, saw a listing for a job at 3M, and decided, on a whim, to go for it, complete with a quintessential application letter :. I realize that my services would not be worth much until a certain amount of practical experience is gained, and I would be glad to start with any salary you see fit to give I am accustomed to physical labor, if this be required, as I drove a tractor and did general farm work.

The year-old was hired, and thrown into the lower dregs of 3M: for two years, he was tasked with testing out various grains of sandpaper. An auto painter struggles with a dual-tone paint job. At the time, in the s, two-tone paint jobs on cars were all the rage. For auto workers, this was a total pain in the ass: To achieve this effect, they had to mask off parts of the car with butcher paper, newspapers, homemade glue, and heavy-duty surgical adhesive tape.

When the tape was removed, it would often take with it chips of the freshly-coated paint. A vicious cycle would ensue of taping, painting, re-taping, and re-painting. Drew had no clue how to make tape. But he realized that as a sandpaper manufacturer, 3M had access to many of the necessary components: after all, creating sandpaper required a sticky surface to which the minerals would be applied. So, in his time between selling sandpaper, the brash engineer set out to invent his new tape.

A series of experiments ensued with various ingredients -- vegetable oils, chicle, linseed, glycerin, all types of resins -- but nothing really worked.

Drew refused to give up, and pursued the tape invention in his own time. Tolerate their initiative and trust them. Since cellophane was transparent, these sellers sought an attractive way to seal the wrapping.

For a year, Drew and his team embarked on a challenging mission to produce a tape with clear, cellophane backing. In , 3M exited the magnetic tape business, selling its assets. John A Borden, another 3M engineer, invented the first tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade in Scotch Brand Magic Transparent Tape was invented in , an almost invisible tape that never discolored and could be written on.

Scotty McTape, a kilt-wearing cartoon boy, was the brand's mascot for two decades, first appearing in The familiar tartan design, a take on the well-known Wallace tartan, was introduced in In , Soviet scientists showed that triboluminescence caused by peeling a roll of an unidentified Scotch brand tape in a vacuum can produce X-rays.

In , American scientists performed an experiment that showed the rays can be strong enough to leave an X-ray image of a finger on photographic paper. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

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However, there wasn't a good way to seal the cellophane with tape because the colored backing ruined the clear look. So Drew and his team of inventors worked to create a tape that used this clear cellophane as a backing. Unfortunately, the machinery that 3M used in order to apply the adhesive to the cellophane backing tore the material, and the glue that worked for the masking tape appeared amber on the clear cellophane. The team ultimately invented new clear adhesive and modified machinery to handle the cellophane.

The new tape was called Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape, but it appeared that it might have missed its opportunity with grocers and bakers despite ringing endorsements from several test clients.

You see, DuPont had introduced into the market a cellophane that could be sealed with heat. Nonetheless, despite missing their original target market and being released during the Great Depression, the Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape thrived with various home uses. So this all brings us back to how the term "Scotch" came to be associated with 3M's Masking and Cellulose tapes.

When Drew and 3M began allowing car painters to test the new Scotch Brand Masking Tape, one painter supposedly complained about the lack of adhesive on the tape.