Gaffer tape
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gaffer tape (also, gaffer's tape, gaff tape, gaffa tape, gaffing tape, cloth tape) is a strong cotton cloth pressure-sensitive adhesive tape used in the motion picture, television, stage (music and theater) and audio visual production. The tape is manufactured in many colors, including fluorescent and custom colours, but the most common varieties include matte black. This matte finish keeps the tape from reflecting light so the tape blends in with the typical stage floor of a theatre.
A narrow version of gaffers tape, called spike tape, is used in many colors for stage and theatre floor layout. White gaffers tape is also used extensively by live sound engineers who place a strip along the bottom of the mixing board allowing them to label the channels used for a particular show. Gaffers tape is easily torn by hand so no cutting tools are necessary. The adhesive used is a high quality synthetic rubber which leaves little or no residue when removed. When cables are taped down on a stage or other surface, either for safety or to keep them out of view of the audience or camera, they are said to be gaffed. The best known manufacturers[1] of gaffers tape are Permacel[2],Pro Tapes[3] ,Scapa, Shurtape, TheTapeWorks[4] and Polyken.
The tape is most likely named for the gaffer, the head of the lighting department on a film crew.
