- Backing The primary component of tape upon which an adhesive is applied. Examples are cloth, paper, metal foil, film etc.
- Conformability. Ability of a tape to make total contact with a rough or uneven surface.
- Creped. Paper that has small "folds" to provide stretchability and conformability.
- Double-coated, or two-sided tape. Pressure-sensitive tape with adhesive on both sides of the carrier material.
- Gapping. Openings between layers of tape within a roll.
- Release coating. A very thin coating applied to the impervious tape backing so as to allow the tape to be unwound at a controlled level.
- Substrate The material which the PSA tape must adhere to
- Tack. The sticky feel of the tape. It is the initial adhesion without rub-down.
- Telescoping. A sideways sliding of the tape layers, one over the other, so that the roll looks like a funnel or telescope.
- Unwind. The force to remove or unwind the tape from a roll.



