Types of BOPP Tape: Clear, Brown, Printed, and Coloured

BOPP tape's colour isn't just cosmetic — each variant tends to map to a different use case.

Clear tape

The most common general-purpose option. Used wherever the carton's own branding or labelling needs to stay visible, or where a "default" professional look matters. Clear tape is typically acrylic-based and is the standard choice for retail, ecommerce, and most B2B shipping unless there's a specific reason to use something else.

Brown tape

Functionally similar to clear tape but pigmented brown — often (though not always) paired with hot-melt adhesive rather than acrylic, which is why brown tape is frequently the choice for export and monsoon-season shipping (see the Monsoon Packaging Guide). Brown tape also visually matches uncoated kraft cartons, which some businesses prefer for a natural, unbranded appearance.

Coloured tape

Available in a range of colours (yellow, red, green, blue, and others), coloured tape is mainly used for operational coding rather than sealing strength — colour-coding cartons by destination, priority, department, or product line in a warehouse. If your team needs to visually sort cartons quickly on a dock or in storage, coloured tape solves that without needing separate labels.

Printed tape

Custom-printed with a company logo, name, or warning text ("Fragile", "This Side Up"). Printed tape serves two purposes at once: it seals the carton and reinforces brand identity on every parcel that reaches a customer — increasingly common for D2C and ecommerce brands that treat the unboxing experience as part of their branding. See the Printed BOPP Tape for Branding guide for a deeper look at this.

Quick summary

Need a custom print run or a specific colour for warehouse coding? Generate a quote or talk to PackGPT for a spec recommendation.