Brown tape matches brown cardboard, and clear tape lets labels and printing show through. Pack Solution sells both as polypropylene packing tape in packs of 6 rolls, and the two share most of their widths and roll lengths, so you choose on looks and on what sits under the tape.
The colour changes how a parcel looks, whether a label stays readable and which widths you can buy. For the other tapes in the range and how much of each you need, see our packing tape guide.
In This Guide
- Quick Picks: Brown Tape, Clear Tape and a Dispenser
- Brown Tape vs Clear Tape: The Short Answer
- When Brown Tape Is the Better Choice
- When Clear Tape Is the Better Choice
- Which Looks Better on Printed and Plain Boxes?
- Wide Clear Tape for Larger Boxes
- Widths, Lengths and Low Noise Rolls in Both Colours
- Matching a Bench Dispenser to Your Tape
- Brown Tape or Clear Tape Checklist
- Wrap-Up: Brown Tape or Clear Tape
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Picks: Brown Tape, Clear Tape and a Dispenser
Brown packing tape is the pick for plain brown cartons. Clear packing tape is the pick for printed, labelled or coloured boxes. A bench top tape dispenser holds either roll on the packing bench, so you pull and cut tape with one hand.
Best for plain brown cartons
Brown Packing Tape
Buff polypropylene tape whose colour matches brown cardboard, in five sizes from 48mm x 66m to Proloc 72mm x 66m.
- Packs of 6 rolls
- 48mm x 66m and 48mm x 132m: acrylic, 42 micron
- Low noise: BigTape 48mm x 150m, Vibac 835 Buff 48mm x 66m
- Widest roll: Proloc 72mm x 66m
From £4.50 ex VAT (£5.40 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for printed and labelled boxes
Clear Packing Tape
Transparent polypropylene tape that does not hide labels, barcodes or printing, in widths from 24mm to 72mm.
- Packs of 6 rolls
- 24mm x 66m, 48mm x 66m, 48mm x 132m
- BigTape 48mm x 150m Low Noise, 43 micron
- Proloc 72mm x 66m for wide seams
From £3.50 ex VAT (£4.20 inc VAT)
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Best for a fixed packing station
Bench Top Tape Dispenser
One-handed bench dispensers in four models for 24mm, 50mm and 75mm tape, sold individually.
- B2 for 24mm tape
- BD50 and CBD50 Clamp-on for 50mm tape
- PD351 for 75mm tape
- CBD50 clamps to the bench edge
From £7.50 ex VAT (£9.00 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productKey Facts
- Brown and clear tape are both sold in packs of 6 rolls.
- Both come in 48mm x 66m, 48mm x 132m, BigTape 48mm x 150m Low Noise and Proloc 72mm x 66m.
- Clear also comes in 24mm x 66m. Brown also comes in Vibac 835 Buff 48mm x 66m.
- The standard rolls are acrylic polypropylene at 42 micron. BigTape is 43 micron with a premium acrylic adhesive.
- Clear tape does not hide box labels, barcodes or printing.
- The B2, BD50, CBD50 Clamp-on and PD351 bench top dispensers take 24mm, 50mm and 75mm tape.
Brown Tape vs Clear Tape: The Short Answer
Choose brown tape when you want the seal to disappear into a brown box, and clear tape when something under the tape must stay readable. Everything else, from film thickness to roll length, is close to identical.
| Question | Brown tape | Clear tape |
|---|---|---|
| Look on a brown box | Blends in with the cardboard for a neat finish | Transparent, so the cardboard shows through |
| Labels, barcodes and printing | Covers them if taped over | Does not hide them |
| Widths | 48mm and 72mm | 24mm, 48mm and 72mm |
| Roll lengths | 66m, 132m and 150m | 66m, 132m and 150m |
| Standard film | Acrylic polypropylene, 42 micron | Acrylic polypropylene, 42 micron |
| Low noise rolls | BigTape 48mm x 150m and Vibac 835 Buff 48mm x 66m | BigTape 48mm x 150m |
| Widest roll | Proloc 72mm x 66m | Proloc 72mm x 66m |
| Pack size | 6 rolls | 6 rolls |
Good to know: the Vibac 835 Buff roll is a buff tape, which means a light tan shade that matches brown cardboard. It is a low noise, high tack tape sold only in the brown range.
Start with your boxes. If most are plain brown, brown tape settles it, and if most carry a label or print, clear tape does. Volume and noise then decide the roll length and whether a low noise option is worth having.
When Brown Tape Is the Better Choice
Brown tape is the better choice for brown cardboard boxes, because its colour matches the carton and the seam looks tidy. It suits warehouse packing, removals and storage, and online sellers packing orders every day.
A run of brown tape across a plain carton leaves a uniform surface, with nothing shiny or see-through along the seam. It also suits boxes that carry no printing at all, since there is nothing underneath that needs to show. Sellers on eBay, Etsy and Vinted who pack plain brown mailers and postal boxes can match the tape to the carton and move on.
The range gives you five brown sizes. The 48mm x 66m roll is the everyday option for boxes of most sizes. The 48mm x 132m and BigTape 48mm x 150m rolls cut down on roll changes for high volume packing. The Vibac 835 Buff and BigTape rolls unwind more quietly, which helps in a shared packing area. Buff and BigTape differ in length as well as shade: Vibac 835 Buff is a 66m roll and BigTape is 150m. Proloc 72mm x 66m is the widest brown roll we stock, for larger and heavier cartons.
When Clear Tape Is the Better Choice
Clear tape is the better choice when the box has a label, a barcode or printed artwork you want to keep readable. The film is transparent, so it does not hide any of them.
That covers printed boxes, branded cartons and parcels where a shipping label sits close to a seam. It also covers office and home moves, where boxes are marked in pen and the marking should stay visible. Clear tape has the wider range of widths: a 24mm x 66m roll for small parcels, padded envelopes and light office jobs, then the same 48mm and 72mm rolls as brown.
For more on how clear tape is used day to day, our existing guide to clear packing tape goes through its uses.
Which Looks Better on Printed and Plain Boxes?
On plain brown boxes, brown tape looks better because it blends in. On printed, white or coloured boxes, clear tape looks better because it leaves the print visible.
- Plain brown carton with no label near the seam: brown tape.
- Plain brown carton with a label across the seam: clear tape, so the label stays readable.
- Printed or branded carton: clear tape.
- Kraft or buff carton you want to look uniform: brown or buff tape.
- A mix of box types on one bench: 48mm clear tape covers all of them.
A bench can keep one roll of each and use whichever suits the box in front of you. Because both colours share their 48mm sizes, a dispenser or tape gun that fits one fits the other.
Wide Clear Tape for Larger Boxes
The widest clear tape Pack Solution sells is Proloc 72mm x 66m, a band of tape that covers more of the seam on a large carton. A 48mm roll is the everyday width, so 72mm is a noticeable step up.
Wide clear tape is useful on bigger cartons because a single strip does more of the work across the flap join. It is also the roll to reach for when you have a large box that carries a label. Clear tape wide enough to cover the seam in one pass saves you laying a second strip. If you need more advice on where to find big rolls, see our guide on where to buy large clear tape in the UK.
Heavy Duty Clear Tape and Strong Clear Tape
Pack Solution does not label any clear roll heavy duty or strong. What the product details do give you is width and film: the Proloc roll is 72mm wide, the standard rolls are 42 micron acrylic polypropylene and BigTape is 43 micron with a premium acrylic adhesive.
If you want heavy duty clear tape for a loaded carton, start with the 72mm Proloc roll and seal the base and top with an H pattern. If you want strong clear tape for ordinary parcels, the 48mm rolls are the standard size. The brown range gives the same answer for heavy duty jobs: Proloc 72mm x 66m is the widest brown roll we stock.
Widths, Lengths and Low Noise Rolls in Both Colours
Both colours come in 66m, 132m and 150m rolls at 48mm, plus the 72mm Proloc roll at 66m. Long rolls mean fewer roll changes, which matters on a busy bench.
- 48mm x 66m: the standard roll for everyday parcels, in both colours.
- 48mm x 132m: twice the length, for sellers who pack all day.
- BigTape 48mm x 150m Low Noise: the longest roll and quieter to unwind, in both colours.
- Proloc 72mm x 66m: the widest roll, in both colours.
- 24mm x 66m: clear only.
- Vibac 835 Buff 48mm x 66m: brown only.
Prices are per pack of 6 rolls and shown ex VAT, with the price per pack falling as the quantity rises. The minimum order is one pack, and the tiers show on each product page. If you pack a lot of parcels each week, a larger order of the long rolls costs less per pack than buying one pack at a time.
Matching a Bench Dispenser to Your Tape
A bench top dispenser sits on the packing bench and takes one roll at a time, so match its model to the width of the tape you use most. The four models take 24mm, 50mm and 75mm tape.
The B2 is made for 24mm tape, which suits the narrow clear roll. The BD50 and the CBD50 Clamp-on are made for 50mm tape and suit 48mm rolls of either colour; the CBD50 fixes to the edge of the bench. The PD351 is made for 75mm tape. The details do not name a model for the 72mm Proloc roll, so check the fit before you pair them. Our tape dispensers and tape guns guide compares bench models with tape guns.
Brown Tape or Clear Tape Checklist
- Look at the box: plain brown carton, brown tape; printed or labelled box, clear tape.
- Check whether a label or barcode will sit under the tape.
- Pick the width: 48mm for everyday boxes, 24mm for small parcels, 72mm for large cartons.
- Pick the roll length by how many boxes you seal a day.
- Choose BigTape or Vibac 835 Buff if your packing area is shared and noise matters.
- Match the dispenser to the tape width before you order.
Wrap-Up: Brown Tape or Clear Tape
Use brown tape on plain brown boxes and clear tape on anything with a label or print, and keep both in stock if your orders vary. The full range is in our tapes collection, and the packing tape guide covers fragile and kraft paper tape as well.
Orders placed by 2pm Monday to Friday are dispatched the same working day, and Royal Mail Tracked 48 is free on every order with no minimum. Unused items can be returned within 30 days of delivery under our refund policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use brown tape or clear tape on cardboard boxes?
Use brown tape on plain brown boxes because it matches the cardboard and looks neat. Use clear tape on printed, white or labelled boxes because it does not hide barcodes, labels or printing. Both are sold in packs of 6 rolls, and the 48mm x 66m roll is the everyday size in each colour.
Does clear tape hide a shipping label?
No. Clear packing tape is transparent polypropylene, so it does not hide box labels, barcodes or printing. Pack Solution sells it in 24mm x 66m, 48mm x 66m, 48mm x 132m, BigTape 48mm x 150m Low Noise and Proloc 72mm x 66m, all in packs of 6 rolls.
What is wide clear tape?
Wide clear tape is transparent packing tape wider than the standard 48mm. Pack Solution's widest clear roll is Proloc 72mm x 66m, sold in a pack of 6. A wider strip covers more of the flap seam in one pass, which helps on larger cartons.
Is there heavy duty clear tape?
Pack Solution does not label any clear roll heavy duty. For large or loaded cartons, the Proloc 72mm x 66m clear roll is the widest option. The BigTape 48mm x 150m Low Noise roll is 43 micron with a premium acrylic adhesive, against 42 micron on the standard rolls.
What is the strongest clear tape for parcels?
The product details do not rank clear rolls by strength, so no roll can be called the strongest. The standard rolls are acrylic on 42 micron film, BigTape is 43 micron premium acrylic and Proloc is 72mm wide. Choose the width to suit the box and seal it with an H pattern.
Which sizes do brown and clear tape come in?
Both come in 48mm x 66m, 48mm x 132m, BigTape 48mm x 150m Low Noise and Proloc 72mm x 66m. Clear also has a 24mm x 66m roll, and brown also has Vibac 835 Buff 48mm x 66m. Every size is sold in a pack of 6 rolls.
