In the United States, "Scotch Tape", is a trademark of the 3M company. Use of the term 'Scotch' in the name has a rather pejorative origin - the inventors of the material were looking for a cheap way to manufacture an adhesive. It was developed in the 1930s by the inventor Richard Drew. At the time, 3M only made sandpaper. Scotch tape was the world's first transparent cellophane adhesive tape. Richard Drew also invented the first masking tape in 1925, a two-inch-wide tan paper tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing.

The brandname Scotch came about while Richard Drew was testing his first masking tape to determine how the amount of adhesive that would be needed. The bodyshop painter became frustrated with the sample masking tape and told him, "Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!"

Sellotape is Europe's best-known brand of transparent, cellulose-based, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. It is the leading brand of clear sticky tape in the United Kingdom. Sellotape is generally used for joining, sealing, attaching and mending. It is also referred to as cellophane tape.

The name "Sellotape" was coined in 1937 by Colin Kininmonth and George Gray. They made the product by applying rubber resin to cellophane film. The process they used was based on a French patent. The tape was originally manufactured in Acton, West London. From the 1960s to 1980s, the Sellotape company was part of Dickinson Robinson Group, a British packaging and paper conglomerate. In 2002, it was bought by Henkel Consumer Adhesives. The Sellotape brand now covers a variety of tape products.

External links

• http://www.beefykoala.co.uk/ A sculpture made entirely from sellotape. Also currently for sale.
• http://www.sellotape.com/
• How tape is made - from the Sellotape website
• http://www.3m.com/about3m/student/scotchbrand4/ The origins of cellophane tape and the Scotch brand.