3M Plate Mounting Tapes
- Intro
- 4 Series
- 18 Series
- 17 Series
- 15 Series
- 10 Series
- 13 Series
- 19 Series
- 12 Series
- 11 Series
- Specialty
- Tape Chart
- Tech
3M offers the broadest selection of mounting tapes for virtually any flexographic or rotary letterpress printing application. Offering mounting tapes with either vinyl (hard) or foam (compressible) carriers, 3M can provide the perfect tape for any printing application.
For solid ink coverage and crisp lines, you’ll want a high density mounting tape. For process printing, halftones, fine screens or vignettes, you need a softer tape to minimize dot gain and ensure optimum printing characteristics. When solids and dots are on the same plate, a combination tape will properly balance the result. Vinyl carriers (4 Series tapes) are hard and are only suited for line, solid and reverses. Foam carriers are available in a range of densities, getting progressively softer from Series 18, 17, 15, 10, 13, 19, 12 and 11 (3M’s softest foam carrier).
The maximum density of the vinyl carrier produces uniform coverage when halftone dot reproduction is not critical. Also, pinholing is minimized. 4 Series is ideal for solids and bold reverses. |
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| 15 Mil Tapes | |
| 447DL 10 mil x 36 yards Double Liner Grey double coated tape with a soft rubber adhesive on each side of a vinyl carrier |
413DL 15 mil x 36 yards Double Liner Black double coated tape with a firm rubber adhesive on each side of a vinyl carrier. Has lower adhesion than grey products |
| 411DL 15 mil x 36 yards Double Liner Grey double coated tape with a soft rubber adhesive on each side of a vinyl carrier |
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| 20 mil tapes | |
| 412DL 20 mil x 36 yards Double Liner Same as 411DL but 20 mil |
414DL 20 mil x 36 yards Double Liner Same as 413DL but 20 mil |
Insures quality results when the plate contains mostly solids in a combination of solid and halftone images. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1815E 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1815M 15 mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
| 1815EH 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
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| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1820EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
1820M 20 mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
3M 17 Series Provides quality results when the plate contains slightly more solids in a combination of solid and halftone images. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1715E 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1715EH 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 1715M 15 Mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
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| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1720E 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1720EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 1720M 20 mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
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Medium Firm Combination Printing Tapes with Foam Carrier
15 Series is specifically designed for higher press speeds and the foam density is between 17 Series and 15 Series. More resilent than 17 Series, 15 Series tapes bounce less on faster presses, and print cleaner fine-type reverses and richer halftones. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1515E 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1515EH 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1520E 20 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1520EH 20 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
10 Series is one of the most widely used tapes. It is in the middle of the density range and produces high quality results when solid and halftone areas are equally important. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1015 15 mil x 25 yards Standard .015” product |
1015-15 15 mil x 25 yards Both nominal and initial thickness is .015” |
| 1015E 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1015-15E 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive; both nominal and initial thickness is .015” |
| 1015EH 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
1015-15EH 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side; both nominal and initial thickness is .015” |
| 1015M 15 mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
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| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1020 20 mil x 25 yards Standard .020” product |
1020-20 20 mil x 25 yards Both nominal and initial thickness is .020” |
| 1020E 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1020-20E 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive; both nominal and initial thickness is .020” |
| 1020EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
1020-20EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side; both nominal and initial thickness is .020” |
| 1020M 20 mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
1020R 20 mil x 25 yards Adhesive formulated for use with rubber plates |
| 40 mil tapes | |
| 1040 40 mil x 50 feet Standard .040” product |
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| 60 mil tapes | |
| 1060 60 mil x 50 feet Standard .060” product |
1060E 60 mil x 50 feet Easy Mount Adhesive |
| 1060M 60 mil x 50 feet Reduced plate side adhesive |
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3M 10 Series
13 Series tapes are specifically designed for higher press speeds and the foam density is between 10 Series and 19 Series. More resilient than 10 Series, these tapes bounce less on faster presses, resulting in cleaner fine-type reverses and richer half-tones. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1315E 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1315EH 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1320E 20 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1320EH 20 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
3M 13 Series
The medium soft foam carrier improves tone reproduction where process and halftone images predominate. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1915E 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1915EH 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 1915M 15 Mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
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| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1920E 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1920EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 1920M 20 mil x 25 yards Reduced plate side adhesion |
1920S 20 mil x 25 yards Adhesive formulated for use with Urethane sleeves |
| 1920ES 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive; adhesive formulated for use with Urethane sleeves |
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3M 19 Series3M 12 Series 12 Series is specifically designed for process printing at high speeds. The foam density results in very low dot gain while reducing plate bounce. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1215E 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1215EH 15 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1220E 20 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1220EH 20 Mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
Process Printing Tapes with Foam Carrier
The low density foam carrier maximizes dot reproduction for high quality process, screen and vignette printing. |
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| 15 mil tapes | |
| 1115 15 mil x 25 yards Standard .015” product |
1115-15 15 mil x 25 yards Both nominal and initial thickness is .015” |
| 1115E 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1115EH 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 1115-15EH 15 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side; both nominal and initial thickness is .015” |
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| 20 mil tapes | |
| 1120 20 mil x 25 yards Standard .020” product |
1120-20 20 mil x 25 yards Both nominal and initial thickness is .020” |
| 1120E 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive |
1120EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side |
| 1120-20EH 20 mil x 25 yards Easy Mount Adhesive and higher adhesion level on plate side; both nominal and initial thickness is .020” |
1120K 20 mil x 25 yards Adhesive formulated for mounting photopolymer plates to fiberglass or composite sleeves only |
3M 11 SeriesSpecialty 3M Plate Mounting Products |
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| 1640 Tape 40 mil x 50 feet Build-up tape with an overall thickness of .040” |
2205 Film Mounting Tape 5 mil x 60 yards 2205 is a specialty plate mounting tape that features a .005” film carrier and a micro-channeled adhesive to eliminate air bubbles. |
Technical Notes
Carrier Density
Vinyl carriers (4 Series tapes) are hard and are only suited for line, solid and reverses. Foam carriers are available in a range of densities, get progressively softer from Series 18, 17, 15, 10, 13, 19, 12 and 11 (3M’s softest foam carrier).
E-Series Tapes with Easy Mount Adhesive
E-Series products have a unique liner with microchannels that allow air to flow throughout the adhesive, virtually eliminating air bubble problems. The plate-side adhesive maintains tight contact with the tape and plate, to dramatically reduce edge lifting. E-Series tapes grip tightly but peel off so easily you can virtually eliminate plate back treatment.
EH-Series Tapes
This line of plate mounting tapes has the same advantages as standard E-Series plus higher adhesion on the plate side. EH tapes are recommended for small repeat cylinders where edge lifting might be a problem.
R-Adhesive Plate Mounting Tapes
Plate mounting tapes identified with “R” have an adhesive specially formulated for use with rubber plates.
K-Adhesive Plate Mounting Tapes
Plate mounting tapes identified with “K” have an adhesive specially formulated for use with fiberglass or composite sleeves only.
S-Adhesive Plate Mounting Tapes
Plate mounting tapes identified with “S” have adhesive specifically for use with Urethane sleeves.
Exact Thickness
Most foam carrier mounting tapes are thicker than their nominal thickness, allowing for slight compression. For example, most .015” tapes will initially measure about .017”. 3M also offers “Exact Thickness” foam carrier products (xx15-15, xx20-20) for certain special applications.