Black Reflective Tape – (www.tapedealer.com)
Black reflective tape only comes in an engineer grade. It is less reflective than other engineer grade colors, however, it is still quite popular. We carry the black reflective in 1/2″, 1″, 2″, 3″, 4″, 6″, 8″ and 12″ rolls. Black reflective tape blends in to dark surfaces and is virtually invisible during the day when on a black background. This is the main reason for it’s popularity.
- We carry three different types of black reflective. Nikkalite Flexible Engineer Grade, Oralite 5700, and Oralite 5650 Rapid Air. The first picture below shows all three for comparison.
As you can see, the Nikkalite film on the left reflects in a golden color. It it also more flexible and will stretch and mold more than the other two. The 5700 film reflects more of a white color and is brighter. Finally, Oralite 5650 RA, on the right, is the brightest, and also the easiest to apply. It features an air release backing that allows an installer to apply, and then squeegee out any air bubbles via built in air channels in the adhesive. It is expensive, but it’s also the best and brightest.
Here are the Photo Metrics for our three Black reflective tapes at a .2 Observation Angle and a 5 degree Entrance Angle –
- Nikkalite ELG Flexible – 10 Candelas
- Oralite 5700 – 25 Candelas
- Oralite 5650 Rapid Air – 35 Candelas
Black reflective tape is most useful in dark areas where there is little or no competitive lighting. For example, on a black gate in a dark alley the tape would appear very bright when are car was shining its headlights down the alley. When selecting black just be sure to consider contrast. The gate below is black and in the daytime the tape blends in completely. At night, because the area is so dark, the tape lights up very well in car headlights. In brighter areas, consider our Oralite 5650 Rapid Air. It is much brighter and will be more visible.
Black reflective tape can be purchased at the following websites.
www.tapedealer.com – under engineer grade category.
Steven Cole (Economics, MBA – University of West Florida , Business & Innovation – Stanford University) 25 years of experience in the reflective safety business. Specializing in accident reduction for vehicles through increased visibility.