Double Sided Tape Sample Policy: Eight Evaluation Questions to Send Before You Order

Technical guidesPublished 07 November 2026Updated 07 November 2026

A sample from a double sided tape supplier is only as useful as the record around it, and that record has to be asked for. Eight questions settle the sample policy items that decide whether a result can be repeated: which tier you test, which lot it came from, what you compare it against, and what counts as a failure. Send the list to every supplier on your shortlist; each item is what to ask, why it matters, and how we answer.

1. Which tier of sample will I receive?

Ask for the tier: stock roll, slit custom width, or die-cut part. Why: a roll cannot answer a question about release force or waste matrix, and a first article says nothing about winding tension, so the wrong tier wastes a test cycle. Our answer: a single roll for evaluation, packaging-class goods from 1 carton, and die-cut prototype quantities agreed per part once the drawing and cutting route are reviewed.

2. Which lot does the sample come from?

Ask for the batch or work-order reference on the parcel before the test. Why: a passing sample you cannot tie to a production record cannot be reordered, and the second batch will not match the first. Our answer: lot records reach the incoming material batch, the adhesive batch, the slitting date and the inspection record, and we write the reference on the packing note; the system behind it is on the quality page.

3. What is the comparison baseline?

Ask the supplier to test against your current material, on your substrate, not against an internal standard. Why: two grades pulled off the same release liner on a clean steel coupon will both pass and both fail on your moulding. Our answer: we accept your protocol in place of ours, and ask which surface, coating age and treatment your line actually uses before a test is scheduled.

4. Which test method, on whose surface, after what dwell?

Ask for method and substrate together. Why: a peel number with no named surface is marketing, and a number taken minutes after assembly describes a bond line that does not exist yet. Our answer: peel measured to ASTM D3330 with the substrate named, static shear at your service temperature, and damp-heat conditioning when the destination climate is humid. The double sided tape family page lists the constructions behind them.

5. What is the pass or fail criterion, and who wrote it?

Ask for the numeric limit and the signatory. Why: without a written criterion an evaluation ends in opinion, and opinion favours whoever argues best. Our answer: we propose the criterion from your joint geometry and record it against the drawing before the sample ships, so a failure is a finding, not a debate.

6. What happens when the sample fails?

Ask what changes next and how many variables move. Why: a converter who replaces a failed sample with an identical one has no investigation process. Our answer: the review goes back through layer stack, surface preparation and cutting route, and the next sample states which single variable moved and why. Re-cut and replacement terms are confirmed at enquiry with the sample charge and freight arrangement.

7. Who keeps the retained sample, and for how long?

Ask where the reference stays: your lab, our lab, or both. Why: six months later a field complaint is resolved by comparing a retained sample against the shipment lot, and whoever holds nothing holds no evidence. Our answer: retention is an item we settle at enquiry rather than a standing rule, because shelf behaviour differs by chemistry and storage differs by plant. Converted lots are held against the work order; the arrangement for a sample set is agreed when the request is reviewed.

8. Which documents travel with the sample?

Ask for the document list per ordered grade, not per catalogue. Why: compliance papers are part of the part, and a missing safety data sheet stops a shipment at a broker. Our answer: TDS, MSDS, RoHS and REACH statements and a first-article report, issued against the grade actually ordered and the drawing it was cut from. Sample and freight paperwork is confirmed at enquiry; the sample request page takes the address, the substrate and the test plan.

What a usable sample policy states in five lines

• Which tier is supplied, and the question that tier answers
• The lot or work-order reference travelling on the parcel
• The documents issued against the ordered grade, with revision dates
• Who holds the retained reference, and until when
• What happens after a failure, and which variable moves next

Charge, freight arrangement and dispatch timing appear in none of those five lines, because all three are confirmed at enquiry. A converter who prints fixed answers is publishing a sample policy that a stocked grade, a narrow custom width and a die-cut prototype cannot all fit inside.

The document list to attach to your request

• Revision-dated technical data sheet for the exact grade
• Safety data sheet in the language your customs broker needs
• RoHS and REACH statements covering the ordered material
• First-article report against your drawing, for die-cut tiers
• Lot trace record linking the sample to the incoming batch
• Written criterion and dwell, signed by whoever owns the qualification

Two decide whether your second meeting is useful: the trace record and the signed criterion. Everything else can be reissued; a test with no reference and no limit cannot be recovered after launch. Send the drawing or substrate with these eight questions through the quote request page and the answers come back in writing.

Commercial and process terms on this page are the questions a converter has to answer, not a standing offer. Order quantities, lead times, tooling charges, sample terms, freight and payment structures are confirmed at quotation against your drawing, your material and your destination, and only figures already published elsewhere on this site are stated as commitments.