In this video, we provide a couple of tips on fast ways to tape down your cable when you’re forced to run cable across doorways or away from walls.
Once your event is completely setup, it’s common to have paths of cable running between the audio, lighting and video consoles and the equipment at the stage or around the room.
This cable will often run across doorways and other high-traffic areas and can be a safety issue at events.
To solve this issue, event technicians use gaff tape to hold the cable down safely in a way that guests can walk over the cable. Gaff tape is the industry standard tape for securing objects on set, onstage, and around the room at events.
In this article we just want to give you some tips and best practices for how to safely use gaff tape to safely secure cable at your events.
What is Gaffer (Gaff) Tape?
Gaff tape is a type of tape that is designed with the durability of tough cotton cloth and the adhesive properties of duct tape. That being said, gaff tape doesn’t leave behind as much residue (or any).
A “gaffer” is the head electrician on a film set, and once the tape became popular with these crew members, the nickname turned into the common name.
Gaff Tape Sizes & Colour
Gaff tape comes in a variety of widths. All the way from 1/2″ up to 4″ wide.
It’s also available in almost any colour that you can imagine.
- Black
- White
- Brown
- Purple
- Blue
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Fluorescent (Green, yellow, orange, yellow, etc.)
- etc.
Most commonly, we recommend using 3″ wide black gaff tape for keeping cable runs safe. We have not had great success using 2″ wide tape to safely secure cable.
What is Gaff Tape Used For?
Most commonly, gaff tape is used to secure cable so people don’t trip when they walk over it. When you tape cables down at an event, in a music venue or film location, they are “gaffed”.
There are plenty of other applications for gaff tape as well. The next most common application is to mark locations on floors or stages with fluorescent versions of the tape.
How To Gaff Tape Cable
Follow these steps to safely apply gaff tape at your upcoming event.
Total Time: 5 minutes
Lay the cable down.
In a straight line while you’re setting up.
Gather the cable together and lay it as flat as possible
Place a small piece of tape on one end of your cable run
Pull the cable tight
Place a small piece of tape on the opposite end of step 3
Run a full length of tape along the length of your cable.
Walk over the cable or apply pressure to ensure that the tape has stuck to the desired surface.
Gaff Tape Pricing
- To buy gaff tape, visit: https://currentprice.io/3in_gaff
