Most tape is built to hold something together. Tamper-evident tape has a different job: telling you if something's happened that shouldn't have.
At Stikon, we spend a lot of time helping businesses choose the right adhesive for the job. This month, we're looking at a category that often goes unnoticed until it's needed: tamper-evident VOID tape.
The Problem: Trust Over Distance
Once a box or pallet leaves your premises, you lose direct sight of it. It might travel by road, sea or air, pass through third-party storage, or sit in a warehouse for weeks before it reaches its destination.
Along the way, there's no way to know for certain whether it's been opened, unless the packaging itself tells you.
For industries handling pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, fashion or beverages, that gap in visibility isn't a small thing. A broken seal that goes unnoticed can mean lost stock, safety risk or a serious dent in customer trust.
How Tamper-Evident VOID Tape Works
The concept behind VOID tape is straightforward: peel it, and a message appears that wasn't there before.
- The words “OPENED VOID” are engineered into the adhesive layer itself, not printed on the surface.
- Once revealed, it can't be disguised, painted over, or hidden by sticking the tape back down.
- It works two ways at once: as a visible deterrent to anyone considering tampering, and as instant confirmation for you that a seal is still intact.
Not every job calls for the same VOID tape, though. At Stikon, we generally point customers towards one of three types.
Residue VOID
Leaves the “OPENED VOID” message behind on the surface as well as on the tape itself. Well suited to cardboard, laminated board and paper packaging, where a permanent mark reinforces the message.
No-Residue VOID
Reveals the message without leaving any sticky residue behind. This makes it the better option for smooth or sensitive surfaces such as glass, powder-coated metal, painted wood, and vehicle or aircraft access doors.
Total Transfer
Splits the message so it appears on both the surface and the tape when peeled, and stays visible whether the tape is removed completely or pressed back down. That means tampering is obvious either way.
Where Tamper-Evident Tape Actually Gets Used
It's easy to think of security tape as just something for cardboard boxes, but it turns up in more places than most people expect:
- Pharmaceutical and chemical packaging, where a broken seal has to be caught immediately.
- Electronics and fashion shipments, where high-value stock benefits from a visible theft deterrent.
- Aircraft and vehicle access doors, secured with no-residue labels that won't mark the surface underneath.
- Pallets and cartons passing through third-party storage or long-distance transport, where nobody can watch the whole journey.
Spotlight: S-VOID Premium Security Tape
Our S-VOID Premium is built with a strong PET backing and an acrylic adhesive system, giving it solid resistance to both high and low temperatures. It sticks securely to cardboard, most plastics and pallet wrap film, which makes it a practical choice for road, sea and air cargo alike.
It's available in blue or red for a clear, visible theft deterrent, or in a plain buff finish if a more covert solution suits your application better. Either way, the “OPENED VOID” message only ever appears once, and only if the seal has actually been broken.
The Stikon Advantage
We don't just supply tamper-evident tape. We help you work out which type of VOID technology actually matches your packaging, your surface, and the way your goods move through the supply chain.
If you've got stock moving through hands you can't always see, we can help you make sure you'd know about it.
