Michael Love, category manager for tear tape at Payne, said: 'Tear tape can be applied to a range of products that use plastic or paper bags as primary packaging, including confectionery, rice, pasta and pet food.

    'Its particular value lies in its multi-functionality, enabling pack easy opening along with the ability to communicate with the consumer at the point of use,' he added.

    Payne said that its printing expertise facilitates the creation of message tapes for brand reinforcement or promotional purposes - a cost effective, flexible alternative to printing directly on the bag or sack.

    The latest product is Payne's Supastrip VDP variable data tear tape, which enables the printing of unique codes on the tear tape's reverse for use in brand promotions.

    The company believes that this presents a significant advantage for bagged applications, as the code remains hidden until the pack is opened and then places the promotion directly into the consumers' hands as a natural consequence of opening the pack.

    For bagged confectionery, tear tape can be applied to the vertical edge making it a suitable carrier for brand or product promotions.

    This also enables it to provide easy opening for the increasingly popular share pack, which is printed in landscape format to encourage opening along the length of the bag providing a helpful and appealing aid to the consumer.

    Tear tape can also be used to replace string used to tie and open the paper sacks used for dry pet food or cat litter products.

    In addition to being stronger, safer and tidier than string methods, tear tape provides an opportunity to promote, for example, new brands or product extensions, without the need to print directly onto the sack.

    For rice and pasta bags, tear tape can be used to ensure that the bags open cleanly in order to form a spout for ease of pouring.

    Payne also believes that there is potential to combine that with a resealable facility, tape or tape-based to keep product contents fresh once opened.

    Industrial packaging for flour or other powders in paper sacks can benefit from the application of tear tape to the base of the sack.

    This enables users to suspend the sack vertically and use the tape to open the base cleanly, quickly and without knives, allowing the contents to be emptied as required.

    Payne is now looking to promote these developments into other bagged sectors.