Uses
The most common use for gaffer tape is securing cables to the stage floor or other surface, either for safety or to keep them out of view of the audience or camera. Camera assistants use short strips of different colors to lay blocking markers for actors. Similarly, a narrow version of gaffer tape, called spike tape, is used in theatre productions for floor layout. It is also used whenever a quick ad-hoc fix is required, from temporarily attaching fixtures or props, to salvaging a broken piece of production equipment. In the absence of console tape or artist tape, live sound engineers may use a strip of white gaffer tape along the bottom of a mixing board, to label the channels used for a particular show; although PVC tape (AKA electrical tape) will come away more cleanly from a mixing desk.
It is also widely used by audio-visual departments in hotels and conference centers for holding down wires to podiums and stages. It can also be used as a waterproof packaging tape and some grades even meet packaging certification standards such as ASTM D5486.
Gaffer's tape is often used for the marking of indoor climbing routes.
The tape is manufactured in many colors, including fluorescent and custom colors, but the most common variety is matte black. A matte finish keeps the tape from reflecting light so the tape blends in with the typical stage floor of a theatre. Gaffer tape combines excellent strength properties with the ability to be ripped by hand, so no cutting tools are necessary. The adhesive used is a high quality synthetic rubber which leaves little or no residue when removed and typically does no harm to whatever the tape is applied to. It usually comes in 2"-wide rolls, and the cloth composition allows a consistent tear, which means it easily tears into two 1" strips, if needed.
Gaffer tape generally costs 3 to 4 times the amount of a roll of duct tape of equivalent length; this is because it is manufactured in much smaller volumes, and to different specifications that make it easy to tear and to remove cleanly.
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