ATG 50 and tape

We recently came across some message boards where they were posting about this cheaper version of the ATG 714. Just for the record, it is not made by 3M. I'm still not sure who makes it. It is called the ATG 50. There were people who were really excited about it, because the cost is less and the tape was also. So, we thought...we'd better get one and try it out. We purchased one, plus some of the tape. Next we enlisted 2 "experts" to use it and write a review for us. Here is what they have to say.

The first review is from Sue Neal, a PC Pro:

Thanks for sending me the ‘other’ ATG to try out. I have to say my first impression was good. It seemed a little smaller and less wieldy than the Scotch ATG. I was also surprised by the quality of the housing, it’s strong and smooth and actually feels pretty good in my hand. The handle and trigger were fine for me and didn’t seem any harder than the Scotch ATG. I’m afraid that’s where the good ends for me.

As I started to use it I was having a hard time tracking it’s placement position as I adhered. I compared it to my Scotch and realized the tape was riding about mid-way on the roller. That is why I couldn’t track it very well. My Scotch rides right at the LH edge and I can see easily where I’m placing tape down. I opened the casing to see if I could adjust that. It seemed like I could lift the tape, but there really wasn’t really anyway to keep it there, so it kept slipping down.

In the process of trying to lift the tape up, the tape broke. It was at this point I noticed the tape was also riding back on itself. In other words, instead of feeling onto the ‘spent’ reel, it was coming back around the tape roll. Either way, I had to re-insert it. There were no visual instructions on just how to do this (the Scotch does have those instructions embossed right into the gun and it’s amazing to me, after all these years of using it, I still double check myself…showing my age!). I assumed it was filled the same way, but wow, the whole thing ‘exploded’ on me! Literally! Parts just starting popping off! Good opportunity to check out the mechanics of it though…there is a spring that is screwed down, but I’m not entirely sure why it’s there.

Lastly, I’m not really thrilled with the quality of the actual adhesive. It seemed thinner than the scotch and definitely didn’t rub-off like the scotch. I absolutely LOVE that about Scotch. It’s just a lifesaver for me. I also noticed the tape didn’t ‘cut’ off as sharply as the Scotch. There were left-over pieces I had to kind-of fold over the end. I didn’t love that.

It’s hard to give this gun an overall rating, as I’m not sure, again, if it was loaded properly. But if I took that out of the equation I would give it a B-, as it’s definitely better than the little adhesive rollers and I suppose you could adjust to where the tape rides and the poor cut-off. I would give the Scotch an A. I’ve used this gun for years now (and you know how much I use it) and have never (isn’t that amazing!) had one problem with it.

This second review is from a friend of mine, Terri Bateman who is a mechanical engineer:

So, after using the tape gun last week, I would say that I like it, especially for the price. (The ATG 50 is around $25). It does have a couple of issues, but I feel that they are minor.

The main issue with it is that the tape seems to move around back and forth a lot on the roller, making it hard to predict exactly where the tape will be on my paper. But, because the roller is only about 3/4" wide, I know the tape will go onto my paper somewhere within that 3/4" range. Therefore, for me, the tape placement issue is not really a big one, because most of the time I'm not taping anything really narrow and so I don't have to be all that accurate. If I do tape something narrow, I usually use the Tombow tape gun, because I can put the tape EXACTLY where I want it. (plus, I don't have a narrow 3m gun anyway :-) (She has the ATG 700.)

My second issue is not with the gun, but the tape itself. I do not love this tape, so it would be interesting to use this gun with 3m's tape. This tape seems to stretch out and not break where I want it to. After I roll the tape onto my paper and then let go of the trigger, sometimes the tape stretches way out and doesn't break until it is hanging way off the edge of the paper. This is annoying, but not a deal breaker. I could live with this tape, I just like 3M's better. 3M's tape also stretches out and does not always break where I want it to, it just doesn't seem to be nearly as bad.