7 Questions About Gorilla Prints & Double Sided Tape Every Buyer Should Ask (Before You Waste Money Like I Did)

Look, I'm not the guy who got it right the first time. I'm the guy who ordered 500 gorilla prints with the wrong color profile. The guy who used gorilla double sided tape on a surface I didn't test — and watched everything fall off during a client presentation.

I've been handling custom packaging and print orders at Gorilla for about 3 years now. In that time, I've personally made (and documented) 11 significant mistakes, totaling roughly $2,500 in wasted budget. Now I maintain our team's checklist to prevent others from repeating my errors.

Here's the thing: most of those mistakes could have been avoided if I'd asked the right questions upfront. So I'm sharing them — along with the hard lessons I learned. Hopefully, you won't have to learn them the same way.

1. What exactly are "gorilla prints" — and how do they differ from standard printing?

I get asked this a lot. Mainly because people think "gorilla" implies something rugged or heavy-duty. That's actually close to the truth. When we talk about gorilla prints at our facility, we're referring to custom printing that emphasizes durability and high-adhesion applications — often paired with our tape and label products.

But here's the nuance (and I learned this the hard way): gorilla prints aren't a separate category — they're our branded approach to custom print jobs. It means we use materials designed to work with our adhesives. If you order a gorilla print label, it's built to bond with gorilla tape. If you order a gorilla print poster, it's printed on stock that holds up better when mounted with our double-sided tape.

Trust me on this one: don't assume "gorilla prints" automatically means waterproof or tear-proof. Always confirm the material specs with your rep. I once assumed a "heavy-duty" print option meant outdoor-rated. It wasn't. That was a $320 mistake (this was back in 2022).

2. Is gorilla double sided tape actually strong enough for mounting things like tissue paper flowers?

This is a surprisingly common question, and I'll tell you why. Someone is probably reading this because they searched "how to make flowers out of tissue paper" and now they're wondering what tape to use for mounting. Real talk: gorilla double sided tape is overkill for tissue paper — and that can actually cause problems.

I once helped a client mount a large installation made of tissue paper flowers for a retail window display. They had searched "how to make flowers out of tissue paper", built these gorgeous blooms, and then used our heavy-duty double-sided tape to stick them to the glass. The tape was so strong that when they tried to remove the flowers later, the tissue paper ripped. All of it. $200 worth of handcrafted flowers, ruined.

Our gorilla double sided tape is rated for permanent bonding on most surfaces. It's fantastic for mounting signs, posters, and lightweight plastic. But for delicate materials like tissue paper, you want something with lower initial tack — like our removable mounting squares. Match the tape to the material, not the brand.

(This was accurate as of Q4 2024. Material formulations change over time, so verify current product specs on our site before ordering.)

3. What's the minimum order for custom gorilla prints — and will you treat my small order seriously?

I can answer the second part first: yes, we will. When I was starting out, the vendors who treated my $200 orders seriously are the ones I still use for $20,000 orders. That's not just a nice sentiment — it's how B2B relationships actually work.

Small doesn't mean unimportant. It means potential. (Okay, stepping off my soapbox now.)

As for minimums: it depends on the product. For standard custom gorilla prints (like labels or stickers), we can often accommodate runs as low as 50-100 units. For custom boxes or large-format posters, the minimum might be higher because of setup costs. Always ask. I once assumed a supplier had a 500-unit minimum, didn't ask, and went with a pricier option. Turns out they could do 100. That lesson cost me about $150 in unnecessary markup.

Here's what you need to know: small orders typically cost more per unit, but they're not treated as second-class. The same quality checks apply. The same customer support. If you're testing a new design or launching an MVP, that's totally fine. Just be transparent about your timeline and expectations.

4. How do gorilla prints compare to other custom printing services in terms of color accuracy?

Between you and me, color accuracy is where most of my early mistakes happened. I once ordered a batch of 500 gorilla print labels with a bright green background. Looked perfect on my screen. What arrived was closer to olive. Every single label, trash. $890 in redo costs plus a 1-week delay.

Why did this happen? I assumed my monitor was calibrated. It wasn't. I learned never to assume the proof on your screen represents the final product. Always request a physical proof — especially if color consistency matters for your brand.

Per industry standards (and our own quality guidelines), we use a CMYK color profile. If you're designing in RGB (which most screens use), there will be a shift. This isn't unique to gorilla prints — it's how most commercial printing works. The difference is: we'll tell you upfront if you send an RGB file, and we'll offer to convert it. Some printers won't. That's a red flag.

5. Can gorilla double sided tape damage walls or surfaces on removal?

Short answer: yes, it can, but context matters. I can only speak to our permanent bonding double-sided tape (not the removable version). If you apply it to painted drywall and leave it for a week, removal will likely peel the paint. We've documented this internally — it's not a defect, it's physics.

But here's what surprised me: the surface matters way more than the tape. On glass, metal, or smooth plastic, our double-sided tape holds incredibly well and comes off clean with some heat and patience. On porous surfaces like wood or drywall? You're risking damage. I learned this when mounting posters to a painted wall for an event (ugh). The event space charged us a $75 cleaning fee for paint repair.

If you need temporary mounting, don't use our heavy-duty tape. Use the removable version or mounting putty. If you need permanent bonding (like signage that shouldn't move for years), our double-sided tape is a solid choice — just don't expect to remove it cleanly from painted surfaces.

Per FTC guidelines (ftc.gov), claims about adhesive performance should be substantiated. I'm not claiming our tape works 100% for every surface — that would be misleading. Test on an inconspicuous area first.

6. What's the deal with gorilla playset coupons and discount codes — do they work on custom prints?

I get this one a lot, mainly because people see coupons for gorilla playsets (a different company) and assume they apply to our custom printing. Let me clear this up: gorilla playset coupons do not apply to gorilla prints or packaging orders. Different brands, different products. I've had multiple customers try to use them and get disappointed.

As for our own discounts: we occasionally run promotions on standard products (like stock labels or tape bundles). For custom gorilla prints, pricing is quote-based because every job has different specs. That said, if you're a returning customer or placing a larger order, ask about volume pricing. It never hurts to ask. I've seen customers save 10-15% just by asking politely — which, honestly, is wild.

One more thing: be careful with coupon codes from third-party sites. Some are expired or apply to different products entirely. Always verify the terms before finalizing your order.

7. How should I design my gorilla print files to avoid common mistakes?

Okay, this is where I get specific because I've made every single mistake on this list.

Here's my personal pre-check checklist (developed after the third rejection in Q1 2024):

• Use CMYK color mode. RGB files will shift. Period. Convert before uploading.
• Include a 3mm bleed. If your design has background colors that go edge to edge, extend them 3mm beyond the cut line. I once skipped this because my file looked fine. The white edges on 200 printed labels were not fine. $180 mistake.
• Embed all fonts. Don't assume we have the same typefaces. Convert text to outlines or embed the fonts. Otherwise, your elegant headline might render as Arial. (This happened to a colleague, not me — but I learned from their pain.)
• Set resolution to 300 DPI. Lower res might look okay on screen but will be pixelated in print. We've caught 47 potential errors using this checklist in the past 18 months.
• Verify the dimensions match the product. If you're designing for a 4" x 6" box, don't send a 3" x 5" file and expect us to scale. Scaling changes proportions and can crop important elements.

This worked for us, but our situation was a mid-size B2B operation with predictable ordering patterns. If you're a seasonal business with demand spikes or someone just learning "how to make flowers out of tissue paper" and design files are a new world — the calculus might be different. When in doubt, contact our support team before uploading.

According to USPS specifications (usps.com), as of January 2025, standard envelope dimensions for First-Class Mail are maximum 6.125" x 11.5". Just mentioning that because I once designed a flyer that was too big for standard mailing. $0.73 per piece extra because it was classified as a large envelope. Verify your dimensions against USPS guidelines if you're planning to mail your printed materials.