Where is the toilet, and where are you not allowed to go? Signs, tape, and stickers that prevent questions
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Signage is the cheapest piece of furniture you can buy, and the one people order last. What material suits which situation, where to put signs, and why stickers peel off.
At a party, you point to the restroom all evening. In a shop, ten times a day you explain that the door at the back is not a second entrance. At a market, someone stands behind your stall because there's no line on the ground. Always the same question, always the same answer — while a ten-euro sign or a three-euro roll of tape solves the problem instantly.
Marking is the cheapest piece of furnishing you can buy, and yet it's often the last thing people order. Below is what you can choose from, where to hang it, and why some stickers come off after a week.
Three types of marking: pointing, warning, blocking off
Before ordering anything, it's useful to determine what your marking needs to do. There are three types, and they require different materials:
Pointing. Someone is looking for something and needs to find it: the restroom, the cloakroom, the checkout. This category is for signs — small, permanent, at eye level.
Warning. Someone is not allowed to do something. Stickers work well here because they are on the spot itself and cannot be overlooked.
Blocking off. Someone is not allowed to enter a certain area, usually temporarily. This is the domain of tape: you stretch it, it's done, and afterwards you remove it.
The most common mistake made is solving a temporary situation with a permanent solution (sticking a sticker for something that will be normal again in three hours) or vice versa (stretching tape every morning for something that is always there).
Signs: small, and at the right height
A door sign doesn't have to be large, because people read it up close. A size of 12 by 12 centimeters is more than sufficient; larger sizes mostly draw attention as clutter. This is especially true for a toilet: you want clarity, not a signpost.
Regarding height: hang a door sign at about 150 to 160 centimeters, so just below an adult's eye level. People often hang them higher, and then no one looks at them. Hang it on the door itself and not on the wall next to it, because an open door would otherwise hide precisely the information you wanted to convey.
Tape: temporary blocking without discussion
Tape does something a sign cannot: it's a physical barrier. People don't walk under something where they would walk past a sign. For a party, a stall, a renovated corner, or a table that's not yet ready, that's exactly what you need.
Barrier Tape with Funny Text - 25 meters (€ 2.95) comes on a 25-meter roll. That seems like a lot, but keep in mind that when stretching it, you always use more than the straight distance: you need loop and knot length at both ends, and usually you hang it in two strips if you are closing off a corner. For an average space, one roll will suffice a few times.
Practical tip: cut tape with a knife or scissors instead of tearing it, otherwise you'll get frayed edges that snag. A Warehouse Knife Set 8 pieces (€ 4.95) is usually already available in a store or warehouse and works perfectly for this.
Stickers: where they stay put and where they don't
A sticker adheres to a simple rule: the smoother, cleaner, and drier the surface, the longer it will stay on. Glass, lacquered metal, and plastic are good. Rough concrete, powdery painted wood, and dusty frames are bad. And a surface that is cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon — a south-facing window, for example — will release adhesive faster than an interior wall.
For warnings, No Smoking Stickers - 50 pieces (€ 4.95) work because you have enough of them to also place one on the back door and near the trash cans, instead of just at the entrance.
If you want to hang something without drilling, adhesive hooks are a compromise between a sticker and a screw. Self-Adhesive Hooks 6x6 cm - 10 Pieces (€ 5.95) can hold a light sign or a small frame; a Stainless Steel Coat Hook Sticker Gold (€ 4.95) is intended for a coat behind a door. After applying, press an adhesive hook for at least half a minute and only hang something on it after a few hours — that's where most adhesive hooks fail.
Writing yourself: markers, tape, and a straight line
Not everything is available as a sign. For "closed today at 4 PM" or "do not take this box," you write it yourself, and you want it not to look like a temporary fix.
Three things make a difference: a decent marker, a straight line, and tape that matches the surface. A set of Markers / Pens 4 pieces (€ 4.00) and a Ruler 30 cm (€ 4.00) already produce a legible result. For hanging: Scotch Crystal Tape 3M - 2 pieces (€ 6.00) is transparent and inconspicuous, Kinzo Tape Black - 10 meters x 48 mm (€ 3.00) is visible and wide enough to make a line on the floor yourself, and Rainbow Tape 15 mm x 5 m (€ 9.95) is used when you want to point something out without it looking strict.
In the store: price is also marking
A missing price creates the same question as a missing sign — with the difference that people often don't ask but put the product back. On a busy Saturday, that's the most expensive kind of ambiguity.
If you really want to draw attention to something, the location is more important than the sign. A Metal Counter Display 50x38x80 cm (€ 49.95) places a selection at eye level next to the checkout, and that reads faster than any text.
Where to store it
Marking gets lost because it's small and used incidentally. What helps: one bin or drawer where the tape, loose signs, sticker sheets, and a marker are stored — and nothing else. Roll up tape after use instead of putting it back in a crumpled mess, because creased tape no longer stretches tightly. Store sticker sheets flat, not rolled, otherwise the edges curl up and lose their grip.
And keep a small stock of what you use most often. The moments you need marking — a busy weekend, a renovation, a party — are precisely the moments you don't want to wait for an order.
Further reading
For signs, stickers, and adhesive hooks, look in Stickers & Tapes, for tape and rolls in Tape, and for markers, rulers, and the rest of the desk drawer in Office Supplies and Office Essentials. If you're unsure which tape or adhesive is right for your surface, or if you want to know what you need for a space of a certain size, email info@verpakkingdeals.nl — we're happy to help.
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