Gaffer tape (also, gaffer's tape, gaff tape, gaffa tape, gaffing tape, cloth tape, (The) Gaff, Roll of Gaff) is a strong cotton cloth pressure-sensitive adhesive tape used in the motion picture, television, stage (music and theater) and audio visual production. The tape is manufactured in many colors, including fluorescent and custom colors, but the most common variety is matte black. This matte finish keeps the tape from reflecting light so the tape blends in with the typical stage floor of a theatre.
The tape is most likely named for the gaffer, the head of the lighting department on a film crew.
Gaffer tape is easily torn by hand so no cutting tools are necessary. The adhesive used is a high quality synthetic rubber[citation needed] which leaves little or no residue when removed, in contrast to duct tape. When cables are taped down on a stage or other surface, either for safety or to keep them out of view of the audience or camera, they are said to be gaffed or gaffered.
A narrow version of gaffer tape, called spike tape, is used in many colors for stage and theatre floor layout.
White gaffer tape is also used extensively by live sound engineers who place a strip along the bottom of the mixing board allowing them to label the channels used for a particular show.