Any scrapbooker who has watched a YouTube tutorial or been to an all day crop lately has surely come across an ATG…whether she knew it or not. Most likely, at first glance she was a little frightened and then fear settled into disbelief followed closely by scoffing and finally puddling in her little papercrafting heart as a small pool of envy.
So what is it? The ATG is none other than the Scotch brand ATG (Advanced Tape Glider) Adhesive System. In other words… it’s a giant tape runner.
You’ve seen that woman. She’s got the rolling bags she brings to every crop. She wears a broach with scissors, paper, and a trimmer charm dangling from it. You can guarantee she’s got 3 finished albums in her bag she brought along “just to share” and now she’s toting around a massive tape runner… most likely in a hand-crafted holster. It’s a little frightening. Your first thought is, “Dear God, please never let me become that.” As the crop goes on eeeeeverybody notices her giant piece. They’re all very impressed with it’s speed and accuracy. You even stopped to watch her little demonstration out of the corner of your eye. Everyone’s over there oooh-ing and aaaaah-ing while you plug away with your little glue stick.
By the end of the night you and every other scrapbooker within earshot knows all about the various ATGs and you all want one.
A quick Google search reveals nothing short of a miracle 40% off coupon is gonna get you your very own ATG. Models range in price from $30 all the way up to $100. Scrapbook.com offers the pink runner produced specifically for scrapbooking for a modest $27.99 + shipping. This is the same runner you will find at Michael’s for $45 and Hobby Lobby for $40. Not too bad considering the Google prices on these puppies… especially with a coupon! But there’s a catch. These runners only hold 1/4” tape.
Models made for 1/2” tape are the ATG700 (seen online as low as $50 and as high as $100) and the scrapbook-branded Wide Width Tape Glider ($25 – $40 online). The 700 can also dispense 1/4” tape with an adaptor that is, of course, sold separately.
Oh, and refills are $10/36 yds.
I don’t know about you but I make a lot of albums from scratch, meaning lots of chipboard, lots of cardstock, lots of adhering… basically, lots of tape. Thirty-six yards seems like a ton of tape if you’re just making cards. Albums from scratch – not so much.
Now that I’ve basically talked you out of buying an ATG altogether, let me tell you why I love my ATG so much. Really, it’s just two simple reasons.
#1 – convenience. Having my ATG means I don’t have to worry about running out of tape. I don’t need a giant stockpile of refills to ensure I don’t run out at a really bad time. It also means not having to bring along extra supplies when I crop away from home. It’s easy on the wrist and the tape performs very well in album construction.
#2 – cost effectiveness. This seems insane after I just told you how much they cost, but believe it or not, it is cheaper than buying 5,000 tiny refills a year. One 36 yd. roll of archival-safe tape is $10. Use that 40% off coupon and you’re down to $6 for 36 yards. That works out to 16 cents a yard.
The cheapest tape runner at Joanns.com will give you tape at 32 cents a yard. The Elmer’s Craft Bond 2/pk refills work out to 17 cents a yard. That’s without a coupon. I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in wasting my 40% off coupon on a $2.99 roll of adhesive. It’s only 52 ft. of tape. 
The cost only rises from there so while the comparison is really close and with a coupon you may get 52 ft. of tape for a better deal, you’re gonna need two of your coveted coupons to get to 36 yards. There’s the question of quality as far as adhesive goes, plus the problem with storing all those refill packages. Are you going to take several with you to crop and change out your refill every hour or so? There’s nothing worse than running out of tape at a crop. Yeeeeaaaah…
An ATG is a good investment in my opinion. You will be very happy with it’s performance as a tape runner. You won’t be constantly refilling it. You’ll never lose it under your all your mess, I mean, it’s giant. No searching for 15 minutes for a tape runner you just saw 2 seconds ago. (*sigh* Tell me this isn’t just me.)
So if you have tape-runner envy 
, I suggest waiting for that 40% off coupon before heading out to Michael’s.
Do you have an ATG? In retrospect, do you think it was worth it? I’ve yet to hear a disappointed user, so let me know with a comment!
Happy crafting,
