Why does Scotch Painter's tape work?

As the subject line shows, why does this painter's tape work? I've tried others but only this one worked. Why? Does anybody know? As far as I could feel when touching the tapes was that Scotch was a bit more "dry".

p.s. I'm printing with PLA

Vik Olliver recommended it first I think. I tried it and it works, but I don't know why, and I have never tried other brands as it is cheap and easy to buy.

My best guess is the surface is porous enough the let some of the molten plastic seep into the fibres and gain mechanical grip. Perhaps other types have a closer weave of fibres.

Before blue tape was discovered we used to use Balsa wood. Again the plastic seeps into the wood and then sets, locking it down. The low thermal conduction of the wood allows the plastic to stay molten longer giving it time to seep. The downside is that it does not peel cleanly and leaves a woody bottom surface.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

An alternative theory, as mentioned in another thread, is that the surface of blue tape is made from plastic that PLA has an affinity to (van der Waals forces). That could also be true. I have found PLA does not stick to cold PET tape but the tape was on a conductive surface. Perhaps the trick with masking tape is that it is non conductive, so the top surface gets hot when the PLA lands on it.

It would be an interesting experiment to put PET tape on top of a good insulator and see if PLA with then stick to it without heat.

If you have a heated bed then glass is by far the best material to build PLA on. 100% reusable and perfectly flat.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I don't have a heated bed, actually I'm using a plexiglas plate covered with the tape. This works really well. Just don't know why. But yes it might have something to do with the surface of the tape.