As an industrial distributor, you probably get a few questions about disposable gloves.
If you’re comfortable answering them, terrific! That makes you a leader of the pack and sets you up for lots of success. Gloves can be a lucrative addition to your business.
But maybe you’re new to carrying single-use gloves, or you’ve just dabbled in them. Maybe you have a new client who wants to buy gloves from you, but they have questions you just aren’t prepared to answer.
When it comes to helping someone find the right glove for the job, there are four primary variables—material, thickness, texture, and value—to match up with a customer’s need.
Some of the glove texture basics
We’ve written about some of them, and will have more on value soon. But today is about texture.
Gloves may be textured on the entire surface, the fingers, the fingertips, the inner palm and fingers, or both sides of the glove. Textured surfaces typically enhance grip for working with tools, machinery, and other potentially slippery surfaces.
AIC sells gloves with three primary types of texture: smooth, for vinyl gloves; textured (formerly called micro-roughened), most common with nitrile and latex gloves; and aggressive, in AIC’s case Raised Diamond Texture (RDT), which is offered on four of our heavy-duty nitrile gloves. Poly gloves, used primarily for foodservice, have an embossed texture.
Varieties of glove texture
Smooth: These are gloves that do not have any texture, and most are vinyl. Smooth gloves are suitable for such applications as jan/san, salon & beauty, food prep, and foodservice, where a precise grip is not essential. Some vinyl gloves, despite a smooth texture, have more tack, or stickiness, that aids grip.
Try these: For countless light-duty applications, Clear Vinyl are a great solution. At 3 mils, they offer great value and are suited for tasks requiring frequent glove changes. Alternatives include Gloveworks Clear Vinyl and Gloveworks Blue Vinyl , the latter made of high-visibility vinyl for working with food.
Textured: Used mostly for nitrile and latex gloves. In fact, 95% of nitrile gloves are textured. These gloves have a surface that appears to be lightly sanded. They are well-suited for both medical and industrial applications because they typically provide a better grip for holding tools and small objects.
In some cases, manufacturers alter the chlorination process for latex gloves to produce a higher surface tack, which also enhances grip.
Try these: At 3 mils, Black Nitrile fit the bill for lightweight tasks that require a stronger (and more comfortable) material than vinyl. For medium-duty jobs involving tools, Gloveworks Black Nitrile is one of AIC’s best-sellers and long trusted by countless end users.
Raised Diamond really delivers the grip
Aggressively textured: The most intense level of texture. The 8-mil Gloveworks Industrial Orange Nitrile Gloves, for example, have Raised Diamond Texture, which is particularly useful for gripping tools, fasteners, nuts, and bolts when the glove is slippery. This texture has channels between each raised diamond that allow liquids to pass through, enhancing the grip.
AIC gloves with aggressive texture are thicker and offer more protection. They are best for automotive, manufacturing, and other heavy-duty industrial applications.
Try these: In addition to high-visibility orange, Gloveworks with RDT come in 8-mil hi-vis green and 6-mil black and royal blue.
