You have to pull the tape from the roll each time. It won't stay put once you cut it. Double the effort and is not worth it. They did not think through the design. A simple disposable plastic one I have works better. Its a waste of money!
Pros: It holds the roll of tape it cuts the tape and the grip is nice. Cons: The tape doesn't stay so you can't roll and cut roll and cut. What I have been doing is pulling the tape out from the dispenser then using the blade to cut it. After doing this the end of the tape always gets pulled back into the roll while trying to cut the tape with the dispenser. It has a good grip but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Spend an extra few bucks to buy something that works better.
I "recycle" the neighborhood grocery store's discarded boxes by using them for items that I want to store in my attic. This tape dispenser comes in very handy for securely closing the boxes. I label the boxes before I store them and now I can actually find what I am looking for in the attic.