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I ordered a bulk quantity of components for experimentation and they were shipped in a cut tape format.
I've been removing components individually from the tape but it requires a large amount of labor, removal of tape residue from the leads, etc.
Is there a better method?
The top tape should just peel back, and should allow you to dump the components on the table. I have never heard of tape residue on the leads.
If there is such residue, you could either bathe them in an electronic cleaning solution (3M Novec comes to mind) or just cut the residue parts off, if the leads are long enough.
EDIT: I just realized you are talking about through hole components. Most of the time, I have never needed to clean them, as we cut the leads after they are soldered into the board, and you can just let the residue part be. An easy way to prep the components is when you are about to solder, apply some flux from a flux pen, and that should clean the surface so that you can solder it. 3M Novec would also work too on this as well.
For reference to others, this is what I believe that you are referring to.
For leaded components on tape, I'd just cut the component leads at the tape - you very rarely need the full lead length.
I just cut them to avoid any adhesive residue (but usually THT caps can be had in bags of 500, and similarly for TO-92 parts).
You're losing information on the capacitors by cutting them though, unless you leave the positive lead longer.
The case is marked so it's not a huge deal, but having the leads a consistent length and the positive longer to aim at the silk-screen target shaves fractions of a second off of hand stuffing.
I get a lot of transistors, and resistors that are on tape. Goof off softens the tape nicely and vinegar helps to get rid of the glue. Old stock components are harder and require overnight soaking, so I use 2 parts water to 1 part windex for that
I would heat up and soften the adhesive between the two layers of the tape. You may use a heat gun or a hair dryer. Once the tape gets warm enough, pull the upper side tape away while holding the parts. Now, the parts can fall off from the tape at once. (You may use alcohol to clean the remaining adhesive on the leads of the capacitors.)
