The benefits of pallet wraps - NPP.ie

The benefits of pallet wraps

Pallet wraps are an effective way to prepare large shipments of multiple containers for storage and transport. They are stretchable plastics that bind items tightly together, preventing them from moving around while in transit. Pallet wraps can reduce the loss of products, prevent load tampering and theft and protect from dust.

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The advantages of pallet wrap

Here are the primary reasons why pallet wrap should form an integral part of your packing solution:

• It delivers superior protection against dust, dirt and moisture.
• It effectively protects against damage to goods in transit.
• There are many varieties available to suit any operation's particular needs and budget.
• It is more effective and efficient than alternatives such as shrink film and strapping, and typically costs less as well.

Understanding the different types of pallet wraps

While there are several pallet wrap products on the market, they can be reduced to two basic types: cast pallet wrap and blown pallet wrap.

Cast pallet wrap clings to items, has excellent clarity, stretches easily and resists tearing. The product unwraps quietly, clings tightly to your goods once wrapped and enables full visibility of the products underneath. 

Blown pallet wrap has greater load holding strength than cast wrap and a high degree of memory when stretched. It is not as clear as cast wrap, which makes it less desirable if you want visibility. It also has higher tear resistance than cast wrap.

Available pallet wraps

NPP supplies a variety of pallet wraps, as well as pallet wrap machines. We can supply both hand and machine pallet wrap and all the necessary tools and services necessary to keep your wrapping operations at maximum efficiency. Our wraps include the following:

• Fiber Film and Eco Fiber Film: These films have fibres that increase tear resistance. This reinforced stretch film combines high elongation, exceptional puncture resistance and excellent pallet stability. They are designed to dramatically reduce the amount of film used to wrap a pallet. Fiber Film is the perfect choice for minimizing your cost per pallet leading to greater savings. Eco Fiber Film is a more environmentally friendly option containing 30% recycled raw materials. It is 100% recyclable.
• Air-O-Film® is a pre-stretched specially formulated film, combining maximum elongation with performance. The ventilated design allows airflow through the pallet, which reduces spoilage that conventional pallet wrap can cause, by preventing condensation build-up. Air-O-Film® offers the smallest weight per meter of any film of its type. It's designed to ensure that loads can be secured using less material. That means you need fewer wraps, use less plastic and therefore save more money.
• Machine pallet wrap: Our machine pallet wrap is a cast co-extruded film. Our standard wrap is designed for use on core brake and simple pre-stretch rotary stretch wrap machines with up to 150% stretch. Our power wrap is for use on pre-stretch rotary stretch wrap machines with up to 250% stretch.
• Hand pallet wrap: Our co-extruded LLDPE hand pallet wrap film is designed for hand application to pallets of goods to ensure a stable load. It has a low unwind noise and can produce high load holding force across a wide range of applications.

In the context of rising prices and tax regulations on single-use plastics, reducing and saving on film is more essential than ever. All companies that use packaging systems are committing to reduce and save on film to answer their sustainable and logistic goals. In today's article, we present the keys to saving specifically in the use of stretch film, used in pallet wrappers.

1. Stretch film type

The main key to savings is the film used for pallet stretch wrapping. Although inexpensive pre-stretched films are available, they usually do not offer the same performance in terms of securing and industrial wrapping finish, and more film must be used to contain and protect the load.

Therefore, we recommend using technical stretch films with reduced film gauge. Even though these films may have a higher cost, they allow for greater savings, since the pallet stretch wrapper uses less plastic. In addition, it is beneficial to reduce the amount of film used to contribute to sustainability.

These types of film usually have two main characteristics: pre-stretchable and lower micronage.

How does pre-stretch film work?

Pre-stretching is the process of elongating and stretching the film to increase its performance. To pre-stretch the film this way the automatic stretch wrapper must include a pre-stretching system, either motorized or electric, whereby the rollers included in the film supply system perform the maximum stretch of the film according to the properties of the film and the stretch wrapper system.

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Typically, stretch wrappers with this feature allow pre-stretching between 100% and 300%, depending on their performance and wrapping configuration. Most users of pallet stretch wrappers use between 200 and 250% pre-stretch, as it is a stable and safe interval for optimal wrapping, offering a good balance between savings and efficiency.

What does 300% pre-stretching mean?

For example, taking as a reference a mm (40') film segment to cover one side of a standard pallet, with a pre-stretch of 300% we would obtain a film of mm (120'), to cover three sides of the same pallet.

In the medium to long term, it is interesting to calculate the cost difference between using a film without pre-stretching properties (already pre-stretched), which is cheaper but needs a bigger amount, and a film with pre-stretching that can cover x3 times the same size. The cost difference may even pay off the purchase of a higher-performance stretch wrapper with a pre-stretching system.

2. Use of lower-thickness films

Another option to reduce costs and weight in packaging is to use lower-micron film. The trend is to reduce the film thickness from the standard 20-30 microns to even 10 microns. These are advanced films, with high levels of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), which provide elasticity, stretchability, and puncture resistance even at lower thicknesses.

In short, less plastic, lower costs, and a greater contribution to sustainability.

3. Type of wrapping machine and performance

In addition to the type of film, it is necessary to have a stretch wrapping machine (either automatic or semi-automatic) with a pre-stretching system and advanced features to economize on film.

What features of the wrapper contribute to film savings?

• Pre-stretching system: It is not only essential to have a film with maximum pre-stretch, but also a mechanized system that allows pre-stretch of up to 400%. This system can be mechanized or electronic, the latter providing greater advantages in optimizing the use of the film as it is programmable.
• Torque control system: This technology is used to control the force or tension applied to the motor rotor, i.e. it allows torque control instead of speed control. In stretch wrappers, it provides much more control over the tension applied to the wrapping, thus optimizing the film to the maximum.
• High speed: When using automatic wrapping machines, as is the Innova high-performance ring wrapping machine, the ultra-fast wrapping also allows to economize on the film applied, since only the necessary film is used, without excesses.

4. Optimal wrapping cycle

Another key to saving on stretch film is the stretch wrapping cycle itself. It is not enough to have a high-performance film and a automatic pallet stretch wrapper to match if you do not program a cycle to stretch wrap with the necessary amount of film.  In this case, it is essential to program a cycle that takes into account:

• Reinforcement for support and stability (mainly at the base of the pallet)
• Containment force and tension in the different main areas of the pallet
• Use the roping device, when the type of load allows it, to gain support and stability with fewer turns of film.
• No film tails or leftovers, only the plastic necessary for securing the load to the pallet and protecting it.

5. Optimization of the logistic process

Last but not least, another important point is the role of the stretch wrapper at the end of the line and in the company's own logistics process. With automated packaging solutions, errors due to human intervention are solved, and better packaged and safer loads are achieved for transport. This contributes to logistics without losses due to poor packaging or unstable pallets, which also translates into savings. At the end of the day, the goal of every company is not to incur damage and loss of material in transport, so the packaging system, such as a stretch wrapper, has a lot to contribute in terms of protection and securing of the load.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website China Mini Carton Stretch Wrapping Machine Suppliers.