If your business has a packaging line or a shipping department, you probably go through a lot of stretch wrap (also known as stretch film). If you are starting a new business and are preparing to build out your packaging line and a shipping department, you will be using stretch film when you are up and running.
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One of the most common questions we get from start-up businesses, and even some seasoned veterans is, what is the difference between hand stretch film and machine stretch wrap?
If you are using exclusively human labor for stretch wrapping, you will need to use hand stretch wrap. If, on the other hand, you want to automate or semi-automate the process, you will need to run some form of stretch wrapper, which requires machine stretch film.
Industrial Packaging has helped thousands of clients identify the appropriate type of stretch film for their packaging and palletizing needs.
This article will explore the differences between hand stretch film and machine stretch wrap (also called machine stretch film) and help you choose the right option for your packaging line and palletizing operations.
What Is Stretch Film?
Stretch film (also commonly known as stretch wrap) is a very stretchy thin plastic sheet material used to wrap around products, boxes, and pallets. Elastic recovery, or rather the "stretch-ability" of stretch film, allows the film to contain the items it is wrapped around tightly.
The higher the percentage of elastic recovery, the better the film will contain the items. The purpose of stretch film is to palletize products by properly and safely containing them during shipping.
Hand Stretch Film
Hand stretch film was specifically made for wrapping to be done by implementing human labor. Commonly referred to only as "hand film," this type of stretch film cannot be used on a stretch wrap machine. It's made specifically for use with a stretch wrap dispenser (pictured below).
Manual stretch film can wrap many different types of products and stacks of goods on pallets. This type of film is a good choice if you are wrapping under 50 pallets per day.
How Much Money Could You Save With A Stretch Wrapper?
Machine Stretch Film
Machine stretch film is made to be used on a stretch wrapping machine. Machine stretch wrap is faster to apply than hand stretch, has a lower cost than hand film, is safer, and boasts better load containment.
Now, while machine stretch film has a lot of benefits, the use of machine stretch film does require a stretch wrapping machine. A stretch wrapper can be a significant investment, and your budget may prevent you from purchasing a stretch wrapper, in which case you may have to use hand stretch film.
Types of Stretch Wrapping Machines
It should be noted that there are many different varieties of machine stretch film, all of which have specific applications of which they are designed. There are also many different types of stretch wrapping machines, each of which may or may not be able to utilize each type of machine stretch film.
For example, some types of stretch wrappers include:
You can learn more about each of the different types of stretch wrappers mentioned above by reading this article entitled: Packaging Machinery Buyer's Guide" Stretch Wrapping Machinery.
If you are not sure if you would benefit from upgrading to a stretch wrapper, then you may want to consider using this free stretch wrapper investment calculator to help you figure out if it would be a good investment for your business. This easy to use tool will help you find out if upgrading to a stretch wrapper could save you a lot of money over using manual labor.
Hand Stretch Or Machine Stretch Film, Which Is Right For You?
When you try to figure out which type of stretch film is the better choice for your business, you will have to answer a few questions to obtain the information required to answer this question. Some questions you need to ask yourself are:
What is your budget? Depending on the answer to this question, you may or may not be able to afford a stretch wrapping machine, in which case, you will need to use hand stretch wrap. A quality entry level stretch wrapper starts at around $6,000.
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How many pallets are you wrapping? If you are wrapping less than 50 pallets a day, you will want to stick to hand wrap.
How many laborers are you using for stretch wrapping with hand wrap? Please note the amount of employees wrapping, their hours worked, and the number of pallets or items wrapped. Compare your costs from these items to the cost of switching to a stretch wrapping machine. Upgrading to a stretch wrapper may save you a lot of time and money.
Can you use machine wrap on a stretch wrap dispenser? NO. This could lead to injury and other problems.
Armed with the information in this blog post and the answers to these questions, you will be able to choose the appropriate stretch film for your needs. If you are still unsure about which type of film you should use or have questions about changing to a different kind of film, you may want to talk to one of our packaging experts.
They will advise you on whether hand stretch wrap or machine stretch wrap is the appropriate choice for your stretch wrapping needs. They will also help you identify the tools you will need for your chosen type of stretch film.
Even if you do not end up sourcing your stretch film from us, we can help you identify the best film for your needs and a good source to buy your films.
The simple answer is that quality machine stretch film typically stretches 3x or more.
The right answer is'.it depends on the stretch film, the machine and most importantly, your product, loads and goals.
Here's the full answer
Confusing stretch with tight & secure
Sometimes you'll hear people refer to the plastic that they wrap around pallets as shrink film. You know what they mean of course, but the proper name is stretch film for a reason.
Modern stretch film formulations are made to stretch ' but maybe not for the reason, or to the extent that you imagine.
When Pat Lancaster invented the first stretch wrapper in he used a 60' roll of plastic film designed for use in dry cleaning facilities. The idea was to lay the film against the rotating pallet and rely on a core brake to slow the film enough that it stretch a bit and compressed the load as a result. T
hat invention rapidly evolved to the spiral wrap so popular today. The polyethylene stretch film we rely on now rapidly followed.
That's essentially the same process repeated thousands of times each day as workers hand wrap loads with 12 & 18' wide rolls of hand stretch film.
And most importantly, load security is determined by containment force ' or wrap force X film layers. It turns out that stretching isn't a factor.
Dollars & cents
Stretching the film (or, more precisely, pre-stretching the film before it leaves the film delivery system) is an economy measure. Pre-stretching film is what made stretch wrapping affordable and opened up the stretch wrapping and stretch film industries that we know today.
Pre-stretching film saves money.
Common pre-stretch percentages (which are typically determined by a set of gears in a wrappers pre-stretch carriage) range from 150-300%. That means that every linear foot of film coming off a roll represents 2.5 to 4 feet of film on the load.
That's some pretty compelling savings! In fact, most companies buy their first pallet wrapper with a simple film savings calculation.
More is better, right?
To a point. There are more factors to consider here.
Film attributes include:
- gauge
- formulation
- puncture & tear resistance
- roll length
- price/lb
Load attributes include:
- weight
- load configuration (like a cube or uneven)
- need to lock load to pallet
- inboard or outboard (product is smaller or larger than the pallet respectively)
- containment force which is a product of wrap force (tension) and revolutions
Best practices for determining the optimal film usage include:
- Establish standards for the load: containment force value, load-to-pallet bond, no long or dragging film tails. They maximize the probability of safe shipment.
- Determine settings: These are the film choices (quality, gauge and price) and machine adjustments (pre-stretch percentage, wrap force, top and bottom wrap counts, film delivery system speed up and down, film overlap, etc.) that ensure the standards are achieved.
- Establish a feedback loop that ensures the standards are maintained,
The reality is that thinner film doesn't always result in a net film savings! Decreases in film thickness result in a loss of wrap force because of increased film breaks. Because it's notoriously hard and time consuming to find the root causes of film breaks, operators frequently get rid of them simply by decreasing the wrap force until they stop. Consequently, more film layers must be applied to recover and maintain containment force that's lost and film consumption increases.
Every load does not have an optimal wrap pattern. It does, however, have an optimal containment force. If my load needs 10 pounds of containment force, I can get it by using a thin film and applying lots of layers or I can use a thick film and apply fewer layers ' the resulting containment force can be the same but the wrap patterns and throughput rates can differ significantly.
Film spec is not the load spec
Most machine films are engineered today to comfortable pre-stretch to 300%. If you stretch further you may experience more breaks ' particularly on corners of loads where tension increases with most film delivery systems.
Technology will let you stretch your budget figuratively and literally. The risk is that savings achieved through down gauging and extreme pre-stretch may be lost to the damaged product which can result when containment force is adversely impacted by related film changes.
The real question companies need to answer is 'What containment force is required to safely ship my load?' From there, local experts familiar with films and machines can design the right combination and establish parameters to ensure loads are properly wrapped.
The short answer to how much does stretch wrap stretch? Stretch film will stretch as much as your machine is designed to stretch it. 300% is not unusual ' but may not be the best answer. Stretching the film budget in one direction, without considering other impacts, can cost far more in product damage than is saved on film. Remember, there is balance between thick stretch films applied with high wrap force and few film layers versus thin films applied with low wrap force and more film layers.
Wondering how much pre-stretching your stretch film could save you?
Good question. It's one of the classic justifications for a new stretch wrapper. We've got a free calculator available for download that you can use to estimate savings. Grab your copy here.
And don't forget other considerations. In high speed wrapping applications, overstretching film can lead to frustrating and costly down-time through film breaks. This is especially common on irregular loads (like distribution centers) and corners of loads if the machine doesn't adjust the way it feeds film.
Click here to see the Film Cost Savings Calculator.
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This post was published on June 28, and updated on November 9, .
How much does stretch wrapping stretch? Is more better? Depends on the stretch film, the machine and most importantly, your product, loads and goals.
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