Should I Use Pallet Covers/How to Measure for Pallet Covers?

If you're shipping pallets of product, boxed or otherwise, you may want to give serious consideration to using pallet covers. Essentially, all a pallet cover is is an inverted bag that goes over your pallet load, covering it from top to bottom, but it affords a level of protection that stretch wrap alone cannot provide.

Why Should I Use Pallet Covers?
Stretch wrap is a great and necessary product to use on your skids, but its purpose is to preserve the integrity of your load, keeping it together and keeping it on the skid.  It is not impervious to moisture, contaminants, UV light, is more expensive to order in a solid color for security purposes, is very expensive to print, and cannot be reused.  Pallet covers, on the other hand, offer the following benefits (particularly as it relates to the top of your skid):

• Protects against moisture
• Protects from exposure to contaminants
• Protection from UV rays
• Available in different opaque colors for security purposes
  (in smaller quantities than colored stretch wrap can typically come)
• Can be custom printed more cost-effectively than can stretch wrap
  (can be used over or under the stretch wrap and is not susceptible to the distortion and overlap that you will encounter with printed stretch wrap)
• Has the potential to be reusable

How Do I Know What Size Pallet Cover I Need?
Pallet covers come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses and can be custom run in whatever size you need.  When determining what size pallet cover you need, use the following guideline:

It is very important that you measure correctly - with Step 4 in particular.  And it's always best to be too big than too small.  We have sample pallet covers available that we can send you for your evaluation at no charge, particularly when determining what thickness to use, which is very subjective and depends upon the application.

Pallet Top Sheets
If all you need is a top sheet, those are an option as well.  Top sheets are designed to simply cover the top of your pallet, and do not offer any additional protection to the sides of the load.  When measuring pallet sheets, it is recommended to use the following formula when ordering:

Width+24" x Depth+24"

This will give you approximately one foot overhang on all sides.  Top sheets are stocked in clear or white rolls only, but can be custom ordered in colors or with UVI protection.

Let us know how we can help you best protect your product, and your investment, during the shipping process.  We will be happy to assist you in determining the best size and answer any other questions you may have.

How to Select the Right Carton Sealing Tape

There are two considerations when selecting carton seal tape:

• Tape strength/thickness
• Tape material

What thickness or strength tape do I need?
The chart below will help you determine what thickness or strength tape will work for your application, relative to your box weight and size (chart based upon 2" or 48mm tape):

What type of tape do I need?
With carton seal tape, there are three primary options:

• Acrylic
• Hot Melt
• Natural Rubber

Each of these is a "pressure sensitive" tape, meaning that you simply press it to the box and it sticks.  While each type is an adequate tape for carton sealing, in order to maximize the integrity of your product (and subsequently your money) during shipping, you don't simply need adequate, but you need ideal.  The table below will help you determine which type of packaging tape will work for your application and also help you understand the basic differences between the three.

Once you have determined what you need, explore our wide variety of shipping tape options.  We carry a large selection of all of the tapes mentioned above and will be happy to help you with your purchase.

If you're still not sure what tape will work best for you, please contact us and we can discuss your application and your options and, if needed, provide you with samples, to make sure that your business investment receives the best protection possible during shipping and/or storage.

Stretch Wrap and Firewood Bundling

Whether you bundle firewood for sale for for your own personal use, stretch wrap is the most preferred way to bundle your material.  Choosing the right wrap is very subjective and there are many options, but the information below should help you determine what will work best for you.

w/1 band of bundling wrap

w/2 bands of bundling wrap

with 12" hand wrap

What size stretch wrap do I need?

• Bundling Film
  This is narrow width stretch wrap that comes in widths of 2" bundling stretch wrap , 3" bundling stretch wrap , and 5" bundling stretch wrap.  Bundling film is a good choice when you want to keep your firewood vented.  It allows you to wrap just the ends, or both ends and the middle, and reduce the possibility of moisture becoming trapped in the wrap.
• Hand Wrap
  This is a wider wrap that comes in stock widths of 12", 15" and 18".  With the extra width, this can allow for a quicker wrap time and will fit many firewood bundling machines and devices.  All of our hand wrap comes on a standard 3" core.

 What gauge stretch wrap should I use?

Ultimately, this is a very subjective question, but there are some guidelines that can be used.  The typical application for stretch film is holding together boxes of product on a skid weighing typically over 1000lbs, so the wrap has to be able to stretch tightly to hold the load together during the shipping and handling processes.  That is not the case with firewood bundling, where the bundles are small, typically moved by hand, and weigh only a few dozen pounds at most.

For these reasons, we recommend our Hand Wrap.  This hand wrap is thinner and less expensive than a traditional 80-90ga film, but has comparable strength when it comes to holding your bundles together.  It has the cling you expect with a standard gauge stretch wrap and will resist the minimal puncture potential presented by firewood.

What are the best tools to use to wrap the firewood?

For bundling film we have three handle options:

• Handy Bundler
  This is the most common type.  The film comes on a 3" core and each case has one plastic plug-in handle.  This is a good choice if you have one person doing the wrapping, and they do it sporadically.
• Best Bundler/Extended Core
  

  

  Handy Bundler, Best Bundler and QuikWrap (left-to-right)

  This film comes on a 1" extended core and is available only in 5" widths.  The 5" of film is wound on a 10" long core, leaving a 5" long handle built-in to each roll.  Our Best Bundler 5" Bundling Stretch Wrap  ships with one red rubber grip per case, which you can use to slip over the core and reduce any wear on unprotected hands.  This is a good choice if you have multiple people doing the wrapping and the wrapping is done fairly often throughout the day.
• QuikWrap
  For heavy use, applications, where more than one person is doing the wrapping and they are doing it for the majority of the day, our patented QuikWrap system is the perfect choice.  It is available in all widths (2", 3" and 5") and comes on a 1-3/4" core.  Each case comes with one QuikWrap handle.  The handle

  

  Eliminator

  

  Little Nelson

  
  

  plugs in to the core and has a built-in black, rubber grip that rotates around a fixed core, allowing you to use the wrap without the need to wear gloves or worry about the handle popping out of the core.  It also give you the ability to apply tension to the wrap by tightening your grip on the handle.

With hand wrap, there are a couple of options.  One is our Highlight Hand Held Stretch Wrapper.  The Eliminator allows you to easily wrap bundles as large as 24" x 24" x 24" and up to 70lbs and it supports stretch wrap between 10-15" wide.

Another option is the Little Nelson Bundling Film Dispenser, which works on 3" core bundling film between 2" and 6" wide.  It is a heavy-duty, ergonomic alternative to the plug-in handles that come with most bundling film.  It features a built-in braking mechanism which allows you greater control over how much stretch you want to apply and where.

About Packaging Supply Answers

We are a company that has been in the packaging supply business for almost 25 years.  We are currently a distributor of stretch wrap, poly bags, tape and strapping, and a converter of stretch film.  We work with businesses small (home based) and large (Fortune 100) and make it our goal to help you understand the options available to you so that your needs are most effectively met.

As technology has developed and business has become more global, shipping is not as easy as it once was, and your product choices are not as limited as they once were.  We will help you identify what works best for your product and your budget so that your dollar, your time and your efforts are maximized.

Stretch Wrap
The core of our business, it is our goal to help you understand the types and sizes of stretch wrap available so that you product is wrapped as safely and cost effectively as possible, whether it be wrapped with bundling film, hand wrap, or machine film.  We can help you determine if you need a wrap with UVI protectant or a colored film.

Poly Bags and Products
Our poly lines include poly bags , poly sheeting, reclosable bags, and much more.  We will help you learn how to determine the correct size and thickness for your application as well as understand what type of bag will work best.  There are many options with poly bags and products, and we will help you learn to effectively navigate through them.

Tape
When most people think of tape, they think of going to the store and picking up a roll of tape that is either 2 or 3 inches wide.  In reality, the types of tape are as varied as the applications for the tape.  We will help you understand what packaging tape will be most effective for your application so that your product is best protected during shipping and/or storage.

Strapping
Whether it be polyester, polypropylene, cord or steel strapping, our mission is to help you learn what is the optimal option for your products.  We can also help you identify what tools you will need to most effectively use the strapping.