Stretch film

Compare cost per pallet, not price per roll

Almost every film buying decision made on price per kilo turns out wrong when converted to the number that matters:

film per pallet (g) = wraps × pallet circumference × film width
                      × micron × 0.92 ÷ (1 + pre-stretch)
cost per pallet     = film per pallet ÷ 1000 × price per kg

Two consequences follow, and both reverse common purchasing decisions.

A thinner film is not automatically cheaper per pallet. If a 17 µm film needs five wraps where a 20 µm film needs four, the thicker film wins on both cost and load stability.

Pre-stretch dominates everything else. Film pre-stretched to 300% delivers the same containment with 30–50% less material. On an operation wrapping 200 pallets a day that is the largest single consumable saving available, and it usually exceeds anything a price negotiation on the film itself can achieve.

Our stretch film cost calculator runs this on your own numbers, including the annual saving from switching. The result is shown in full — no e-mail required.

Hand film or machine film

Above roughly 30 pallets per shift, a wrapper pays for itself in film alone, before labour. Below that, hand film is the right answer and a machine is capital tied up in a corner.

Near the threshold, include the labour: hand wrapping is 60–90 seconds per pallet, machine wrapping is 20–30 seconds plus the walk.

Machine film is a different formulation, not the same film on a bigger roll. Running it through a hand dispenser does not work — the cling and the stretch profile are wrong for it.

Cast or blown

Cast is extruded onto a chilled roller. It is clearer, quieter to unwind, more consistent in gauge and cheaper to produce. It is the right default for most loads and is what we quote unless you say otherwise.

Blown is extruded through an air ring. It has higher tear resistance and better load retention on sharp-cornered goods, at the cost of clarity, noise and price.

If your pallets have exposed corners — machinery, timber, boxed goods with edges — blown holds better. If your loads are regular and you want the label readable through the wrap, cast is better.

Cold stores

Cling drops as temperature falls. Film that holds a pallet at 20 °C can release at 2 °C, and the usual fix is not more wraps but a formulation specified for chilled use. Tell us the temperature and we will quote the right grade.