Pallet Wrapping Supplies

Pallets are wrapped using stretch wrap machines including rotary turntable wrappers, ring straddle machines, and robotic wrappers from brands like Lantech, Wulftec, Phoenix, ARPAC, Robopac, and Orion/ProMach. For lower-volume operations, hand-held stretch film dispensers are used for manual wrapping without a dedicated machine.

Hand stretch film is designed for manual application using hand-held dispensers and is available in narrower gauges and widths suited for lower-volume wrapping. Machine stretch film is engineered for automatic or semi-automatic pallet wrappers, offered in longer roll lengths and higher pre-stretch ratios for high-throughput distribution environments.

For standard pallet loads, 80-gauge hand or machine stretch film is the most common choice. Lighter loads may use 47–70 ga, while heavy or sharp-cornered loads may require 90–115 ga or blown film for added puncture resistance. Equivalent-gauge films using metallocene resins can deliver 80 ga performance at thinner gauges for cost savings.

Edge protectors, also called corner posts or V-boards, are applied to pallet corners and package edges to prevent strap cut-through, crush damage, and stack collapse during shipping. Available in light-, medium-, and heavy-duty paperboard as well as closed-cell foam for fragile or high-value goods, they can reduce in-transit damage by up to 50%.

Polypropylene (PP) strapping is lighter and lower-cost, suited for light- to medium-duty pallet unitization and bundling applications. Polyester (PET) strapping offers higher tensile strength and elongation recovery, making it ideal for heavy-duty loads that shift or settle in transit. Steel strapping is reserved for the heaviest industrial loads requiring maximum holding force.

Slip sheets are thin corrugated or chipboard panels used in place of or alongside pallets to unitize loads. Corrugated slip sheets work with push-pull forklift attachments and eliminate wood pallet weight and ISPM 15 compliance on export shipments, reducing freight cube and cost. Chipboard slip sheets are used as tier separators between stacked case layers to improve load stability.