Flexibility: A Guide to the Many Uses of Stretch Wrap

Stretch wrap or as it sometime called, stretch film is a highly stretchable form of plastic film that when wrapped around items keeps them tightly bound. It is most often used to wrap pallet loads of materials, but it can also be used for bundling smaller items. There are a number of different types of stretch film. That includes bundling stretch film, hand stretch film, extended core stretch film, machine stretch film and static dissipative film.

What is stretch wrap?

Stretch wrap most commonly consists of linear low-density polyethylene or LLDPE, which combines ethylene with a number of alpha-olefins like butene, hexane or octane. This gives the stretch wrap its capacity to stretch without breaking or puncturing, even when under high pressure or duress.

How is stretch wrap produced?

There are two main methods of producing stretch wrap. The first is called blown wrap and it is created by melting resin and then pushing or pulling it through an annular die and the it air-cooled. This is a slower process but it makes for a stronger product at the end, one that is capable of the highest stretching without breaking or puncturing. It costs more but many feel the product is worth it, particularly when shipping valuable or fragile items. The second method of producing stretch wrap is cast stretch wrapping. In this process, the plastic film is extruded through a slot die and then it is passed over cooling rollers. This process quick is much faster and cheaper but the quality of the product is not as good as the blown stretch wrap method.

Uses for stretch wrap

This tight but elastic film helps keep items together on their road to the marketplace. The stretch wrap provides improved stability of products or packages, more efficient handling and storage of unit loads, a high degree of protection from dust and moisture protection. It has many different uses and application and comes in a variety of strengths, lengths and overall dimensions. Today, stretch wrap is used to transport and deliver almost every product on the market including products that are wrapped for transportation, storage, and even direct retail sales.

The most common uses of stretch wrap are in getting palletized boxes of products ready to be placed on trucks and in containers for shipping all around the world. They include paint, liquids, and dry goods, wire reels and canned beverages like beer and soda. Everything from live trees to carpets and windows to clay, electronics, soil and mulch for landscaping and gardening as well as tires, furniture and bricks is shipped in this fashion every day of the year.

Benefits of stretch wrap

Stretch wrap is one of the safest, cost-effective, safe and secure ways to get items to customers. In addition to providing stability and protection from the elements, pallets of items wrapped in this fabric have also proven to provide a great degree of protection from tampering and pilfering. By being wrapped together it is almost like there is safety in numbers and for certain food items they allow long transportation times while preserving their freshness and flavour. Stretch wrapping has also been shown to be less expensive than strapping and the equipment required to use stretch wrap is both simple to maintain and inexpensive to purchase.

Another benefit of stretch wrap is that it also good for the environment since it can be recycled and reused. Stretch wrap has become an essential part of our modern consumer economy and plays an important role in delivering many of the goods and food products that we need. It can be used to ship almost any bulk item in a secure and economical manner.