Pre Stretch Wrap

Everything You Need To Know About Stretch Films

The effectiveness of the Stretch Wraps in securely keeping the load in place is not accidental and there is some science behind it. One of the reasons for the efficiency of the Stretch Wraps remains in the process called pre-stretching the film. This process achieved by pulling the stretch film between two rollers with the second roller rotating at a higher speed than the first one. The difference in the speeds of the rollers results in stretching of the film.

The pre-stretching process also creates a memory in the stretched film with the tendency of wanting to pull back to the original form prior to being stretched. This phenomenon is by far the single most important benefit of the pre-stretching process. The reason remains in the stretch wrap ability to avoid slacking and loosening of the load during the transit. Without the stretch film memory, the wrapping would loosen up due to heat and other elements eventually and expose the content of the pallet racks to the risk of damages.

The film also stretched during the load wrapping, this is called post-stretch. The post-stretch is in a sense another step to increase the film’s memory. The post-stretch happens during the wrapping of a load when an additional tension is created between the stretch wrap and the load. The more the film is pulled the more tension and memory is created.

Stretch film was first introduced in the 1970s becoming the most important tool in keeping the pallet loads together during the transit. While the stretch film method has evolved to many different colors, gauges, and film wrapping machines the main purpose of the load containment has stayed the same. The load containment and preventing the shift of the contents is the primary function of the pre-stretched films.

Beside the load-containment ability of the pre-stretched pallet wraps, they are also more economical than the traditional stretch films. Other advantages of the pre-stretched wraps include:

• Cost-Effective – The pre-stretched films are lighter in weight and require less film to do the job when compared to the traditional films

• Safety - The lightweight of the pre-stretched rolls puts less pressure on employees reducing the possibility of work-related injuries

• Easy Application – With the pre-stretched films there is a little need to waste energy in stretching them and this lower pressure lets workers wrap the pallets walking forward and having a better control instead of walking backward in case of the traditional films

• Strength - The pre-stretched films are much lighter in weight than the traditional stretch wraps while offering double the strength

• Environment-Friendly - Although still not biodegradable but the strength of the pre-stretched wraps results in using less film which means fewer materials to dispose of.