How many times do you wrap a pallet?
The answer would be in the type of pallet load you are wrapping; how tall your load is and how stable it is. Unstable and heavy loads need to be wrapped securely onto a pallet to keep them intact during transit. Pallet wrap is also used to protect goods from the elements
How many times you wrap a pallet also depends on the pallet wrap you are using and whether you are applying it by hand or machine. For hand and machine stretch wrapping we use pre-stretch film Orbitwrap Save. This is our high-performance ultra-thin wrap film that goes much further than conventional wraps. It comes in rolls of film that has been pre-stretched with high elastic memory that can shrink back on itself and form a tight layer around a pallet load. This is what gives pre-stretched film its unique load stabilising strength and its green credentials as you use far less wrap to get a better wrap result.
If you are hand stretching, the level of stretch you can expect from hand application is between 30 to 40%. Pallet wrapping machines can stretch the film up to 250%!
Steps to a good wrap result
- Make sure your pallet goods are tightly packed together and the load is stable. Your load should not hang over the edge of your pallet.
- To begin wrapping a pallet by hand you would start from the base. Pull some film from the roll and twist it into a rope-like shape and thread it through the corner of a pallet or tuck it under a corner of a box on the pallet if you have a boxed load. Tying it to the pallet in a knot is unnecessary and makes for extra work removing it when the pallet is unpacked.
- The most important function of a wrap is to secure the load to a pallet. Your first revolutions around the load are to make sure you wrap the base of the load onto the pallet with about a three-centimetre overlap. The wrap must tuck under the corners of the pallet to prevent the film from slipping up at this stage.
- Keep the roll of film taut if you are hand wrapping and stretch the wrap around the corners to get a tight fit. Each revolution around the pallet should have a 50% overlap on the previous film layer.
- Continue your wrap from bottom to top, wrapping the lower half four to five times before moving to the top half. If the wrap is applied by machine, then twice to three times around the lower half of your load is more than adequate, depending on the weight.
- When you have completed the wrap at the top of your load apply approximately three centimetres of film over and down the top corners, tear the film and stick the tail to the film wrap.
We recommend using the right tools for the job and rather than bending down and walking around in circles covering pallet after pallet by hand we have a range of hand dispensers that make it easier for smaller operations. Once you find you are wrapping 10 or more pallets a day it would be wise to consider a pallet wrapping machine. This will speed up your processes and avoid employee fatigue and back injury.
The answer to how many times do you wrap a pallet is if you are wrapping by hand it is four to five times, and if you are using a wrapping machine it is three to four times on the bottom and a couple of times on the top half.
