Banding and bundling film
| Width | Narrow rolls, a few inches wide |
|---|---|
| Core | Often extended, so the core is the handle |
| Made | Cast or blown, as the bundle needs |
| Pack | By the case |
| Used for | Bundles, not whole pallets |
A narrow roll you hold by its own core, for tying a few cartons, a length of pipe or a stack of trim into one unit. It does what tape or a strap would do on a small bundle, without the sticky residue or the cutter.
What gets bundled
Long, loose and awkward things.
Pipe and tube, moulding and trim, lumber offcuts, a short run of cartons going to the same customer, a set of parts that must not be split up. Each one is too small or too long for a pallet wrap and too loose to send as it is. A narrow roll goes round it in a few turns and holds it while it is moved, racked and counted.
Because the film clings only to itself, it comes off clean. That matters on finished surfaces where tape would leave a mark.
Width and grip
Choosing the roll.
Narrower rolls are easier to steer round a small bundle and waste less film. Wider narrow rolls cover a long bundle in fewer turns. An extended core gives you something to hold on both ends, so no dispenser is needed. Tell us what the bundles are and how long, and we will suggest the width rather than guess at it.
Bundling by hand and by machine
Small rolls, small machines.
Most bundling is done by hand with an extended-core roll. Sites that bundle all day, such as extrusion plants and timber mills, sometimes use small orbital wrappers that pass a narrow roll round a long item as it moves along a conveyor, wrapping it in a spiral like a bandage. If that is your setup, tell us the machine and its roll size, because orbital wrappers take specific widths and cores. For hand bundling, a roll that is easy to grip and light to carry matters more than its length.
Unitising small cartons
Before they reach a pallet.
Mail-order and parts warehouses often bundle two or three small cartons going to the same address so they travel as one parcel. A narrow roll does it in seconds and costs less than a larger box. Building suppliers bundle lengths of conduit, guttering and skirting for collection; furniture makers wrap legs, rails and panels together so a kit stays complete. In each case the film is a temporary tie, removed by the customer with a fingernail or a safety cutter, leaving no glue on the product.
Narrow film on a full dispenser
Usually not.
Standard hand dispensers are sized for wider rolls; narrow rolls are held by their extended cores or a small bundling dispenser.
Questions buyers ask
- Can bundling film replace strapping?
- For light bundles that are moved and stored indoors, often yes. For heavy bundles, lumber lifted by its wrap, or anything that must hold through rough handling, strapping is still the right tool. We supply only the film.
- Does it leave residue on finished surfaces?
- No adhesive is involved: stretch film clings to itself, not to the product. That is why it is used on painted trim, polished tube and other surfaces tape would mark.
- How narrow can a roll be?
- Narrow rolls run from a few inches up; tell us what the bundles are and we will suggest the width rather than guess. Very narrow rolls are often sold on extended cores so the core is the handle.
- Is there a colour option for coding bundles?
- Yes. Tinted film comes in narrow rolls too, so a bundle can be coded by colour the same way a pallet is.
- What is the safest way to cut it off?
- A hooked safety cutter that slides under the film, rather than an open blade near a finished surface.
Related rolls
Ask for a stretch film quote
Say what you bundle and roughly how wide the roll should be. We will match a narrow roll to it.
- Step 1 asks what you need, how much a month, the delivery ZIP and how to reach you
- Step 2 asks the film, the width and the gauge; skip what you don't know