Stretch wrap rolls, written by their spec

The 18 inch roll is the default because it is light enough to carry round a pallet all day and wide enough to climb a stack in a sensible number of turns. A 20 inch roll covers more per pass and weighs more in the hand. A 12 or 15 inch roll is for small pallets, bundles and people who wrap a lot of short loads; if you are tying things together rather than wrapping a pallet, look at bundling film.

Length follows gauge: the thinner the film, the more feet fit on a roll a person can still lift. The 18 inch, 80 gauge roll in a published listing carries 1,500 feet.¹ Machine rolls run to 5,000 feet and more and weigh about 32 pounds, which is why they live on a wrapper and not in your hand.² When comparing quotes, compare feet per roll as well as price per roll.

Gauge is thickness in hundredths of a mil: 80 gauge is 0.8 mil. The gauge chart matches it to load weight, from about 63 gauge for loads up to 2,200 pounds to 100 gauge and up for loads of 3,000 pounds and more.³ The core is the cardboard tube inside; 3 inches is the common size, and it has to match the dispenser you use.

Some hand rolls are wound on cores that stick out a few inches at each end, so the operator holds the core directly. They cost a little more per roll and save buying dispensers for occasional users.

Two quotes for "18 inch hand wrap" can describe different rolls: 1,500 feet against 1,000 or 1,200, 80 gauge against an equivalent gauge, cast against blown. Put both on the same footing by working out the price per thousand feet at the same gauge, then ask how many loads each actually wraps. A roll that is cheaper but tears at corners, or needs extra turns, costs more by the end of the month. The quote also gives how many cases make a pallet, which depends on the case size.

My roll says 18" x 1500' x 80. Is that the same as 18 in x 1,500 ft x 80 ga?

Yes. Case labels drop the units and the commas; the order is always width, length, gauge. A fourth figure, if there is one, is usually the core.

Why do two 18 inch rolls weigh different amounts?

Different length, different gauge, or a different core. A heavier roll is not a better roll: compare feet per roll at the same gauge, and the loads it actually holds.

Will any 3 inch core fit my dispenser?

A standard hand dispenser takes a 3 inch core. Check for extended cores, which stick out past the film so you can hold the roll without a dispenser; they need no handle at all.

Can I mix widths on one dock?

You can, and many docks do: an 18 inch roll for pallets and a narrow roll for bundles. Keep the gauge chart in mind for each, because a narrow roll is not a lighter-duty film.

Does a heavier roll wrap better?

Not by itself. A tired operator stretches a heavy roll less, which can cost more holding power than the extra film adds.

• 18 in x 1,500 ft hand roll

  80 ga · 3 in core · 4 a case

  The roll most docks start with.

• All hand film

  By the case

  Hand rolls, pre-stretched film and bundling film.

• Machine film

  20 in x 5,000 ft and up

  When the dock gets a wrapper, the roll changes.