Colour-tinted stretch wrap

By date: one colour a week, so stock rotation is visible at a glance. By shift: a problem pallet can be traced to the crew that wrapped it. By customer or route: loaders pick the right lane without reading each label. By status: quarantine, rework or hold in one colour nobody else uses. Keep the code short, post it at the wrapper, and stick to it.

The colour is in the film, not on it, so it doesn't rub off. It doesn't change how the film holds: pick the gauge and cast or blown exactly as for clear film. Tinted film stays see-through, so labels can still be read and scanned through a layer or two. If the load must be hidden, use opaque film instead.

Decide what the colour means before ordering: date, shift, customer, route or status. Choose colours that stay distinct under your warehouse lighting, and avoid two shades that look alike when wrapped over brown cartons. Keep a roll of each colour at every wrapper, not in a central store, or people will grab whatever is nearest. Write the code on a sign by the wrapper and in the receiving instructions, so the dock at the other end reads it the same way. Order quantities by colour, since some will run faster than others.

Tinted film also deters casual mixing between companies sharing a warehouse: each tenant wraps in its own colour, so pallets don't wander into the wrong lane. Some retailers ask suppliers for a particular colour on promotional or seasonal stock, so it is pulled forward on arrival. And a tint on cores or film helps a recycling programme sort one site's film from another's. Whatever the reason, write it down; codes nobody remembers are worse than none.

Some recyclers want tinted film kept apart from clear; check before mixing bales.

Which colours are available?

Blue, red, green and yellow are common; ask for the colour you need. Pick colours your crew can tell apart under your warehouse lighting.

Does tinted film hold as well as clear?

Yes, at the same gauge and type. The tint changes the look, not the strength.

Can I code by colour and still scan labels?

Yes, through a layer or two: tinted film stays see-through. Through many layers, put the label on top.

How many colours should a code use?

As few as will do the job. A weekly date code needs four or five colours; a shift code, two or three. More colours than people can remember stop working as a code.

Do tints look the same under every light?

No. Warehouse lighting shifts colours, so test sample rolls under your own lights before fixing a code.

Can tints be mixed on one pallet?

Yes, a band of colour over clear film marks a load just as well.

• Black and opaque film

  Hides the load

  When the load must not be seen.

• Bundling film

  Narrow rolls

  Bundles get colour-coded too.

• All specialty film

  One job each

  Back to the specialty range.