60 gauge stretch wrap

The buying guide's lightest step is 63 gauge, for loads up to 2,200 pounds.¹ 60 gauge sits just under it, so there is no published weight to quote for it; it is a film for sites that already know their loads hold on something lighter. That is usually a turntable or rotary-arm wrapper with a powered carriage, where the film is stretched hard before it ever touches the cartons. One wrapper maker says 65 gauge at 250 percent pre-stretch is about 26 gauge on the load,² which shows how far stretch, not starting thickness, sets what holds.

Wrap a run of your lightest, squarest pallets and measure containment force at the top, middle and bottom.⁴ If it matches what your current film gives, the lighter roll is doing the job. By hand, the case is weaker: people stretch film 25 to 100 percent, far short of a carriage's 150 to 350,³ so most hand wrappers are better on pre-stretched film than on a thin ordinary roll. Not sure? Start at 63.

A thinner web leaves less margin for anything wrong in the film path. A nicked roller, a dirty pre-stretch roller or a burr on the turntable that an 80 gauge film shrugs off can start a break in 60. Clean the rollers, check the cut-and-clamp, and set wrap force lower to begin with, raising it only until the containment readings come up. Expect a few more breaks in the first week while settings are tuned; if they don't settle, the film is too thin for those loads.

Where it pays off is volume. A distribution centre wrapping hundreds of square pallets a shift buys film by the pallet, and a lighter roll carries more feet for its weight. Whether it holds is the only question, and only your loads answer it.

Sites shipping mixed freight, export containers, or anything with protruding hardware gain little from going this thin and risk a lot. So do docks where the wrapper's pre-stretch rollers are worn, or where several shifts use different settings. Fix consistency first; thin film exposes every variation in how a machine is run.

Is 60 gauge the same as pre-stretched film?

No. Pre-stretched film is sold by equivalent gauge, the ordinary film it replaces; 60 gauge is a true thickness. Compare them on loads wrapped, not on the number.

Who uses 60 gauge?

Mostly sites with a powered pre-stretch carriage and light, square loads that have measured their containment force and found room to go thinner.

Will it hold through a long haul?

Only if the containment force says so. Test loads that travel furthest, and check them at the other end.