Packaging is needed whether you want to unitise, palletise or pack your products. In the end, some options are vastly used and are available for you to choose from. These include Strapping Band and Stretch Film.

The above application uses both packaging materials, but each material has its place in specific packaging applications. Though not exclusively, it is usually only suitable for one application or another.

So how do you know which of these packaging materials is the right choice for your packaging needs?

By reading this article, of course!

In our more than 30 years of experience in the market, Syspex has advised countless customers on the best packaging material for their palletising and unitisation needs.

This blog will explain the differences between these two types of packaging materials. At the end of the blog, you will find the most suitable option for your company’s packaging applications.

What is a Strapping Band?

A strapping band is a long flat packing material wound on a core, and they look similar to the reels of fishing line you find at your stores.

However, rolls of strapping band are much larger than rolls of fishing line. There are three common materials used in producing these strapping bands.

These include polypropylene, polyester, and steel.

The strapping band‘s primary purpose is to unify, palletise, and enclose various products of different shapes, sizes, and weights for shipping and transportation. Strapping can also bundle consumer goods such as clothing and magazines.

Strapping is applied to products to be packaged using an automatic strapping machine or a hand-held strapping tool (also known as a tensioner).

What is a Stretch Film?

Stretch film, a.k.a. Stretch Wrap, is a highly stretchable plastic film made of polyethylene.

Its primary purpose is to ensure the products within are tightly enclosed. The highly elastic nature of the film made this possible. 

Stretch film is usually used with semi-automatic or automatic stretch wrapping machines. However, a vast majority still use a hand-held device called a stretch wrap dispenser to ensure proper load securing of palletised products. This equipment and tool enable the stretch film to be wrapped around the stacks of palletised products to keep them stable and closed during shipping and transportation. There are applications where the stretch film is used to bundle products together, such as the pipes industry.

What’s right for you? Strap or stretch?

With the understanding of what a strapping band and a stretch film are, it’s time to put them to the test. Let’s decide which of the applications below is suitable for which materials.

1. Ultra Heavy products such as Steel Beam or construction materials? – A steel strap would be the best choice.
2. Drums and barrels? – Polyester Strap would be the best choice
3. Do you package items requiring colour-coding in storage, international shipping or inventory dating? – In this case, coloured stretch film is the best choice as it is designed specifically for these applications.
4. Do you package newspapers, magazines or trade publications? – If so, polypropylene strapping is an excellent choice.
5. Do you transport heavy industrial goods without containers? – Polyester strapping is one of the choices. Still, another type of strapping material called composite strapping will be the best choice.
6. Are your products stacked on top of each other directly? – You will need a combination of Strapping band and stretch film.
7. Are your products stacked on top of each other but with carton boxes? – If so, you need to use stretch wrapping.

There are still so many more possibilities due to different needs from your clients and market. Due to that, our customers often stuck with the same old packaging way that is no longer suitable for their applications. 

This is where Syspex comes in to help them. Our mission has always been to bring the most suitable solutions to our customers; with the purpose of bringing the efficiency up, or strike the cost down. Well, we always strive to do both at the same time.

Suppose you are still unsure which packaging material is the most suitable for you. In that case, it indicates the cue for you to pick up the phone to contact us for a FREE consultation.