Do I need Shrink Wrap or Stretch Wrap and what is the difference

10 Apr 2010

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Do I need Shrink Wrap or Stretch Wrap and what's the difference?

Most people who order stretch wrap from us call it shrink wrap ..  but the products are very different. Shrink wrap film is made from polyolefin plastic, while stretch wrap is made from polyethylene plastic. Shrink wrap is generally used to protect a single product, such as the plastic over toys at the toy store or CD's when you first buy them. Shrink wrap gets its tight seal through a heating process. The product is wrapped and heated with a hairdryer-like tool or put through a heat tunnel. Shrink wrap can also be used for bundling products together, such as bottles of soda. We supply both stretch wrap and shrink wrap.

Stretch wrap is generally used to hold boxes on a pallet for transport. Stretch wrap is pulled around the load and stretched. The plastic has a memory and wants to return to its original size. This "elastic band effect" holds the load tight.