Key Takeaways
Yes. A full pallet is shrink wrapped by covering the load with a pallet shrink hood or heavy-gauge polyethylene film and shrinking it into place with a heat gun, which gives a tight, weatherproof and tamper-evident cover. Most pallets, though, are stretch wrapped, which holds the load by tension rather than heat. Shrink wrap machines do a different job in the same chain: a sleeve sealer or side sealer bundles the cartons, bottles and multipacks that go onto the pallet, so the load is stable before it is palletised. Compare those machines on the shrink wrap machines page.
The machines that bundle cartons, bottles and multipacks before they are palletised.
A full pallet is shrink wrapped by hand rather than on a packaging machine. A pallet shrink hood, or a sheet of heavy-gauge polyethylene film, is pulled down over the stacked load, and an operator shrinks it with a heat gun, working around the pallet so the film pulls tight against the load and tucks under the pallet edge. The result is a single, fitted cover that keeps out rain, dust and UV, holds the load together and shows at once if anyone has opened it. Heavier and taller loads need a thicker film.
Stretch wrap and shrink wrap both hold a pallet together, but they work differently. Stretch wrap is a thin film pulled around the load under tension with no heat; it is fast, uses less film and is how most pallets are wrapped for everyday warehousing and local delivery. Shrink wrap is heavier film shrunk with heat so it takes the shape of the load; it gives a tighter, fully enclosed cover that stands up to weather and makes tampering obvious. Shrink wrap is the better choice for outdoor storage, long-haul and export loads and high-value goods; stretch wrap is the better choice for everything else.
Shrink wrap machines make the pallet load stable before it is wrapped. A sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel bundles bottles, cans and cartons into tight multipacks, and a side bar sealer wraps long products and runs continuously on a conveyor. Uniform, shrink-wrapped bundles stack squarely, which makes the pallet more stable in storage, lets it stack higher in the warehouse and reduces movement in transit, whether the finished pallet is then stretch wrapped or shrink hooded. Heavy parts and components are covered in shrink wrap for industrial components.
Shrink wrapping a pallet is worth it when the load will be stored outside, travel a long way, cross a border or carry goods where tampering is a concern, and when an irregular load needs a cover that follows its shape. For pallets that stay indoors and move short distances, stretch wrap is usually enough, and the more useful investment is often bundling the products well before they are palletised.
A full pallet is shrink wrapped under a hood or heavy film with a heat gun, most pallets are stretch wrapped, and shrink wrap machines stabilise the load by bundling the products that go onto the pallet. Send us your product, the bundle you want and your volume, and we will specify the machine. Compare all four machines on the shrink wrap machines page, or see the sleeve sealer and shrink tunnel, the machine most often used to bundle products for palletising.
Yes, when the pallet is fully covered. A shrink hood or heavy film shrunk over the whole load and under the pallet edge keeps rain, dust and UV off the goods, which is why shrink wrap is used for pallets stored outside or shipped long distances. Stretch wrap alone does not fully enclose the top of a load.
Not usually. Full pallets are normally shrink wrapped by hand with a heat gun under a pallet hood or heavy film. Packaging machines such as sleeve sealers and side sealers are used earlier in the line, to bundle the products that go onto the pallet.
Per pallet, usually yes. Shrink wrap uses a heavier film and needs heat, while stretch wrap uses less film and no heat. Shrink wrap earns its cost where weather protection, tamper evidence or long transit matter; for everyday indoor pallets, stretch wrap is the economical choice.
Send us your product, the bundle you want and your volume, and we will specify the shrink wrap machine that suits it, with installation by our own technicians, a one-year warranty, CE marking on request and spares held in Johannesburg. You can also send samples and we will trial-wrap them at our Johannesburg showroom before you buy.
