As you walk around your warehouse, take a look at the plastic wrap you currently use to secure packaging for shipments. You may not notice a difference but there are actually two types: biaxially oriented polypropylene wrap and shrink wrap.
Regardless, you may not know the differences that each film has in relation to each other. So you may want to have a better understanding of what the differences are. this way you can make a better choice of which to use when you need to.
What Does Shrink Wrap Film Consist Of
Also called shrink film, this plastic wrap is a flexible plastic that keeps products secured while being processed in a plant. Some of the items commonly shrink wrapped include a multitude of consumer products, food items, or boxes. The material used to create the shrink film is polyolegfin, polyethylene, or polyvinyl chloride.
To use shrink film, you place your product inside of a plastic sleeve, which is then sealed. Next, the wrapped product is put through a tunnel that is heated. While the shrink wrap is heated, it becomes shrunk and secure around your product. Afterwards, the heated package continues moving along and eventually packaged to be shipped.
What Does Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene Consist Of
With biaxially oriented polypropylene, this film type is the other flexible option that is used specifically to wrap products that get shipped. There is no heat used at all. It is also known as an overwrap which is implemented to cover the products or different packagings that hold the items.
The BOPP can also be used to package food items. Besides that, it is now being used a lot and will be replacing cellophane very shortly for every application such as packaging snacks and cigarettes. The reason for the replacement is because of the decreased amount of cost and quality of the BOPP.
The features of BOPP includes a barrier protection against moisture and oxygen. There is also a decreased amount of damage to the products or possibility of them being smashed in contrast to the shrink wrap.
Choosing Which Film Is Right
In order to know which film is perfect for you, you need to have some answers to important questions prior to selecting the film. Once you have the answers, you will be able to recognize that it is the right film for what you need.
The Cost of Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene and Shrink Wrap
Having the right type of film now allows you to start looking at the prices of the type you want. Both types will also be a different price.
Lets say you want to have shrink wrap film to use for packaging all of your products. If so, then you will need to be aware of the influences surrounding prices and how they can be calculated.
Once you make the calculations, you will be prepared to make a calculation concerning the overall price you´ll pay for the chosen shrink wrap you decide to use in your warehouse.
If you decide to go with the BOPP for all of your warehouse and product packaging, then you will need to be aware of the price for BOPP as it will likely be more expensive than the normal shrink wrap that is used for packaging products for shipping.
Stretch Film Business 