| Air-Flow: |
Air-Flow is used in agricultural
product packing and has die cut holes to reduce
spoilage and ensure even cooling. Air-Flow replaces
pallet netting and gives users all the advantages
of conventional LLDPE Pallet Stretch Wrap, which
include strength, load holding and ease of use. |
| Ambidextrous Control: |
Separate right/left hand
braking control which allows the operator to have
total stretch control over 100% of the surface area
of the stretch film while wrapping. |
| Angel Hair: |
Thin strands of stretch film
on the edges of stretch film rolls caused by improper
bologna slicing. |
| Auto Bander: |
Jumbo rolls of stretch film
for automatic bundling equipment. |
| Banding/Bundling: |
Wrapping several items together
with plastic stretch wrap. |
| Barricade Tape: |
Non-adhesive warning films
printed with custom logos. |
| Base Lock: |
The thick layer of film produced
by holding the Western Plastics handwrappers at
approximately a 45 degree angle to the floor. This
wrap helps lock the boxes to the skid to prevent
shifting. |
| Blooming: |
The time period that the
Poly Iso Butylene takes to migrate to the surface
of the stretch film. Once this happens high cling
films are at their peak of perfection. |
| Blown Film: |
The fabrication of a film
by continuously pumping the polymer through a circular
die and filling the tube with air. The volume of
air contained within the tube stretches the tube
out to the desired Width and, in conjunction with
the rate at which it is bring pulled away from the
die, the desired Thickness is created. |
| Bologna Slicing: |
A film slitting process in which a rotating double
edge blade cuts a roll of film while the roll is
spinning. This is the quickest way for slitting
film. However, the quickness can cause the film
to melt in some places, resulting in the film hanging
up and tearing it, as it is unwound off the roll.
|
| Braking Tension: |
The tension applied to stretch
film by pulling and squeezing the patented Western
Plastics hand brakes (See Finger Tip Control). |
| Bulk heading: |
A shipping technique that
combines both unitization and stabilization. The
pallet loads nearest the back door of a truck are
unitized while the pallet loads towards the front
of the trailer are stabilized. |
| Bundling: |
Banding articles together
into distinct and separate units with plastic stretch
film. |
| Cast Film: |
The fabrication of a film
by continuously pumping the polymer through a straight
slot die, then chilling this hot plastic immediately
through contacts with a chilled roll. Film Width
is determined by how fast the chill roll pulls the
film away from the die. |
| Cling: |
The characteristic of stretch
film which makes it stick to itself. |
| Cross Top Wrapping: |
A unitization technique which
covers the top of a load. Not only does cross top
wrapping protect the tops of pallet loads but it
also helps to pull the load together as it settles
during shipment. |
| Cube: |
The total area inside a truck
trailer. The Length times Width times the height
of the trailer is the cube space. |
| Dead Fold: |
Stretch film sticking to
itself during wrapping without the use of any additional
heat sealing (i.e. – PVC films used in food wrapping
have high dead fold). |
| Die: |
A device used in extrusion
processes to shape the extrudate. |
| Double Stacking: |
One pallet piled on top of
another during shipping. All of Western Plastics
products packaged four rolls per case are specially
wrapped, using the techniques in this manual, to
permit double stacking in shipment and storage. |
| Eco-Wrap: |
Micron Pallet Wrap. Stiffer
and stronger than conventional hand wrap. Has a
high resistance to stretch for superior load retention. |
| EVA (Ethylene Vinyl
Acetate): |
A copolymer put in stretch
film adding strength to ordinary polyethylene film.
|
| Extruder: |
A machine that makes stretch
film. It consists of a large steel barrel surrounded
by heaters, which melt the plastic resin pellets.
Inside of the barrel is a large screw to force the
liquid plastic under pressure through a die to be
made into plastic sheeting by either the cast or
blown processes. |
| Film Supply: |
The amount of film on a Western
Plastics roll. |
| Fingertip Control: |
Stretch film tension control
that is at the operator’s finger tips, providing
the operator with control that can always be felt
and adjusted instantaneously. When very little pressure
is applied to the Western Plastics handbrakes, the
film can be stretched up to 25%. When an intermediate
amount of pressure to applied to the hand brakes,
the film can be stretched up to 50%. When firm finger
tip pressure is applied to the hand brakes, then
the film can be stretched up to 100% and more. |
| Five Sided Wrapping: |
Wrapping a pallet load’s
four sides plus the top. The top of a pallet can
be wrapped by using the cross top wrapping technique.
|
| Flange: |
The extended lip of the hand
brake that keeps the operator’s hand from sliding
down and rubbing against the roll. |
| Flexible Hand Brakes: |
The key to fingertip control
and Western Plastics patented braking system. Inside
the hand brakes are specially designed wear pads
that dissipate heat and provide the proper tensioning
when squeezed for maximum film stretch. By squeezing
them, the operator can get 50% to 100% or more stretch
when he pulls the film. Not only do grips give the
operator a feel of how much pressure he is applying
to the film, but they protect his hands – keeping
them from burning or blistering. |
| Floor Loading: |
A technique used for packing
a truck in which pallets and stretch film are not
used. Hand carrying (conveyors are frequently used)
a load on a truck and shipping the load by leaving
it on the trailer floor unprotected. |
| Gauge: |
The Thickness of a film.
80 Gauge film equates to .8 Mil or .0008 inches. |
| Gauge Band: |
Thickness irregularity in
films. |
| Gel: |
Small piece of undissolved
resin causing imperfection in film. |
| HandyWrap: |
Pallet stretch wrap with
disposable extended core handles. |
| High Density Load/Product: |
A load or product that is
relatively heavy (i.e. - an engine block on a pallet). |
| Identi Film: |
Pallet stretch film in Colors.
Tinted films give protection from tampering and
theft. Improves load appearance, product rotation. |
| Laundry Wraps: |
All purpose PVC over wrap
for use in commercial laundries. |
| LDPE or PE (Low Density
Polyethylene): |
A resin base for making stretch
film. Even though LDPE is a relatively strong transparent
film with good tensile strength it does not match
the performance of the newer LLDPE. |
| Maximum Stretch: |
The ability of the film to
stretch as far as it can without tearing. Western
Plastics uses premium grade films that can stretch
100, 200 percent, and more. |
| Memory: |
After the Western Plastics
film is stretched to its maximum it will recover
and form fit the load which has been wrapped (See
recovery). |
| Neck Down: |
The narrowing tendency of
stretch film when being stretched or pulled. |
| PVC: |
Poly Vinyl Chloride. In film
form, it is used as a meat or produce wrap as stretch
film, and a high clarity shrink wrap for retail
packaging. |
| Recovery: |
Stretch film trying to return
back to its original form after it has been stretched.
This action constantly pulls the load together since
the stretch film tightly form-fits the load. Stretch
wrapping continues to tighten the load as it settles
during shipment, due to the recovery property, keeping
the load safe and secure during shipment. |
| Securi-Wrap: |
Opaque pallet stretch film.
Opaque film blocks UV rays from damaging products.
Protects shipments during transit by not allowing
contents to be seen. |
| Tacifier: |
A general term used to refer
to cling additives in stretch film (see blooming,
cling, poly isobutylene). |
| Tensile Strength: |
The maximum longitudinal
stress that stretch film can take before it tears. |
| Top Sheeting: |
A protective covering put
on the top of a load to protect the top from dust,
dirt, and other objects that might damage the load.
Western Plastics manufactures a top sheeting dispenser
and top sheeting rolls for protecting tops of loads,
open containers, etc. |
| Unitization: |
Wrapping techniques that
protect a pallet load from top to bottom, making
all packages in the load one single unit. These
techniques are ideal for long distance hauls and
less than truckload shipments. X-wrapping, Wrapping
Low, and Cross Top Wrapping are wrapping techniques
that promote the best unitization. |
| WrapNet: |
Netting pallet wrap. Knitted
pallet wrap that hold load together but also allows
air to circulated throughout the pallet. |
| Yield: |
The amount of stretch a film
gets without interfering with the performance of
other properties like tear and puncture resistance.
|
