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Manual stretch wrapping is performed by hand, oftentimes proving to be a slow, inconsistent, labor-intensive process.

It is no secret that every product that you hold, use, or put on your wish list has been, at one point, packaged. Packaging has evolved over the years, putting more and more focus on both the precision and speed of the supply chain. Consumers expect more - and without question, brandsare held accountable for more.

Here are a few time-saving packaging alternatives you should be familiar with if you do any manual packaging at all today.

Common packaging trends

The most common way to ship a product is via a unitized load. Unitized load orientation results in increased stability and product protection. The most common packaging product used in unitizing loads is stretch film, alsoreferred to pallet wrap, stretch wrap, or pallet stretch wrap.

The three levels of stretch wrapping

Stretch wrapping can be broken into three levels:

* manual stretch wrapping

* semi-automatic stretch wrapping

* automatic stretch wrapping

Manual stretch wrapping is performed by hand, oftentimes provingto be a slow, inconsistent, labor-intensive process.

Semi automatic stretch wrappers and automatic stretch wrap equipment combats the hassle, inconsistency, and waste involved in manual stretch wrapping processes.

Semi automatic stretch wrappers apply the stretch wrap mechanically but still require someone to manually move and prepare the loads.

On the other hand, an automatic stretch wrapper is capable of doing all of these processes without any physical labor. In other words, automatic stretch wrappers will prepare and wrap the pallet loads automatically.

The three types of stretch wrapping systems

There are at least three types of stretch wrapping systems that you should be familiar with (pictured below in order):

* Turntable stretch wrapping machines

* Rotary Arm stretch wrappers

* Orbital stretch wrapping machines

A turntablestretch wrapping system uses a rotating base which spins the load as the film is applied to the load. A fixed mast allows the film carriage tomove up and down the load.

A rotary arm stretch wrapping system, on the other hand, uses a film carriage that rotates horizontally around the load. If you are packaging products that are fragile, unstable or too heavy for a turntable stretch wrapper, a rotary arm stretch wrapper would be an excellent choice.

The final type of stretch wrap equipment is an orbital wrapper. The orbital stretch wrapper applies film with a film carriage that rotates vertically around a fixed load while the pallet passesthrough the system horizontally.

Want to know more? Please visit us here for more stretch wrap packaging automation information.

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