Extended Core Pallet Wrap vs Standard Core: Which Roll to Buy

Extended core pallet wrap is hand stretch film on a cardboard core that sticks out past the film at each end, so you hold the core and use it as a built-in handle. Standard core pallet wrap has a core the same width as the film, which suits a dispenser or a quick job where you do not mind holding the roll from the inside. If you wrap pallets by hand and do not own a dispenser, buy the extended core roll. If you already use a dispenser that takes full width rolls, or you only wrap a load now and then, a standard core roll does the job.

This guide explains what the extended core is, how to use it as a handle, when a standard core with a dispenser is the better set-up, and which of our clear and black rolls have which core. It also covers what our HW38 dispenser fits, which catches people out, and how many rolls to buy.

Quick picks for extended core and standard core pallet wrap

These three cover hand wrapping with a built-in handle, hiding the load, and bundling small items with a dispenser.

Best for wrapping by hand with no dispenser

Clear Pallet Wrap

Clear hand stretch film in four rolls, one of them on an extended core you can hold.

• Extended core roll: 400mm x 250m, 23 micron (1.5kg)
• Standard core rolls: 400mm x 120m, 400mm x 200m and 500mm x 250m
• Sold per roll, minimum order one roll

From £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT)

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Best for hiding the load

Black Pallet Wrap

Opaque black hand stretch film in three rolls, one of them on an extended core.

• Extended core roll: 400mm x 200m, 20 micron (1.4kg)
• Standard core rolls: 400mm x 120m and 500mm x 250m
• Sold per roll, price per roll drops as you buy more

From £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT)

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Best for mini rolls and small bundles

HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser

A hand-held holder for mini handy stretch wrap rolls, not for full width pallet wrap.

• Takes mini handy stretch wrap rolls
• You hold the handle and keep your hands off the film
• Sold per piece

From £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT)

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What is extended core pallet wrap?

Extended core pallet wrap is a roll of hand stretch film where the cardboard core is longer than the film is wide, so a length of bare core sticks out at each end. Those two ends are the handles. You grip one in each hand, the roll turns between your hands as you walk round the pallet, and you never touch the film itself.

The film is the same kind of film you get on a standard core roll. It stretches, clings to itself and holds the load together with no tape or heat. Only the core changes, which is why you will see the same product sold as pallet wrap with handles, extended core stretch film or handle wrap. All of those names mean a roll with a core you can hold.

A standard core roll has a core cut to the same width as the film. The ends of the core sit flush with the edges of the roll, so there is nothing sticking out to hold. To use one by hand you either put your fingers or thumbs inside the hollow core at each end, or you mount the roll on a dispenser that holds the core for you.

The core is one of several things printed in a pallet wrap size name. The others are the film width, the roll length and the thickness in micron. If micron and grades are new to you, our guide to pallet wrap grades and gauges explains both in full.

How do you use an extended core as a built-in handle?

You use an extended core by holding the bare cardboard at each end and letting the roll spin between your hands while you walk round the pallet. Your grip on the core controls how freely the roll turns, so your hands also act as the brake that puts tension into the film.

1. Stand the roll upright. Hold it with the film facing the pallet and find the loose end. Check which way the film unwinds so the clingy side goes against the load.
2. Anchor the film. Pull off about a metre, twist it into a rope and tie it to a corner of the pallet base, or tuck it under a box on the bottom layer.
3. Take a core end in each hand. Hold the top end with one hand and the bottom end with the other. Keep your fingers on the bare core and off the film.
4. Wrap the base first. Walk round the pallet with the roll held low so the film catches the pallet itself as well as the bottom layer of boxes. This ties the load to the pallet.
5. Work up the load. Raise the roll a little on each lap so every turn overlaps the one below. Squeeze the core slightly to slow the roll when you want the film tighter.
6. Go over the top edge and come back down. Finish where the load needs the most hold, tear or cut the film, and press the tail flat so it clings.

Those six steps cover the part of the job that the core affects. For the full routine, including how many layers to use and how to deal with awkward loads, follow how to wrap a pallet step by step.

The extended core does not make the film stronger, and it does not stretch the film for you. How tight the wrap ends up still depends on how hard you pull and how much you slow the roll with your grip. The longer core gives you a comfortable place to hold, which matters most at the bottom of the pallet, where you are bent over, and at the top of a tall load, where your arms are raised.

When is standard core pallet wrap with a dispenser better?

Standard core pallet wrap with a dispenser is better when you wrap pallets regularly and want the same result from everyone on the team. A dispenser holds the roll by its core and gives you a handle to grip, so the roll turns on the tool and your hands stay off both the film and the core.

You hold a handle, which is easier on your hands over a long shift than a spinning cardboard tube, and because the roll is under control the film goes on more evenly. Many pallet wrap dispensers also have some way of adding drag to the roll, which lets you set the tension once and keep it there. Designs differ, so check what your dispenser takes before you buy film for it. Our product page says a standard core fits a dispenser, and that is the core most hand dispensers are built around.

A standard core roll also makes sense with no dispenser at all in a few cases:

• Occasional use. For a house move, or a pallet every few weeks, holding the roll from inside the core is fine. The light 400mm x 120m, 20 micron roll (750g) is the one to pick for this, in clear or black.
• You want the widest film. Our 500mm x 250m, 23 micron rolls are standard core only. Each turn covers more height, so a big load needs fewer laps.
• You want black film in 23 micron. The black extended core roll is 20 micron. The only black 23 micron roll we stock is the 500mm x 250m on a standard core.
• You already own a dispenser that takes full width rolls. Buy the core your tool is made for.

If you are weighing up a bigger step than a hand dispenser, such as a wrapping machine, that is a different kind of film altogether. Every roll on this page is hand stretch film. Our guide to hand pallet wrap vs machine pallet wrap covers where the line falls.

Which of our pallet wrap rolls have an extended core and which have a standard core?

Two of our seven full width rolls have an extended core: the clear 400mm x 250m, 23 micron roll and the black 400mm x 200m, 20 micron roll. The other five are standard core. The table lists every roll exactly as it is named on the product page, so you can match it to the size option when you order.

Sizes are film width x roll length. 400mm is about 15.7 inches and 500mm is about 19.7 inches. Every roll is sold on its own, and all seven are hand stretch film.

Clear Pallet Wrap costs from £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT) per roll. Labels, barcodes and the goods stay visible through the film, which is what most warehouses want for stock that gets scanned or checked. The extended core option is the 400mm x 250m roll in 23 micron. It is the longest 400mm clear roll we sell, so you get the handle and the most film on that width in one roll.

Black Pallet Wrap also costs from £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT) per roll. The film is opaque, so the load cannot be seen through the wrap. The extended core option is the 400mm x 200m roll in 20 micron. The two extended core rolls are not the same film: the clear one is 23 micron and 250m, and the black one is 20 micron and 200m. If you want to know which jobs suit black film, our post on black pallet wrap uses goes through them.

Extended core option: 400mm x 250m

Clear Pallet Wrap

Choose the 400mm x 250m 23 Micron Extended Core size for a roll you can hold by the core.

• 23 micron clear hand stretch film
• Listed roll weight 1.5kg
• Core sticks out past the film at each end

From £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT)

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Does the HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser fit extended core or standard core pallet wrap?

No. The HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser is a hand-held holder for mini handy stretch wrap rolls, and it is too small for a full width pallet wrap roll on either kind of core. The product description says the same: full width pallet wrap rolls need a different setup.

The film the HW38 is made for is our Mini Handy Pallet Wrap 100mm x 150m. That roll is 100mm wide (about 4 inches), 17 micron and 150m long, in clear or black, from £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT) per roll. The HW38 itself is £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT) per piece. You put the mini roll on the dispenser, hold the handle, and the roll spins as you go round the bundle.

The HW38 is a separate tool from the choice between extended and standard core, and plenty of sites keep both: full width rolls for whole pallets, and a mini roll on an HW38 for the jobs a 400mm roll is clumsy at. Those jobs include bundling pipes, tubes and cables, holding two or three cartons together, and keeping drawers and doors shut on small furniture during a move. Our guide to handy wrap and mini pallet wrap covers those uses in detail.

The film that fits the HW38

Mini Handy Pallet Wrap 100mm x 150m

Narrow stretch film for bundles and small loads, used by hand or on the HW38 dispenser.

• 100mm x 150m, 17 micron
• Clear or black
• Sold per roll

From £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT)

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If a whole pallet is the job, do not try to do it with a mini roll. It will take a long time and a lot of laps. Use a full width roll, and pick the extended core if you have no dispenser for it.

Which core should you choose for your job?

Choose an extended core if you wrap by hand and have no dispenser, and choose a standard core if you have a dispenser for full width rolls, want 500mm film, or only wrap once in a while. Most buyers can settle it with the table below.

If you wrap one pallet a month, you do not need to pay attention to the core at all. Buy the light 400mm x 120m roll and hold it from the inside. The extended core is worth choosing when wrapping is a daily or weekly task and nobody has bought a dispenser.

Weigh up the film itself as well as the core. In black, going for the extended core means accepting 20 micron film. If your loads are heavy or have sharp corners and you would normally pick 23 micron, the black 500mm x 250m standard core roll may suit the load better, even though it is less comfortable to hold. In clear there is no such trade: the extended core roll is 23 micron, the same thickness as the 200m and 500mm standard core rolls.

A 500mm roll covers more height per lap, but it is a bigger roll to handle. The listed weights are 1.75kg for clear and 1.8kg for black, against 1.5kg and 1.4kg for the extended core rolls. Some people find the 400mm roll easier to control, especially low down at the pallet base. If you are still deciding between roll types more broadly, pallet wrap uses by job matches rolls to warehouses, removals and bundling, and our piece on extended cores, dispensers and mini rolls looks at the three upgrades side by side.

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How many rolls should you buy, and what does each roll cost?

Buy one roll if you are testing a core type or wrapping a single job, and buy several once you know which roll you use, because the price per roll falls as the quantity rises. Clear and black pallet wrap both start from £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT) per roll and run up to £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT) depending on the size. The minimum order is one roll, and the volume tiers are shown on each product page.

We cannot tell you how many pallets one roll will wrap, and you should be wary of anyone who gives a single number. It depends on the height of the load, how many layers you put on, how much you overlap and how hard you stretch the film. The reliable way to find out is to wrap your usual pallet with a new roll, count how many pallets it does, and order from that figure. If film use is a cost you are trying to bring down, read how to use less film per pallet.

A sensible first order for a site that has never used an extended core is one extended core roll and one standard core roll of the same colour. Give both to whoever does the wrapping and ask which they would rather use all week. Two rolls cost very little, and the test stops you committing to a stack of the wrong roll.

• Delivery. Royal Mail Tracked 48 is free on every order with no minimum. Orders placed by 2pm Monday to Friday leave our Manchester unit the same working day.
• Collection. Click and collect from Cheetham Hill, Manchester is free and usually ready within 2 hours.
• Local van. We run same-day van delivery within 10 miles of Cheetham Hill, which suits a warehouse that has run out of wrap mid-week.
• Regular orders. If you buy film every month, a trade account is worth setting up. Every order comes with a VAT invoice.
• Not sure which roll. Call 0161 706 1246 or use the contact page and tell us how you wrap and what the load is.

While you are ordering wrap, check the other things the despatch bench runs out of. A pallet usually needs its boxes sealed before it is wrapped, so look at packing tapes, and loose or fragile stock may need something from protective packaging before the film goes on.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does extended core mean on pallet wrap?

Extended core means the cardboard core of the pallet wrap roll is longer than the film is wide, so the core sticks out past the film at each end. You hold those two ends as handles while you wrap. The film on an extended core roll is ordinary hand stretch film, and only the core is different from a standard core roll.

Is extended core pallet wrap better than standard core pallet wrap?

Extended core pallet wrap is better if you wrap by hand and do not have a dispenser, because the core gives you something to hold. Standard core pallet wrap is the better choice if you use a dispenser made for full width rolls, want our 500mm wide film, or only wrap an occasional load. Neither core changes how strong the film is.

Do I need a dispenser for extended core pallet wrap?

No, extended core pallet wrap does not need a dispenser. The extended core is the handle, so you hold one end in each hand and walk the roll round the pallet. Gloves are worth wearing for long wrapping sessions because the cardboard core spins in your hands.

Which Pack Solution pallet wrap rolls have an extended core?

Two Pack Solution pallet wrap rolls have an extended core: the clear 400mm x 250m 23 micron roll (1.5kg) and the black 400mm x 200m 20 micron roll (1.4kg). The 400mm x 120m rolls, the clear 400mm x 200m roll and both 500mm x 250m rolls are on standard cores. The core type is written in the size option name on each product page.

Does the HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser fit full size pallet wrap rolls?

No, the HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser does not fit full size pallet wrap rolls. The HW38 is made for mini handy stretch wrap rolls, and the matching film is our Mini Handy Pallet Wrap 100mm x 150m. For whole pallets, use a full width clear or black roll and choose the extended core if you have no other dispenser.

Can I use extended core pallet wrap on a pallet wrapping machine?

Our extended core and standard core pallet wrap rolls are hand stretch film, made for wrapping by hand. They are not sold as machine film. If you run a stretch wrap machine, call Pack Solution on 0161 706 1246 before you order and ask which film suits it.

Shop for This Job

• Pallet Wrap
• Packing Tapes
• Protective Packaging

Related Guides

• Stretch Wrap Upgrades for UK Shipments: Extended Cores, Dispensers and Mini Rolls
• How to Wrap a Pallet: Step-by-Step with Pallet Wrap
• Pallet Wrap Grades and Gauges: Micron, Thickness and Heavy Duty Pallet Wrap

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