It’s every company’s legal obligation to ensure all of their shipped products are safely secured during transport. This is so that products don’t shift in any way while being transported and are not the cause of any unwanted injuries, or worse. Additionally, proper strapping protects the environment and ultimately, your company’s reputation. That being said, businesses use a wide range of package strapping solutions, the most popular being steel, polypropylene, and polyester strapping. Each of these methods has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages and determining the type that works best for your business will depend on a couple of different factors and to some extent, personal preference. Regardless, any strapping solution is far better than taping your products secure with something like duct tape, for example.
Steel Strapping
Steel strapping is the strongest strapping solution, and it is utilised wherever high strength is a must, where stretch is important, and where products might be hot or sharp. Steel straps are sealed using sealless joints and mechanical seals. Since this kind can be difficult to manipulate manually, there are many different types of steel strapping machines. One of the most popular steel strapping machines is the steel strapping dispenser, which is an easy-load, low-cost dispenser that allows the strap to dispense and revolve easily. However, there are also a few disadvantages to using steel strapping. For instance, steel strapping is hard to recycle, it’s relatively expensive, and it features sharp edges.
Polypropylene Strapping
Polypropylene strapping is the most popular strapping solution, due to the fact that it’s easy to recycle, easy to apply, it’s light and affordable. It features high elongation and elongation recovery, but on the downside, it has low retained tension. It is available in two grades – machine and hand grade, and it can be sealed using heat seals, buckles and friction welds. Machine grade strapping can also be used in manual applications, but hand grade strapping shouldn’t be used in machine applications.
Polyester Strapping
Polyester strapping (also known as PET strapping) is the most rigid strapping solution. It retains tension easily, but it has less elongation than polypropylene. This type of strapping is nick resistant and is typically sealed with friction welds, heat or seals. Since it’s an extraordinarily strong strapping solution, it’s used on heavy-duty loads that require high retained and high initial tension during storage and handling. Its performance characteristics and affordable pricing have made many steel strap users switch to polyester. Similarly to polypropylene, polyester strapping is available in hand and machine grade.
