Stretch Film Gauge Explained: 63, 80 and 90

Stretch film is sold by gauge, which is simply a measure of thickness. It is the number that decides both what the film costs and whether it holds your load, and it is the one most buyers guess at.

What the numbers mean

Gauge is a US measure. The metric equivalent is microns, and the conversion is close enough to divide by four.

• 63 gauge — about 16 micron. Light duty.
• 80 gauge — about 20 micron. The general-purpose standard.
• 90 gauge and above — 23 micron and up. Heavy or awkward loads.

If nobody has told you otherwise, you want 80. It is the specification most warehouses run and it handles the majority of palletised freight without thinking about it.

When 63 gauge is enough

Light, stable, regular loads with no sharp edges. Boxed goods of uniform size, stacked squarely, not travelling far.

It costs meaningfully less per roll, and for the right load it holds perfectly well. The failure mode is puncture: anything with a corner, a protruding edge or an irregular profile will find the weak point and tear.

The honest test is whether your pallets are the same shape every time. If they are, 63 will probably do. If every pallet is a different puzzle, it will not.

When to go above 80

Genuinely heavy loads, sharp-edged goods, long transit with multiple handling points, or anything stacked two pallets high in a trailer.

But before buying heavier film, check whether the problem is actually the film. Most load failures that people try to solve with gauge are really caused by:

• Poor stacking — a load that is unstable before wrapping will be unstable after
• Not anchoring the film to the pallet base
• Wrapping without tension, so the film is present but doing nothing
• No corner protection on a load that needs it

Each of those is free to fix. Stepping up a gauge across every pallet you ship is not, and it will not compensate for any of them.

Blown or cast?

A separate question from gauge, and worth understanding because the two get confused.

Blown film is tougher, resists puncture better and holds a load more firmly. It is louder to unwind and slightly hazy. It is the right default for mixed or awkward pallets.

Cast film is clearer, much quieter, and unwinds smoothly at speed. It costs slightly less. It suits light uniform loads where the label needs to be readable through the wrap.

At the same gauge, blown film will generally hold more. We stock blown as standard for that reason.

The cost comparison that matters

Do not compare price per roll. Compare cost per pallet wrapped, which is the only figure that affects your accounts.

A heavier film costs more per roll but uses no more length per pallet, so the maths is simple: divide the roll price by the number of pallets it wraps. A film that is 20% dearer but stops one collapsed pallet a month is not expensive. A film that is 20% dearer on loads that never failed anyway is pure cost.

The short version

• Uniform boxed goods, short journeys — 63 gauge
• Almost everything else — 80 gauge
• Heavy, sharp or double-stacked — 90 gauge and corner boards
• Loads that keep failing at 80 — fix the wrapping technique first; it is free