Everything you need to know about strapping

Steel strapping: steel is the oldest, strongest, and highest tensile strength strapping available. It is available in a variety of widths and thicknesses, as well as variations in the grade of steel. Steel is used for heavy duty holding where high strength and minimal stretch are desired, as well as when the product may be sharp or hot.

When it comes to knowing if you need something as heavy duty as steel strapping for your shipping, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is the load heavy and stable?
2. Does it need to travel a long distance?
3. Will it need to be loaded and unloaded many times before destination?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then you will have the most success with steel strapping.

Plastic strapping: Polypropylene and polyester strapping are the main types of plastic strapping today.  Polypropylene strapping is an economical material designed for light to medium duty unitizing, palletizing, and bundling. It is available in various widths, thicknesses, and polymer variations (e.g., copolymers). This product offers higher elongation, but tends to have irrecoverable dead stretch with constant stress. Polyester strapping is the most rigid option, offering the strongest plastic strapping, and is used as a viable alternative to steel in many industries. Polyester provides excellent retained tension on rigid loads and its excellent recovery properties help a load absorb impact without strap breakage. It has significantly less elongation than polypropylene and retains tension over a longer period of time.

Plastic strapping, in general, is often referred to collectively as “poly strapping” despite its specific differences.  It can create some confusion, but by remembering these useful pieces of advice to best tell them apart:

• Polypropylene strap is typically embossed, feels more like plastic, and has a matte-style finish.
• Polyester is a glossy, smooth strap; it does not resemble polyester fabric in any way.
• Since polypropylene is the most common plastic strap option, the term “poly strapping” will generally refer to polypropylene.
• Polyester works best when you need higher initial tension; polypropylene is best when high initial tension is unimportant and only low retained tension is needed.

Because of its long history in the packaging world, there are lots of different types of strapping today; however, most strap is made from either steel or plastic.  Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, making it critical to figure out exactly what works for your specific needs.