Who, What, When, Where, Why, How ?
What is a top sheet?
 Sometimes called a pallet cover, pallet hood, or top sheeting, a top sheet is a thin (typically 1 to 4 mil thick) plastic film applied to the top of a pallet load for protection. A plastic top sheet is much more economical than a comparable corrugated top cap. Applying a layer of plastic film (or top sheet) to the top of a pallet load can make sense for a number of different reasons.
Why use a Top sheet (or pallet cover)?
Dust Protection
A layer of film on the top protects your product from dirt, dust and other elements that may affect the look or damage your product both during transit and storage at your facility and your customer’s location.
Tamper Resistant
By locking the top sheet film with the stretch wrap on the sides you effectively prevent easy access to the product inside. Although the top sheet film can be removed to allow access, it will be noticeable.
Water Resistance
Having a layer of top sheet plastic film provides a level of water resistance. This allows for the product load to be protected from the elements for a period of time without the moisture damaging the product within. The quality of resistance depends on the application.
 Methods of applying Top Sheets
If the top sheet of film is applied BEFORE it is locked into place by the stretch film then it provides a limited amount of protection as the accumulated moisture on the top of the load will flow of the side and down INSIDE the layer of stretch film (which gives the shingling effect) on the side, thus potentially damaging the product inside.
If the stretch film on the side is applied and then the top sheet is applied and locked into place by a layer of stretch film then the moisture will flow off the top and down the OUTSIDE of the stretch film layers on the side and thus allow the layers of stretch film to act as a shingle system, better protecting the product inside. This does not provide a waterproof seal, since a high sustained water pressure can allow water to make its way to the load. However, it does make the load water resistant under “normal” circumstances.
UV Resistance
Plastic Top sheet can have UVI (Ultra Violet Inhibitor) added to the film. This provides protection from the sun’s rays that can damage the product load. Without UV protection most packaging print on boxes or bags will fade, and some product packaging will deteriorate to the point of failure. The application of a UVI top sheet film will protect most products that require outdoor storage from the elements.
How to size a Top Sheet for your pallet:
A top sheet or pallet cover is generally held in place by the application of stretch film to the side of the load. With the top sheet edges draped over the 4 sides of the load, stretch film is applied to the sides to lock the top sheet in place. Thus the top sheet must be sized to make sure that enough film is left hanging over each edge to ensure that it drapes down the side. Otherwise either the top will not be completely covered or the film will not drape down the side but instead stick out away from the load causing the top sheet to bunch up when the stretch film is applied to the side. Either way this would result in an incomplete coverage to the top potentially resulting in damage to the load.
A good rule of thumb when sizing the top sheet is to ensure that 12 inches of top sheet overhangs each edge. This will ensure that the top sheet film hangs properly down each side to be easily encapsulated by the stretch film. Thus take the size of the pallet and add 24” to the length and width and that is the size of the top sheet required. The thickness of the top sheet is dependant on the application.
Other Benefits or Options to think about:
Printed Top Sheet
The edge of the top sheet hanging down the side of the pallet provides an excellent location to have advertisement or product branding done. Many companies will print the top sheet film with their company name or product for name recognition in the warehouse stores. This allows for easy location and provides excellent name recognition for the final end-users in the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s and the Wal-Mart.
Anti-Static Top sheet
In some cases static created when manipulating plastic film can cause the top sheet film to jam in the automatic dispensers that apply the film. Under certain conditions even manual application can be slowed by static (we all have played with Saran wrap and lived this issue). Anti-static additives can be added to the film formulation to reduce or eliminate the static properties inherent in the plastic film improving the overall production.
Tear Sheets (perforated lengths)
It is possible to have rolls of top sheet pre-perforated at the proper length for your pallet load. This allows the operator to simply unroll the top sheet film to the set length and tear the sheet off to the proper size every time. |
