Film cost tool
Pallet Wrap Film Consumption Calculator from Whittaker Packaging Solutions
The Whittaker Packaging Solutions pallet wrap film consumption calculator takes the guesswork out of your stretch film bill. Tell us your film type, price per roll, metres per roll, wrap pattern and pallets per day, and we return your real cost per pallet, your annual film spend, and a side-by-side comparison against a power pre-stretch alternative.
It exists because the WPS team got tired of warehouses staring at a quote for a high-end pallet wrapper without any way to compare it to what they were already spending on film. The calculation closes that gap.
What you get
What the film consumption calculator tells you
The calculation works through five outputs in order:
Your real cost per pallet today
current film, current machine, current wrap pattern
Your annual film spend
based on your stated pallets per day
The cost per pallet on a tuned power pre-stretch unit
with the same load
Annual film saving
if you switched, in dollars and in kilograms of film
Payback period
against the price difference between your current setup and the alternative
The maths is based on standard stretch film consumption modelling: rolls used, metres per pallet, film weight per metre, machine elongation factor (mechanical brake vs power pre-stretch), price per kilogram of film. It's the same calculation the WPS team runs by hand before recommending a machine, not a gimmick spreadsheet.
Why the cost-per-pallet number matters
Most warehouses know their monthly film bill. Very few know their cost per pallet. The cost per pallet number is what makes machine decisions easy.
Once you know one pallet costs you (say) 95 cents in film today and would cost 48 cents on a power pre-stretch unit, the upgrade decision becomes arithmetic. Multiply the saving by your pallets per year and compare it to the price difference between the two machines. If the upgrade pays for itself in 14 months, the decision is straightforward.
Most operations managers and owners we work with have never seen that number for their own site. Once they have it, the conversation about the right pallet wrapper changes completely.
How power pre-stretch changes the film maths
The reason cost per pallet drops so much on a power pre-stretch machine is mechanical, not marketing. A well-tuned power pre-stretch unit can elongate film up to 250%, so every metre off the roll becomes 3.5 metres on the pallet. A mechanical brake unit typically achieves 20-50%, so every metre becomes 1.2-1.5 metres.
The film weight on the pallet doesn't change much (you still need enough containment force to hold the load). What changes is the weight of film you bought to get there. Higher pre-stretch = less film purchased = lower cost per pallet.
For a full walk-through of the mechanics, see our power pre-stretch vs mechanical brake guide.
What you need to run the numbers
To get a meaningful number, you need five inputs from your current setup:
Current film type and gauge (machine-grade or hand-grade, micron rating)
Price per roll (or price per kilogram of film)
Metres per roll
Wrap pattern in use (number of revolutions, top + bottom wraps, any reinforcement)
Pallets per day average and peak
If you can pull these from your last film invoice and ask your wrap operator a couple of questions, you have everything you need.
Send us your numbers and we will run it for you
Skip the inputs and have us run the maths: send your current film invoice and a quick description of your wrap setup. We'll run the comparison against the right power pre-stretch unit for your throughput and email the result inside business hours.
It's a free service. No obligation, and no salesperson will phone to follow up unless you ask.
What the calculation does not tell you
To be honest about scope:
It estimates film consumption based on a standard wrap pattern model. Real-world variation (load shape, operator habits, film batch quality) can move the actual number by 10-15% either way.
It does not estimate plastic-pollution savings (we can run that separately if it matters to your reporting).
It does not include labour savings from automation. That is a different calculation we run during scoping for fully automatic wrappers.
It does not include the freight or installation cost of a new machine. Those are quoted separately.
What it does do is give you a defensible cost-per-pallet number to take to your owner, operations manager or finance team when you're weighing a capital purchase.
Service coverage
Whittaker Packaging Solutions provides full service, preventative maintenance and breakdown support across South East Queensland, Toowoomba and Melbourne. Typical breakdown response is 24-48 hours during business hours, especially in our key service hubs. Pre-stretch carriage performance benefits from regular preventative maintenance; we include this in our service agreements where the carriage type warrants it.
Talk to us
Send through your film invoice and we'll run the numbers. Either way, you walk away with a real cost-per-pallet number for your own operation, free of charge.
FAQs
Common questions
The Whittaker Packaging Solutions pallet wrap film consumption calculator estimates your current cost per pallet and annual film spend based on your film type, price, metres per roll, wrap pattern and pallets per day. It then compares those numbers against a power pre-stretch alternative and estimates payback period.
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