Paper Film Cores: Features That Determine The Right Size

28 December 2017
 Categories: Industrial & Manufacturing, Blog

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Choosing a film core for your new household film roll product may seem simple at first; you need a specific length and diameter so that the product fits neatly in the box you have picked out. Cores have features that can make your film product look better or worse, depending on what you choose. After you've determined the length and diameter, consider these other features so that you get the right core.

Smooth Surface

Many film cores have seams, those lines where the edges of the paper or cardboard sheets used to make the core land as the sheet winds its way around in a spiral. Some of those seams are prominent and can result in creasing if the wrong product is wrapped around the core. For example, if you're manufacturing a roll of tin foil, you don't want prominent seams because those will leave marks in the foil once it's (the foil is) wrapped tightly around the core. On the other hand, a prominent seam might be OK for plastic wrap given that the wrap usually pulls out flat anyway.

If you have something that's really fragile, look for seamless cores. These have no seams on the surface of the core, which makes them perfect for products like non-heavy-duty foil.

Core-Endwall Friction

The core has to rest on flaps that are part of the endwalls of the box. For best results, you want the core to spin freely around those flaps so that the customer has no trouble removing the product from the roll. Part of the speediness is due to the material of the flap being smooth, but the surface of the inner portion of the core has to be smooth as well. If the inner surface is too rough, there could be too much friction, causing the core to stop moving or causing one side to move more slowly than the other. Get compatible materials and smoothness.

Crush Strength

If you're planning to have a lot of material tightly wrapped around the core, such as in a jumbo roll of plastic wrap, look for thicker cores. Stiff cardboard cores, as opposed to thinner core material, are more appropriate. If you tightly wrap a lot of material around a weak core, that core can crumple quickly.

Paper cores are recyclable and easy to customize, but they do have their differences. Keep all of this in mind when you decide on a core for your new product.