Quick answer: Weigh it. A 400mm x 250m roll of 23 micron pallet wrap should weigh about 2.43kg with its core, and a 17 micron roll about 1.87kg. To check more closely, measure out 10 metres of film without stretching it and weigh that. Ten metres of 23 micron film at 400mm wide weighs about 85g, and ten metres of 17 micron about 63g. If your figures come out well below that, the roll is short, thin, or both.

The numbers printed on a box aren’t always what’s on the roll. Underfilled rolls, where the real length or thickness falls short of what’s advertised, are a known problem in the pallet wrap trade. You don’t need lab equipment to check. A tape measure, a pair of scissors and some kitchen or parcel scales will do.

Why weight is the number to check

Pallet wrap is sold on length (usually 250m), width (usually 400mm) and thickness in microns (often 17 or 23). All three are hard to check by eye. But together they decide how much plastic is on the roll, and plastic has a known weight. So a roll’s weight is the most honest single figure you can check.

The film used for pallet wrap weighs about 0.92 grams per cubic centimetre. That gives a simple rule. The weight of one metre of film, in grams, is roughly the width in metres times the thickness in microns times 0.92.

One metre of 23 micron film at 400mm wide weighs about 8.5g.
One metre of 17 micron film at 400mm wide weighs about 6.3g.

Multiply by 250 and you get about 2.1kg of film on a 23 micron roll and about 1.6kg on a 17 micron roll. The cardboard core adds roughly another 0.3kg, which is how you get to the 2.43kg and 1.87kg we publish.

Check 1: weigh the whole roll

This takes thirty seconds. Put a new, unused roll on the scales and compare the reading with the weight the supplier gives. If they don’t give one, use the figures above for a 400mm roll.

A small difference of a few per cent is normal. Film density varies a little, and cores aren’t all the same weight. A roll that’s 10% or more under is a different matter, and worth looking into.

Check 2: weigh a measured sample

This is the better test if you want to know whether the thickness is right. Pull the film off the roll gently and lay it flat along a floor or bench without stretching it. Stretched film gets thinner and will give you a false low reading. Measure out 10 metres, cut it, fold it up and weigh it.

For a 400mm roll, compare your result with these:

23 micron: about 85g for 10 metres
17 micron: about 63g for 10 metres

You can also turn your reading into a thickness. Divide the weight in grams by the length in metres, then by the width in metres, then by 0.92. For example, if 10 metres of 400mm film weighs 78g, that’s 78 ÷ 10 ÷ 0.4 ÷ 0.92, which is about 21 microns. On a roll sold as 23 micron, that’s thinner than it should be.

Check 3: work out the real length

Once you know the weight per metre, you can estimate the length of a whole roll. When the roll is used up, weigh the empty core. Take that off the full roll’s weight to get the weight of the film alone. Then divide by the weight of one metre from your sample.

So if a roll had 1,950g of film on it and your sample showed 8.5g per metre, the roll held about 229 metres, not 250. If you’d rather not wait until the roll is finished, weigh a used core from the same batch.

Checking thickness with a micrometer

A digital micrometer will measure thickness directly, but stretch film is so thin that a single layer is hard to read accurately. One micron is a thousandth of a millimetre. A trick that helps is to fold a flat, unstretched piece into ten layers, measure the stack and divide by ten. It still won’t be as reliable as the weight method unless the micrometer is a good one, so use both if the result really matters.

What to do if a roll comes up short

Write down your weights and measurements, and keep the roll, the box and the label. Take a photo of the scales showing the reading. Then contact the supplier with the details. A decent supplier will want to know and should replace or refund a roll that’s genuinely short.

One light roll might be a one-off. If it happens again and again with the same supplier, it tells you a lot more than any single roll. Our guide on why the cheapest pallet wrap isn’t always the cheapest explains what a short roll really costs you.

FAQs

How much should a 250m roll of 23 micron pallet wrap weigh?

At 400mm wide, about 2.43kg including the core. The film itself is about 2.1kg.

How much should a 250m roll of 17 micron pallet wrap weigh?

At 400mm wide, about 1.87kg including the core, with about 1.6kg of film.

Can I check a roll without cutting any film?

Yes. Weigh the full roll when it arrives and compare it with the published weight. That tells you most of what you need to know. The sample test is only needed if you want to separate a length problem from a thickness problem.

Are kitchen scales accurate enough?

For a 10 metre sample, yes, as long as they read to the nearest gram. For a whole roll, parcel scales that read to 10g are fine. Most bathroom scales aren’t precise enough.

Does black film weigh the same as clear?

Near enough. Our 23 micron black and clear rolls are both about 2.43kg.

Every roll we sell lists its real weight alongside the length and thickness on our stretch film rolls page, so you can run these checks against what actually turns up.

How to Check Your Pallet Wrap’s Real Length and Thickness