12, 15 and 20 inch honeycomb paper rolls for US buyers

Ask three US sellers for a "12 inch honeycomb roll" and you may get three different rolls. One is 12 inches wide on the roll. One is wider on the roll and opens to about 12 inches. The third does not say.

In metric terms, 12 inches is 304.8 mm, 15 inches is 381 mm and 20 inches is 508 mm. In the US, honeycomb rolls are sometimes listed by their flat width and sometimes by the narrower width after the paper opens, and the length can be flat feet or expanded feet. So ask "flat or expanded?" for both numbers on every quote. Measure the width of the roll itself, never the box, and compare suppliers by paper weight.

We make 12, 15 and 20 inch widths for US buyers in Jaipur.

Every width and length we quote is flat. I insist on that, because it is the only measurement a buyer can check independently.

The three US widths in millimetres

The 15 and 380 pair looks identical, but it is not. One millimetre is nothing in the hand. On a dispenser built tightly for one of them, it can be the difference between a roll that runs clean and one that rubs a side plate. We make 15" rolls to the inch, not as 380 mm with a new label.

Flat width or opened width?

When honeycomb paper opens, it gets longer and narrower. A 1997 US patent on slit sheet packing, US5667871A, describes the expanded paper as getting longer while it "decreases in width".

This is where US listings get confusing. You will find listings that give two widths for the same roll: a flat width and a smaller opened width. A roll that is about 15 inches on the core can be sold as "12 inch wrap", because 12 inches is roughly what lands on the product.

Neither way is wrong. But a buyer who replaces that "12 inch wrap" with a roll that is 12 inches flat will get paper that opens narrower still.

Packers notice on the first day.

My advice is simple, and I would give it to any American distributor.

Take a tape measure to the roll on your dispenser today. The width of paper sitting on a core is always the flat width, whatever the box says. Order that number.

Flat feet or expanded feet?

Length has the same problem. Some sellers quote the paper as it sits on the roll. Others quote it after it is pulled open, which is a bigger and nicer number.

Our standard trade roll is 250 m flat. With our cut, 1 m of flat paper opens to about 1.6 m, so that roll gives roughly 400 m of wrap.

Two cautions on the last column. The 1.6x is our cut. Another supplier's paper can open more or less. And your own dispenser and packers change the result too. Our guide on the expansion ratio explains why.

So an "1,300 ft" roll from one supplier and an "820 ft" roll from us may hold almost the same paper. One is counting opened feet, the other flat feet.

How do you compare two US listings fairly?

Compare paper, not labels. Paper is sold by area and weight, so that is what you check.

1. Measure the flat width on the roll, in inches.
2. Weigh the roll and subtract the empty core. Our roll weight chart shows what to expect.
3. Ask for the basis weight in pounds, or the GSM.
4. Work out the flat feet with this formula: flat feet = net paper weight in lb × 3,000 ÷ (basis weight in lb × flat width in feet).

Here is a worked example with round numbers. Take a 15 inch roll (1.25 ft) of 50# paper. If the paper alone weighs 17.1 lb, then 17.1 × 3,000 ÷ (50 × 1.25) = 821 flat feet.

If the same calculation on a cheaper roll gives you 600 flat feet, you have found the reason it is cheaper.

A short roll at a low price is not a bargain.

For the pounds side of this, our GSM to pounds chart has the conversions.

Which of the three widths should you pick?

I would pick by your products first and your dispenser second.

1. If most of what you ship is under about 15 cm (6 inches) tall, a 12" roll can cover it with less waste.
2. If your mix is mugs, jars, boxed gifts and plates, 15" is the safe default.
3. If you ship tall bottles or large ceramics every day, 20" saves a second wrap on each one.

For a deeper sizing method, with a rule you can run on your own product list, see our guide to honeycomb paper roll widths. It works in millimetres, but the logic is the same in inches.

A worked example: switching a US packing room

Picture a fulfilment centre in Ohio running "12 inch" wrap from a local supplier. The box label says 12 in x 1,300 ft. It wants to import instead.

1. Someone measures the roll on the dispenser. It is 15 inches flat. So the "12 inch" figure was the opened width.
2. The roll's paper weighs about 17 lb, so it holds roughly 800 flat feet of 50# paper.
3. So the right import roll is 15" flat, 50# (80 GSM), about 820 ft flat. Not a 12" roll.

Had the centre ordered "12 inch" from an importer who quotes flat, a whole container would have arrived too narrow for the products.

The tape measure and the scale took ten minutes. I would call that the cheapest insurance in packaging.

Where we fit

We make 12", 15" and 20" rolls for the US, made to the inch, alongside our metric widths, in grades from 50 to 120 GSM (about 30# to 74#). Every quote from us says flat width and flat length. The products page has the full range.

There is one thing I cannot promise. Our 1.6x expansion is what our cut gives on our dispensers. I cannot promise your packers will see exactly the same, so test a sample before you plan a season's stock on it.

Send us the flat width and the weight of the roll you use today through our contact page. We will match it, and send a sample to check on your own dispenser.