Narrow honeycomb paper rolls (100 to 250 mm): uses for small items

Narrow honeycomb rolls, 100 to 250 mm wide, are for small products: jewellery and ring boxes, small bottles and vials, cosmetics, candle tins, mug handles, the edges of frames, and long thin items wrapped in a spiral. A good rule for width is the item's height plus its diameter. That covers the body and lets you fold the paper over both ends.

A wide roll can wrap a small item.

It just wastes paper and time doing it, and I think most small-product sellers underestimate how much.

We make honeycomb paper in Jaipur in standard widths of 100, 200, 250, 380, 390, 400, 490 and 500 mm, and we cut other widths to order. This note is about the three narrow ones. For the whole range, see our guide to choosing a honeycomb roll width. Read it with our note on the wide rolls, because most benches need one of each.

Why not just tear a wide roll?

Because the packer then wraps a 40 mm ring box in a sheet designed for a 300 mm vase. They tear a short piece off a 380 mm roll, fold the spare width over and over, and end up with a fat bundle of paper and a box that is now too small.

I understand the appeal. One roll for everything feels simpler.

But on small items the extra width goes straight into the parcel, and you pay for every gram of it. A narrow roll gives the packer the right amount of paper in one pull.

How wide should a narrow roll be?

Use this rule for small round or square items:

Width needed = item height + item diameter (or width).

The height covers the body. Half the diameter at each end is what you need to fold the paper over the top and the bottom.

Worked example: say you sell a small perfume bottle about 100 mm tall and 40 mm across. That gives 100 + 40 = 140 mm. A 100 mm roll would cover only the body, so the cap and base stay bare. A 200 mm roll covers everything with a little spare. So 200 mm is the one to test.

One more thing, which I always mention to new buyers. Honeycomb paper narrows a little as it opens, because pulling it lengthwise draws the edges in. Measure the opened width on your own dispenser before you settle on a size, and keep a small margin.

What each narrow width is good for

The weights are paper only, worked out as 80 GSM x width in metres x 250 m. Add the core for the weight on your scale.

The spiral wrap: narrow paper for long items

A long, thin item such as a taper candle, a pen set or a thin vase is awkward to wrap with a wide sheet. A narrow strip in a spiral works better.

1. Start at one end and fold the first turn over the tip.
2. Wind the strip around the item at an angle, so each turn overlaps the last by about half its width.
3. At the far end, fold the strip over the tip and tuck it under the last turn.
4. For heavier items, run a second spiral in the opposite direction.

Think of the way a cricket bat handle is wound with its rubber grip. I find that picture explains it better than any diagram.

Small jobs where narrow rolls shine

1. Mug handles. A short piece of 100 mm paper around the handle first, then the main wrap over the mug. The handle is the weak point on most mugs.
2. Frame and mirror edges. A strip along each edge protects the corners and the decorative frame finish, and the glass face can then be protected separately.
3. Bottle necks and caps. A collar of narrow paper around the neck stops two bottles knocking glass on glass in a multi-pack.
4. Jewellery boxes. Two turns of 100 mm around a ring box keep it from rattling inside the mailer or carton.

Narrow rolls on a dispenser

Check that your dispenser takes narrow rolls before you order. We run a dispenser test on our own samples for the same reason. A 100 mm roll on a spindle made for 500 mm rolls can slide sideways as the packer pulls, and the paper then opens unevenly. Some dispensers handle this with adjustable guides. Ask your dispenser supplier, or read our guide to honeycomb paper dispensers.

Narrow rolls are also light.

A 100 mm x 250 m flat roll at 80 GSM carries only about 2 kg of paper, so a packer can change rolls quickly and you can keep spares within arm's reach.

Where narrow rolls are the wrong choice

I will be honest about the limit.

A narrow roll is not a cheap way to wrap a big item. If a product needs two or three narrow strips side by side to cover it, the gaps between the strips are weak points, and the packer spends longer. Move up to a 380 mm or 500 mm roll for anything that size.

The other limit is volume, and we would rather you hear it from us. A bench that mostly packs large products should not run on narrow rolls just because a few small items come through. Keep a narrow roll on a second dispenser, or use pre-cut sheets for the occasional small item. Our sheets versus rolls note helps with that choice.

A quick test with your own products

1. Take your five smallest best-sellers.
2. Measure height and diameter for each, and work out the width with the rule above.
3. Ask for samples in the two narrow widths that cover most of them.
4. Wrap each product, time it, and weigh the paper used. I would do this with the packer who actually packs these items, not with a supervisor.

Send us the sizes of your small products through the contact page. I would rather we work out the width together on paper than send you the wrong one, and we will then send samples of the width to test. Our products page lists every width we make.