What is Polyethylene Foam?
Polyethylene foam is a soft, durable, lightweight, closed cell material. Its closed cell structure offers a protective packaging material with resistance to shock and vibration, as well as moisture and chemicals. This makes it an excellent choice for applications requiring antistatic polyethylene foam.

Polyethylene Foam Roll Options and Customizations:

• Polyethylene Foam is available in a variety of thicknesses and anti-static material.
• Custom sizing is available, you may customize to the roll width best for your application and add perforations if desired, simply tear off the perfect size sheet, a convenient and labour saving option, especially if you are wrapping many similar sized items.
• Use rolls with a dispenser for an efficient packaging process. Contact our sales team for more details on this item.
• SmartShield's ECO Poly Foam contains approximately 65% recycled content.

How do I Choose the Right Thickness of Polyethylene Foam for my Packaging Needs? 
This is an important question, and requires consideration, firstly what is the application? Is the foam purpose a surface protection, a shock absorber, or both? If the foam is strictly being used for keeping surfaces free from abrasion damage during transit, usually a thinner foam would be adequate protection. However, the heavier the parts get and, especially if they are packed together inside the same box, there is a higher likelihood of impact between the products, causing paint chips and possibly even dents in the surface. In these instances, thicker foam providing a higher level of surface protection and shock resistance is better. 
Lastly, as always, as labour is often a greater expense than materials, it is the balance of material usage and labour that we’re trying to achieve. You can always wrap something more than once, but this option brings added labour cost to the packing process, which could be eliminated by using thicker foam.

What are the Common Uses for Polyethylene Foam Rolls?
Here is a basic guideline for suggested uses, however in some cases we recommend testing to ensure complete satisfaction is met:

• 1/32” Polyethylene Foam common uses; automotive parts, household appliances.
• 1/16” Polyethylene Foam common uses; polished surfaces, glass & crystal, mirrored surfaces.
• 3/32” Polyethylene Foam common uses; metal parts, artwork & plaques
  1/8” Polyethylene Foam common uses; aircraft parts, furniture.
• 1/4” Polyethylene Foam common uses; electronic equipment, interleaving between heavy components
  1/2" Polyethylene Foam common uses; sharp edged products, heavy items, light fixtures.

Benefits of Polyethylene Foam for Packaging:
Polyethylene foam is a popular packaging material because of its high strength and tear resistance, it has the ability to absorb impacts and return to form after compression, with high resilience properties it can be stored for years in a compressed state and still return to its form.
Polyethylene foam can be used to cushion, protect and insulate items in a similar way to bubble wrap, however while bubble wrap is a more robust cushioning offering higher impact resistance, it may leave marks on reflective or polished surfaces. Foam on the other hand offers characteristics more suitable for delicate surface protection, it is generally thinner than bubble, taking less packaging space, allowing you to fit more items in the carton.
As foam is thin and one of the lightest protection materials available it keeps freight to a minimum, adding little or no extra costs. This with the added bonus of it being reusable makes it a popular packaging material for e-commerce companies that offer returns. 
Polyethylene foam is 100% recyclable. It can be melted down and reused or remolded for similar applications.

More polyethylene foam options are available, including foam pouches and sheets, foam tubing, cohesive foam, and adhesive foam. Many of these options come with antistatic properties, preventing damage caused by electrostatic discharge, ideal for sensitive electronic components.

Foam Tubing
Polyethylene foam tubing is exactly what it sounds like, a continuous sleeve of polyethylene foam, that has the flexibility to be cut and sealed at your desired length. Ideal for creating bags or pouches for long or awkward shaped items, including wood moldings, lightbulbs, metal pipes or tubing and more. It is available in both regular and anti-static materials, and also available laminated to bubble wrap, single face corrugated or kraft paper. 

The benefits of polyethylene foam laminated to bubble: 
When the texture of bubble cells may affect the surface of the item being packaged, a layer of soft polyethylene foam if often used to wrap it first, followed by a layer of bubble wrap to provide the more robust cushioning required to protect the product. See laminated foam.

Cohesive Foam
Cohesive foam sticks to itself, not to your product. It is used with large or small items and leaves no residue. Ideal for making your own pouch, simply place your product or products on the foam and press the sides to form the desired package size. Contact our sales team for more details on this product.

Adhesive Foam 
Adhesive foam sticks to the product to ensure complete surface protection for delicate items, as it cleanly removes it is an ideal solution for awkward shape items. Contact our sales team for more details on this product.

Foam Pouches
Foam Pouches are available in custom sizes in regular or antistatic material, for convenient and efficient labour-saving packaging. Contact our sales team for more details on this product.

Foam Sheets
Foam sheets are a great solution for layering between items or when wrapping many similar sized products, offering portion control and therefore preventing over packaging. Contact our sales team for more details on this product.