Common Edge Protector Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Published 26 October 2026 · By Ranjeet Kumar, Proprietor, Solution Enterprises

Short answer: the mistakes that cause most damage are boards on only some corners, boards that do not match the load height, legs too narrow for the strap or film pressure, boards stored damp, and loads that overhang the pallet so the board has nothing square to sit on. Each one has a cheap fix, and none of them needs a stronger board.

The list below is grouped by where the mistake happens: when the board is chosen, when it is applied, and before and after it is used.

Mistakes when choosing the board

Ordering by thickness alone

Thickness gets the attention, but leg width decides how far strap and film pressure is spread across each carton face. A thick board with narrow legs can still cut into soft cartons. Choose legs first, then thickness. How to choose edge protector size walks through it.

The wrong shape for the job

An L-shape suits a pallet corner. A panel or door edge often needs a U channel; a product with many edges may need a wrap-around board. The differences are set out in L, U, V or wrap-around edge protector.

One length for every load

Buying a single length to keep stock simple means some loads get boards that stick up and some get boards that stop short. PAHO’s palletizing guideline asks for corner boards that run the full height of the load. Two or three stock lengths matched to your common load heights usually cover everything.

Mistakes when applying it

Protecting only some corners

Two boards on the front corners, none at the back. The bare corners take all the film and strap pressure, and the stack leans towards them. Use four verticals on every load, each running the full height of the stack.

Overhang and loose stacking

If cartons hang over the pallet edge, the board stands on nothing at the bottom and cannot carry load down to the deck. PAHO notes that overhang and misaligned columns both reduce compression strength. Build the load square inside the pallet edge first; the board only works on a square load.

Boards placed after the film

A board pushed under finished film, or strapped over the outside of it, slides about in transit. Boards go on first and the film goes over them. The full sequence is in edge protectors with stretch wrap.

No protection under the straps on top

Vertical boards do nothing for the top edge where a strap bends over the load. Without a short piece or a long top board there, the strap cuts through the top cartons.

Strap off the board, or pulled too tight

A strap that sits at the edge of a protector leg, rather than across its middle, rolls the board over and bites the carton anyway. And a board spreads tension; it does not cancel it. Over-tightened strap still crushes weak cartons, board or no board. Centre each strap on the leg and set tension for the carton, not for the strap’s break strength.

Film wrapped down onto the forks

Lantech advises finishing the wrap with a rope of film just below the pallet’s top deck boards. Film taken right down to the base is torn by the forks, and the load loosens from the bottom up.

Mistakes before and after use

Storing boards on a damp floor

Paper boards are not weatherproof; distributors such as Uline say so on their product pages. Research on paperboard has long shown that compression strength falls as moisture content rises. A bundle left on a wet floor, near a dock door or under a leaking roof loses stiffness before it is ever used. Keep stock off the floor and covered. The monsoon version of this problem is covered in edge protectors in monsoon humidity.

Dropping bundles on their ends

A board with a crushed end will not stand square on the pallet. Handle bundles flat. The same goes for boards saved from incoming pallets: one that is bent, split or has been wet has lost the stiffness that made it useful.

Not counting the damage

Without numbers, edge protection is the first thing cut when costs are reviewed. Track claims and returns before and after a change. Our packaging damage cost calculator helps put a figure on it.

A quick check for your line

• Four vertical boards on every load, full height, not taller.
• Protection under every strap at the top edges.
• Load square inside the pallet edge.
• Boards on before film; film cable below the deck boards.
• Stock dry, off the floor, labelled by length.

We make paper angle boards in the shapes on our paper angle board page. If you want a second opinion on your current boards, send us the load size, how it is secured and what damage you see through the contact page.

Common questions

Will a thicker board fix crushed corner cartons?

Sometimes, but check placement, load height and overhang first. Most crushed corners come from one of those.

Can I cut long boards down on site?

Yes, with a saw that gives a clean, square end. A ragged end sits unevenly and can tear film.

Do damp boards recover once dried?

They regain much of their stiffness as they dry, but boards that have bowed, opened at the legs or begun to peel should not be used on a critical load.

Sources

• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Standard Guidelines for Palletizing Non-Perishable Shipments.
• Lantech, Quick Guide to Stretch Wrapping.
• Uline, Strapping Protectors product page (not weather resistant).
• C. Fellers and Å. Bränge, The impact of water sorption on the compression strength of paper, 8th Fundamental Research Symposium, Oxford, 1985.

General guidance from published sources. Your customer’s packing specification takes priority; trial any change before adopting it.