01
Shipping slip sheets to a receiver without a push-pull attachment
The load physically cannot be unloaded. This is a very expensive discovery to make on arrival.
FixConfirm the equipment at the destination in writing before the first shipment.
01The catalogue, with what each is actually for
| Accessory | Typical cost | Solves |
|---|---|---|
| Pallet collar (4-hinge, 1200x800 or 48x40) | $9–$14 | Turning a deck into a box; folds flat for return |
| Top cap / lid | $3–$8 | Crush protection for the top tier of a stack |
| Corner board (edge protector) | $0.35–$0.90 | Strap crush at load corners |
| Slip sheet (kraft or HDPE) | $0.80–$2.40 | Eliminating the pallet on push-pull lanes |
| Runner / bottom board set | $1.20–$3.50 | Converting a skid to a jackable deck |
| Anti-slip sheet | $0.25–$0.70 | Load shift on smooth cases |
| Pallet top frame | $6–$11 | Rigid perimeter for unstable or bagged product |
| Stretch-wrap void filler | $1.10–$2.80 | Under-filled loads collapsing inward |
02Collars: the most under-used item in logistics
A pallet collar is a four-sided wooden frame with hinges at the corners. It drops onto a standard pallet and turns it into an open-topped box. Add a second collar and you double the height; add a top cap and you have a closed container. When it comes back, the collar folds flat to about two inches.
The economics are unusually clean. A collar costs roughly a tenth of a crate, is reusable for 40–60 cycles, and reduces return-freight cube by around 90% compared with sending crates back. For any closed loop moving loose or bagged product, it is usually the right answer.
- Stack up to four collars high on a single pallet base
- Access the load mid-stack by removing collars above it — no unpacking from the top
- Compatible with standard 48x40 and 1200x800 footprints
- Repairable: replace one damaged board rather than the whole frame
03Slip sheets: removing the pallet entirely
A slip sheet is a thin sheet of kraft board or HDPE with a gripping lip. A push-pull attachment on a forklift grips the lip and drags the load onto a platform. No pallet travels with the goods.
| Measure | 48x40 wood pallet | Slip sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 5–5.5 in | 0.03–0.1 in |
| Weight | 38–48 lb | 0.8–2.2 lb |
| Cost per unit | $11–$16 recycled | $0.80–$2.40 |
| Container height gain | — | ~5 in per tier |
| Special equipment | None | Push-pull attachment required |
| ISPM-15 | Required if wood | Not applicable |
By the numbers
The figures worth remembering
Four numbers that decide most of what follows on this page.
- Corner board — the cheapest damage prevention there is
- $0.35Corner board — the cheapest damage prevention there is
- Reuse cycles from one pallet collar
- 40–60Reuse cycles from one pallet collar
- Return-freight cube saved by collars vs crates
- ~90%Return-freight cube saved by collars vs crates
- Slip sheet thickness, replacing a 5 in deck
- 0.03 inSlip sheet thickness, replacing a 5 in deck
Rules of thumb
Carry these in your head
- 01A $0.50 corner board routinely protects several hundred dollars of product.
- 02Collars turn a deck into a box and fold to two inches for the return.
- 03Check the accessory before you order a custom footprint.
- 04Standardise collar height across the whole operation or nothing stacks.
Before you order
The decisions we will ask you to make
A quote turnaround is limited by how many follow-up questions we have to ask. Working through this list removes nearly all of them.
- 01
Where damage actually occurs
Look at the bottom tier corners of a delivered load. That is where overhang and strap crush show up.
- 02
Collar height
Standardise on one. 200 mm and 8 in collars look identical and stack unevenly.
- 03
Base pallet squareness
Collars need a square pallet. More than half an inch out and they rock and wear the hinges.
- 04
Push-pull equipment
Slip sheets need the attachment at both ends of the lane. Confirm at the destination before shipping one.
- 05
Top tier protection
A top cap stops the pallet above crushing your top layer. Frequently cheaper than the claim.
- 06
Strap tension points
Four corner boards cost under two dollars and redistribute the force that crushes case corners.
What goes wrong
Expensive mistakes, and the fix for each
Every one of these turns up in ordinary purchase orders. All of them cost multiples of whatever they appeared to save.
02
Treating collars as consumables
They are assets worth 40–60 cycles, and they walk exactly like pallets do.
FixCount them in and out alongside the pallets, and repair rather than replace.
03
Skipping corner boards to save fifty cents
Strapping applies its full tension at four points, and without a corner board that force lands on the corrugated corner — where all the compression strength lives.
FixCorner boards on every strapped load. It is the highest-return item in this catalogue.
Side by side
Slip sheet against a wood pallet
| Measure | 48x40 wood pallet | Slip sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 5–5.5 in | 0.03–0.1 in |
| Weight | 38–48 lb | 0.8–2.2 lb |
| Cost per unit | $11–$16 recycled | $0.80–$2.40 |
| Container height gain | — | ~5 in per tier |
| Special equipment | None | Push-pull attachment required |
| ISPM-15 | Required if wood | Not applicable |
Against our interest
When this is the wrong answer
We would rather lose the order than sell you the wrong thing. These are the situations where this page is not what you need.
- 01
Slip sheets without push-pull equipment at both ends
The load physically cannot be unloaded without the attachment. Confirm at the destination in writing before the first shipment, not after.
- 02
Collars on out-of-square pallets
More than about half an inch out of square and the collar rocks, stacks unevenly and wears its hinges. A collar programme needs a Grade A base with a stated tolerance.
- 03
Weather-exposed transit
Collars and open frames do nothing about rain or dust. That is what a cleated plywood box is for.
What moves the price
Cost drivers, and roughly how much each one is worth
A quote is not a list price with a discount applied. It is these variables added up, which is why two quotes for nominally the same thing can differ so widely.
| Driver | What it is | Rough effect |
|---|---|---|
| Reuse cycles | A collar amortises across 40–60 cycles; a corner board is consumed once. | Changes the unit economics entirely |
| Material | Kraft laminate against HDPE for slip sheets; corrugated against plywood or moulded plastic for top caps. | 2–4× between options |
| Hinge quality on collars | The hinge is the wear point, and it is replaceable — which is what makes a collar an asset rather than a consumable. | Determines cycle life |
| Order quantity | Minimum is 50 units per line; small orders carry disproportionate handling. | +10–25% at minimum |
Due diligence
Questions to ask any supplier
Us included. The answers tell you a great deal, and so does how quickly they arrive — a yard that has these documents ready is a yard that has thought about them.
- 01
“What collar height do you supply, and is it 200 mm or 8 inches?”
- 02
“Are the hinges replaceable, and can individual boards be swapped?”
- 03
“How many lips on the slip sheet, and does it match the receiver's attachment?”
- 04
“What corner board length and thickness suits our strap tension?”
- 05
“Do you take damaged collars back for repair rather than replacement?”
The rulebook
Standards and authorities that actually apply
Plenty of pallet marketing invokes standards loosely. These are the real documents behind this subject, and what each one does and does not cover.
- ANSI MH1
Covers slip sheets alongside pallets — the standard's full title is 'Pallets, Slip Sheets, and Other Bases for Unit Loads'.
- ISO 8611
Where collar and top-cap load transfer is assessed as part of the unit-load system rather than the pallet alone.
- ASTM D642
Compression testing for shipping containers — the method behind the overhang and corner-board figures quoted on this site.
- ISPM-15
Wooden collars are solid wood packaging. If they cross a border, they need treating and marking like anything else.
Vocabulary
The terms used on this page
Defined the way the trade uses them, not the way a dictionary would.
- Pallet collar
- A hinged four-sided wooden frame that converts a flat pallet into an open box and folds to about two inches for return.
- Top cap
- A protective lid placed over the top tier of a stacked load to prevent crush damage from the pallet above.
- Slip sheet
- A thin kraft or plastic sheet with a gripping lip, used with a push-pull attachment to move loads without a pallet at all.
- Overhang
- Product extending past the pallet edge. Two inches of overhang cuts corrugated compression strength by roughly a third.
- Wing palletalso: Overhang pallet
- A pallet whose deck boards overhang the stringers, adding strap surface and improving edge-rack support.
From the journal
Longer reading on this subject
Written by the people who grade, repair and haul the wood — including the articles that argue against buying from us.
Materials5 min readRay Castellanos
Collars beat crates more often than anyone expects
It is a wooden frame with four hinges. It is also, for a lot of closed loops, the cheapest packaging decision available and almost nobody considers it.
Read
- collars
- accessories
- closed loop
Materials6 min readDana Whitfield
Overhang: two inches that cost a third of your box strength
The strongest part of a corrugated box is its corners. Overhang is the practice of asking those corners to hold up the box while standing on nothing.
Read
- damage
- packaging
- specification
Buying7 min readDana Whitfield
Five pallet specification mistakes that cost more than the pallets
None of these are exotic. All five turn up in ordinary purchase orders every week, and each one costs multiples of whatever the pallet saved.
Read
- specification
- purchasing
- damage
Reference
Full specification
The numbers our own graders and builders work to. Print it, or paste it into a purchase order.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Collar sizes | 48x40 in, 1200x800 mm, 1200x1000 mm |
| Collar height | 200 mm standard, 100 mm and 300 mm available |
| Collar hinges | Galvanised steel, 4 per collar |
| Corner board | 0.12–0.2 in laminated kraft, 24–72 in lengths |
| Slip sheet material | Kraft laminate or HDPE, 1–4 lip configurations |
| Top cap material | Corrugated, plywood or moulded plastic |
| Anti-slip | Water-based coating or interleaved sheet |
| Minimum order | 50 units per line |
| Lead time | 2–7 working days |
Questions
Answers to what buyers actually ask
Straight answers, including the ones that cost us the sale.
Will pallet collars fit any pallet?
They fit any pallet built to the matching footprint with a reasonably square perimeter. A 48x40 collar sits correctly on a 48x40 pallet with wings or flush edges. It will not sit properly on a pallet more than about half an inch out of square, which is another argument for Grade A stock in a collar programme.
How many times can a collar be reused?
Typically 40–60 cycles in normal handling. The hinge is the wear point, and hinges can be replaced. Damaged boards can be swapped individually, so a collar programme rarely produces scrap.
Do corner boards really reduce damage?
Yes, measurably. Strapping applies its full tension at four points; without a corner board that force lands on the corrugated case corner, which is where the box's compression strength is concentrated. A $0.50 corner board routinely protects several hundred dollars of product.
Can I mix accessories from different suppliers?
Physically, usually. Practically, watch collar height — 200 mm and 8 inch collars look identical and stack unevenly, which is how a four-high stack ends up 12 mm out at the top and racks badly.
Are pallet collars cheaper than buying boxes?
Usually, once they cycle more than a handful of times. A collar turns a flat deck into a container and folds flat when empty, so the saving is in return freight and storage as much as in unit cost. For a single one-way trip a box is normally cheaper.