In today’s high-volume shipping and warehousing environments, products face constant risks, vibration, shifting loads, stacking pressure, forklift impacts, protruding nails on pallets, moisture, and rough handling. Damaged goods lead to costly claims, returns, and dissatisfied customers.
Fortunately, three simple yet highly effective paperboard solutions, slip sheets, layer pads, and edge protectors deliver reliable protection without adding significant weight, bulk, or cost. Made primarily from recycled materials, these products help businesses stabilize loads, prevent damage, and support sustainability goals.
At Hammond Paper, we’ve supplied these essential paperboard items to North American companies for over 30 years. Here’s a practical guide to understanding each product, its benefits, and how they work together to safeguard your shipments.
Slip sheets (also called skid liners, pallet liners, or push/pull sheets) and layer pads (also known as tier sheets or pallet toppers) are flat sheets of chipboard, corrugated cardboard, or linerboard. They are typically placed:
Hammond Paper stocks these in a range of calipers (commonly from about 0.009” / 9 point up to 0.060” / 60 point) and can supply standard or custom sizes. Many options are made from 100% recycled and 100% recyclable materials. Anti-slip sheets versions are also available for extra load stability.
Key functions include:
These sheets are especially valuable for bagged goods, cartons, bottles, printed materials, and mixed loads.
Businesses choose paperboard slip sheets and layer pads for both performance and practicality:
When used correctly (for example, one sheet on the pallet base, additional sheets every few layers depending on product weight and height, and a top sheet), they form a simple but highly effective protection system.
Edge protectors (also called corner boards, U-channel boards, or edge guards) are rigid paperboard or laminated board pieces designed to fit over the vertical edges and corners of palletized loads. They are commonly made from recycled paperboard and can be supplied in various lengths, thicknesses, and configurations.
These protectors are applied along the four corners (and sometimes additional edges) of a stacked load before stretch wrapping or strapping.
Edge protectors address the vulnerable pressure points of any palletized shipment:
Industry experience and studies consistently show that proper use of edge protectors can meaningfully reduce edge-related damage claims.
The real power comes from combining these products into a complete protection system:
This layered approach stabilizes the load, protects both the bottom and the edges, and helps products arrive in better condition, even under demanding shipping conditions.
Paperboard versions of these products offer clear advantages over many plastic or foam alternatives: they are lightweight, cost-effective, highly customizable, and support circular-economy goals through high recycled content and recyclability.
Hammond Paper makes it easy to implement these solutions. As a 100% Canadian-owned paperboard distributor and converter based in Vaughan, Ontario, we:
Whether you need high-volume standard sheets or precision-cut custom pieces, we can help you specify the right caliper, material, and configuration for your products and shipping conditions.
Shipping and warehousing damage is largely preventable. By incorporating quality paperboard slip sheets, layer pads, and edge protectors into your packaging process, you can reduce claims, improve customer satisfaction, lower costs, and advance your sustainability objectives.
Ready to strengthen your pallet protection system? Contact Hammond Paper today to discuss your requirements, request samples, or get a quote. We’re here to help you find the right paperboard solutions for safer, more efficient shipping and warehousing.