Pallet Edge Protectors and Layer Pads: A Malaysian Guide

5 October 2026

Short answer: stretch film and strapping hold a pallet together by squeezing it, and that squeeze lands hardest on the corners and top edges of the cartons. Paper edge protectors down the four corners turn the film into a sleeve around a rigid frame, so it can be pulled tight without crushing the top row. Corrugated layer pads between tiers, under the bottom tier and on top give each layer a flat floor to stand on and stop carton corners sinking into the cartons below. For point loads, machine feet and crate lining, a thicker honeycomb board stays flat where a 5 mm pad would dent. The whole set is on the shop under layer pads and edge protectors. None of it replaces a square stack of boxes that are strong enough for the weight above them; it protects a good stack from the film, the straps and the forklift.

How a pallet load actually fails

Our stretch film guide covers how to wrap. This post is about what goes on under the film. Three kinds of damage account for most of what arrives crushed.

Edge crush from the film or the strap. A strap or a tightly pulled film presses on a very narrow line where it crosses a carton edge. Corrugated board is built to carry weight on its flutes from above, not a concentrated pinch across an edge, so the top cartons dent, the dent becomes a crease and the corner collapses. The tighter the wrap, the worse it gets, which is why hand-wrapped pallets are often either too loose to hold or tight enough to damage.
Tiers that slide and corners that sink. A stack of cartons is only as strong as its corners. When the corner of one carton stands on the soft middle of the carton below, the weight is carried by the weakest part of the board. The lower cartons bulge, the stack leans, and the lean gets worse with every bump of the lorry.
Point loads and overhang. A carton that hangs over the edge of the pallet has no support under one side. Packaging guides commonly put the loss from even a small overhang at around a third of the stack’s compression strength. Point loads do the same thing from the other direction: a pallet jack wheel, a machine foot or a heavy item set down on a carton pushes through the board.

Edge protectors deal with the first problem, layer pads with the second, and honeycomb board with the third.

The four materials and what each does

Material	Shape	Job on a pallet
Paper edge protector (angle bar)	L-shaped strip, 50 x 50 mm, 4 mm thick	Takes the pressure of film and straps on corners and top edges, keeps the stack square
Corrugated layer pad	Flat double-wall sheet, 4 to 5 mm	Flat floor between tiers, top and bottom sheet, spreads weight across the footprint
Honeycomb board	Rigid 10 mm sheet, paper cells between kraft liners	Top and bottom pad under heavy or point loads, partitions, crate lining
Single-face corrugated roll	Flexible roll, flat liner one side, open flute the other	Wraps around things that are not boxes, interleaving between stacked goods

What is in our range

Everything below is paper and cardboard, and all of it goes in the ordinary cardboard recycling when it is dry and clean.

Product	Size	Sold as	Where it goes
Edge protector angle bar	50 x 50 mm, 4 mm thick, 2540 mm long	Single, bundle of 20, pack of 100	Pallet corners and top edges, cut to length
U-profile edge protector	Made to order within set ranges	By quotation, minimum run	Over the edge of doors, glass and panels
Layer pad, double wall 5 mm	1220 x 1220 mm	Per sheet	Between tiers and on top, fits a 4 x 4 ft pallet footprint
Layer pad, double wall 5 mm	2440 x 1220 mm	Per sheet	Bottom sheet for large loads, partitions, floor cover
Layer pad, BB-flute 4 mm	850 x 560 mm	Per sheet	Inside cartons, between trays and small stacks
Honeycomb board 10 mm	2440 x 1220 mm	Per sheet	Top and bottom pads under heavy loads, crate lining
Single-face corrugated roll	1.3 m wide, 25 kg roll, B-flute	Single roll or pallet of 5	Wrapping furniture, panels and odd shapes

The angle bar is made from kraftliner, the virgin-fibre liner that holds its stiffness better in damp air than recycled board does. Our testliner vs kraftliner post explains the difference. The U-profile is a production item made per order, with length, side widths and thickness set within the ranges on its product page and a minimum run per order, so it suits a factory shipping doors or glass regularly rather than a one-off job.

How to use edge protectors on a pallet

Build the stack first. Edge protectors do not fix a stack that is already leaning. Heaviest cartons at the bottom, same-size cartons in columns, nothing hanging over the pallet edge, flat top.
Cut to the height of the load. Measure from the pallet deck to the top of the stack and cut the angle bar to that length with a box knife or a saw. A protector that stops short of the top leaves the top cartons exposed exactly where the film pulls hardest; one that stands above the load is a lever that gets knocked. A 2540 mm bar gives two pieces for a load up to about 1.2 m, so a four-corner pallet at that height uses two bars.
Stand one on each vertical corner, flush with the pallet deck, with the two legs covering the two faces of the corner. On a tall load, a single turn of film around the middle, or a helper, holds them in place while you wrap.
Wrap or strap over them. Now the film can be pulled properly, because the tension lands on the board. Our stretch film guide has the turn count. If the load is strapped, the strap must sit on the board, not beside it; a strap that slips off the protector is back on the carton edge.
Add short pieces along the top edges where a strap crosses the top of the load, or where another pallet will be stacked on this one.
Reuse them. A dry, undamaged angle bar comes off at the other end and goes back on the next pallet. A creased one has done its job and goes to recycling.

For furniture, doors and framed panels, the same bar cut to length and taped along the edge does what the pallet version does, which is why movers buy them too. Our moving-out floor and wall post uses them on door jambs.

Layer pads: the floor under each tier

A layer pad is a plain sheet of corrugated board. Its value is that it is flat and continuous.

Under the bottom tier. A pallet deck has gaps between its boards. A carton that sits across a gap has nothing under part of its base, and a nail head or a split board goes straight through the bottom. A sheet on the deck gives the bottom tier a solid floor and keeps the cartons clean.
Between tiers. This is the main job. The pad spreads the weight of the tier above over the whole tier below, so that a carton corner never stands on the unsupported middle of the carton beneath it. It also lets you change the pattern between tiers. Packaging guides agree that cartons stacked straight up in columns carry the most weight, because the corners line up, and that brick-pattern interlocking is more stable but costs a large share of that strength. A pad every tier or two gives much of the stability without giving up the columns.
On top. A top sheet under the film or the strap spreads the pressure across the top row, keeps the top cartons flat and gives the next pallet something level to stand on if the load is double-stacked.

The 1220 x 1220 mm sheet is the pallet size. It matches a common square pallet footprint here, so it goes on without cutting; on a 1200 x 1000 mm pallet, trim one side so the pad does not overhang. The 2440 x 1220 mm sheet is the same board at twice the area, for a large machine base, for lining a lorry floor or for cutting into partitions. The small 850 x 560 mm BB-flute pad is not a pallet pad at all; it goes inside a carton as a stiffener or divider, and between trays in a small stack. One useful habit: lay the bottom pad with its flutes running across the deck boards, not along them. Corrugated board is stiffer along its flutes, and that is the direction that has to bridge the gaps.

Corrugated board loses stiffness as it takes up moisture. Our post on cartons going soft in Malaysian humidity explains why, and it applies to pads just as much as to boxes. A pad that sat on a damp floor is a sponge between two tiers.

Honeycomb board: when 5 mm is not enough

Honeycomb board is a sandwich of hexagonal paper cells glued between two kraft liner faces. The cells stand on end like a block of tiny tubes, so a 10 mm sheet is much stiffer than a 5 mm corrugated pad and, unlike corrugated board, it is as stiff in one direction as the other. It is still light enough for one person to carry a full 2440 x 1220 mm sheet.

Use it where the load is concentrated rather than spread:

as the bottom pad under machinery, a motor or anything that stands on feet rather than on a flat base;
as the top pad on a pallet that will carry another pallet;
as a track for a trolley or a pallet jack across a floor that must not be marked, where a corrugated pad would dent under the wheel;
for lining the inside of a wooden crate, so the goods bear on a flat board rather than on the crate frame;
as rigid partitions between heavy items on one pallet.

It is not a cushion. For padding, the right materials are PE foam and bubble wrap; honeycomb spreads a load, it does not absorb a knock.

Single-face roll: the wrap for things that are not square

The flat pads only cover flat things. A single-face corrugated roll has a liner on one side and open flutes on the other, so it bends in one direction and wraps around a cabinet, a wardrobe, a table top, a glass panel or a length of pipe, giving a stiff but flexible layer that a sheet cannot. The flute side normally goes against the item and the flat liner faces out, which is where the stretch film or tape goes. At 1.3 m wide, one width covers most furniture panels in a single pass, and it also works as an interleaving layer between stacked goods. On a polished or lacquered surface, put paper or foam on first, because the ridges of the flutes can leave marks. The furniture wrapping post covers the order of layers.

Our climate

Three things change here compared with the overseas guides.

Store it dry. Edge protectors and pads live on a rack or a pallet, under a roof, not against an outside wall or on a concrete floor that sweats on a wet afternoon. Damp board is soft board.
Do not seal moisture in. A pallet wrapped in the rain with damp pads inside stays damp for the whole journey. Dry the goods, dry the pads, then wrap, and put a plastic top sheet on before the film if the pallet will stand outside.
Replace what has gone soft. A pad or an angle bar that bends under its own weight has taken up moisture and will not spread a load. Recycle it and use a dry one. The angle bars are kraftliner, which holds up better in humid air than recycled board, but no paper product is immune.

Six common mistakes

Protectors cut short of the top. The top edge is where the film pulls hardest. Measure the load, not the pallet.
Two corners protected, two bare. The film pressure simply moves to the bare corners. Four or none.
Strap beside the board instead of on it. The board only works where the strap crosses it.
Overhang. No protector or pad saves a carton that hangs over the pallet edge. Rebuild the stack or use the next pallet size.
Pads laid on a damp deck. The pad soaks it up and passes it to the bottom tier.
Honeycomb used as padding. It spreads weight; it does not cushion. Foam does that.

Checklist

Stack square, heavy at the bottom, no overhang, flat top
Layer pad on the deck, one between tiers where tiers are mixed or heavy, one on top
Four edge protectors cut to the load height, flush with the deck
Short pieces under any strap that crosses the top
Film or strap pulled onto the boards, never beside them
Honeycomb under feet, wheels and anything that will be double-stacked
Single-face roll round anything that is not a box
Everything dry before the film goes on

FAQ

What is a paper edge protector for?

It sits on the vertical corners and top edges of a pallet load so that strapping and stretch film press on a rigid board instead of on the cartons. The board spreads the pressure along the whole edge, so the film or strap can be pulled tight without cutting into the top cartons. It also keeps the stack square and gives forklift handling something harder than cardboard to bump.

How many edge protectors does one pallet need?

One on each of the four vertical corners is the usual starting point, each cut to the height of the load. A tall or strapped load also gets short pieces along the top edges under the straps. A 2540 mm angle bar cuts into two pieces for a load up to about 1.2 m high, so a typical pallet uses two bars.

What is a layer pad on a pallet?

A flat sheet of corrugated board placed between tiers of cartons, under the bottom tier or on top of the load. It gives each tier a flat, continuous surface to stand on, spreads the weight of the tier above across the whole footprint, and stops carton corners sinking into the softer middle of the carton below. Sheets of 1220 x 1220 mm match a common pallet footprint.

Is honeycomb board better than corrugated cardboard?

It is thicker and stiffer, not simply better. A 10 mm honeycomb sheet stays flat under a point load such as a machine foot or a trolley wheel, where a 5 mm corrugated pad would dent, and it is equally stiff in both directions. It costs more and bends less, so it suits top and bottom pads under heavy loads and crate lining, while ordinary layer pads do the work between tiers of cartons.

Do cardboard edge protectors and layer pads go soft in humid weather?

Yes, like any paper product. Board that has taken up moisture loses stiffness, and a soft edge protector no longer spreads the strap pressure. Store them flat, under a roof and off the floor, and do not wrap damp pads or boards into a pallet under stretch film, because the moisture stays in.

Where to get it

Angle bars by the piece, the bundle or the hundred, both sizes of double-wall layer pad, the BB-flute pad, 10 mm honeycomb board and the single-face roll are all on the shop under layer pads and edge protectors with current prices, next to stretch film, tape and packing tools and once-used Grade A cartons from RM1.10 for the stack itself. Delivery across KL and Selangor is free on orders of RM300 and above, and a flat RM30 per trip below that.

Shipping pallets every week, or a run of doors and panels that needs a U-profile made to size? WhatsApp +60 16-891 6381 or contact us with the load size and how many go out, and we will put a kit together. We are open Monday to Friday 8.30am–5pm and Saturday 8.30am–1pm, and closed on Sundays and public holidays.