Recommended Operating Tension for Common Web Materials
Multiply (pli) or (kg/cm) by material width to determine tension setpoints for Paper, Film and Foil web applications.
Web Material | Imperial | Metric | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Weight | Tension | Weight | Tension | |
| Paperboard | 8 pt | 3.0 | 105 | 0.54 |
| 12 pt | 4.0 | 157 | 0.72 | |
| 15 pt | 4.5 | 196 | 0.80 | |
| 20 pt | 5.5 | 260 | 0.98 | |
| 25 pt | 6.5 | 326 | 1.16 | |
| 30 pt | 8.0 | 391 | 1.43 | |
| Paper (Book/Text/Offset) | 50 lb | 1.25 | 75 | 0.22 |
| 60 lb | 1.5 | 90 | 0.27 | |
| 70 lb | 2.0 | 105 | 0.36 | |
| 80 lb | 3.0 | 120 | 0.54 | |
| 100 lb | 3.5 | 150 | 0.625 | |
| Aluminum Foil1 | – | 1.0 | – | |
| Cellophane1 | – | 0.5 | – | |
| Acetate1 | – | 0.5 | – | |
| Mylar (Polyester)1 | – | 0.75 | – | |
| Polyethylene1 | – | 0.25 | – | |
| Polypropylene1 | – | 0.25 | – | |
| Polystyrene1 | – | 1.0 | – | |
| Saran1 | – | 0.15 | – | |
| Vinyl1 | – | 0.15 | – | |
| Nylon1 | – | 0.25 | – | |
| Wax Paper1 | – | 1.0 | – | |
Note 1: Tension per mil of thickness. Note 2: For laminated materials, sum the total tension of each individual web, then add 0.1 lb per linear inch (0.018 kg per cm) of width. Disclaimer: Tension recommendations are offered as rough guidelines only, and do not guarantee optimum performance. Some experimentation may be required to achieve an optimum tension setpoint for your specific process. | ||||