Rubber Bands Key Terms

Learn rubber band terminology before you buy
By Shannon Tani Many people use rubber bands in their daily life. Whether you need a rubber band to tie things together or keep bags closed, you can easily and cheaply purchase whatever type of rubber bands you need. For example, some people may require latex-free rubber bands. Or you may been the large pallet bands for securing tarps over your pallets. You also may wonder more about how companies make rubber bands and how they will ship them to you. Start by learning these key terms.

Printed rubber bands

Printed rubber bands are thicker and have a message printed on them. Many people will wear them around their wrists as a reminder of a cause or organization that's printed on it.
Try:  View examples of printed rubber bands at Aero.

Pallet bands

Pallets are a large wooden base that companies stack their boxes of goods on for shipping. In many cases, you may want to secure a tarp over the boxes in order to protect them from the elements or simply to keep the boxes together. To do this, you need a very large and strong rubber band. This is called a pallet band because it is able to fit around the pallet.
Try:  View examples of pallet bands and the various dimensions they come in at Lee Rubber Products.

Latex-free rubber bands

Some people have a latex allergy. Most regular rubber bands have latex in them, which could irritate the skin of those with allergies. Latex-free rubber bands work just as well as regular rubber bands, but do not include latex.
Try:  See latex-free rubber bands and learn some of the advantages at Alliance Rubber.

Extruder

An extruder is one of the machines that is used to produce rubber bands. It forms the plastic tube of the rubber band, pushing it out like a pasta maker.
Try:  You can see a large extruder at Advanced Extruder Technologies.

Vulcanization

Vulcanization is a chemical process that the rubber for rubber bands goes through which gives it its stretchiness. Without vulcanization, rubber bands would not be of much use.
Try:  Learn about vulcanization at Bouncing-Balls.com.

Count/lb.

In most cases, rubber bands are too small for manufacturers to count them out before putting in boxes to sell. Because of this, rubber bands are often sold by the pound. However, most consumers want to know how many rubber bands come in a package, so companies list the approximate count per pound, or count/lb. on their website.
Try:  See the count/lb. listing on Rykema Rubber Band. Note that larger rubber bands weigh more, so there are fewer rubber bands per pound.