You can buy Ethafoam STPE200 sheets as standard full sheets or ask All Foam for cut-to-size supply. The better option depends on whether you want control over your own cutting or a finished rectangular requirement prepared before delivery.
Full sheets can be useful when you need several pieces, expect the dimensions to change during development or already have suitable cutting equipment. Cut-to-size supply can be simpler when the finished dimensions are known and you want the material prepared for the job.
This guide compares the two routes without treating one as automatically better.
Quick answer
Choose full Ethafoam sheets when you want maximum flexibility to plan several parts, prototypes or changing layouts yourself. Choose cut-to-size supply when the finished length, width, thickness and quantity are already known and you want the material supplied to those dimensions. All Foam includes its Ethafoam cut-to-size service at no extra cutting charge.
The current Ethafoam STPE200 sheet options
All Foam supplies STPE200 in two full sheet sizes:
- 100cm × 120cm
- 200cm × 120cm
Current standard thicknesses are:
- 5mm
- 10mm
- 15mm
- 20mm
- 25mm
- 30mm
- 40mm
- 50mm
- 100mm
The material is available in white or grey.
STPE200 is a semi-rigid, non-cross-linked expanded polyethylene packaging foam with a nominal density of 24 kg/m³. It is listed for cushioning, gap filling, impact absorption and related protective packaging uses.
The sheet size and thickness are therefore separate choices. A full 200cm × 120cm sheet can still be ordered at a thin 5mm depth or a much deeper 100mm depth.
When a full sheet gives you more flexibility
A full sheet makes sense when the final cutting layout has not been fixed.
This can happen during prototype work. You may know the general product size but still be deciding where pads, separators or supports should sit. Having the sheet available allows the layout to be adjusted as the packaging is developed.
Full sheets can also be useful when one sheet will produce several different components. Instead of specifying every cut in advance, you can plan the layout around the actual parts once the material arrives.
This route is most practical when you have a suitable way to cut the foam accurately and safely. A full sheet only creates useful flexibility if the cutting method can produce the finished dimensions you need.
When cut-to-size supply is simpler
Cut-to-size supply is useful when the requirement is already defined.
If you need a repeated rectangular pad, liner, separator or block with a known length, width and thickness, there may be little value in receiving a larger sheet and cutting it again yourself.
In that situation, provide All Foam with:
- finished length
- finished width
- thickness
- colour
- quantity
- any important tolerance
- intended application
The existing Ethafoam cut-to-size packaging guide explains how to prepare a detailed enquiry for inserts, pads and separators.
Cut-to-size does not remove the need to choose thickness
A finished length and width do not tell us how deep the foam needs to be.
STPE200 is available across a broad thickness range, so the order still needs a specific depth. The correct thickness depends on the packaging layout, load, clearance and the job the foam must perform.
The Ethafoam thickness guide explains why thicker is not automatically safer and why the complete pack design matters.
If the material is being used as a simple separator, the thickness decision can be very different from a base pad supporting a heavier item.
Full sheets can suit prototype development
Prototype packaging often changes before the final version is approved.
A recess may need moving. A pad may need to become deeper. A clearance around a handle, cable or projecting component may need to be adjusted after the item is placed into the case.
Starting with a full sheet can make this development process easier because the material can be tested before a repeat cut specification is fixed.
Once the dimensions are proven, repeat parts can then be specified more consistently.
This is particularly useful for businesses moving from a one-off prototype to regular packaging production.
Cut-to-size supply can improve repeat ordering
When the same rectangular component is needed repeatedly, a written cut specification reduces ambiguity.
For example:
STPE200 grey, 30mm thick, 600mm × 400mm finished size, quantity 20
That is easier to reproduce than a request such as "cut some pads from the large sheets".
For repeat commercial orders, keep the approved dimensions, thickness, colour and quantity together as one specification. If the product being packed changes, review the foam requirement rather than assuming the old cut will still fit.
Think about sheet yield before choosing the buying route
If you need many identical rectangular pieces, the number that can be produced from a full sheet becomes commercially important.
A simple cutting layout can show whether the 100cm × 120cm sheet or the 200cm × 120cm sheet makes better use of material for the finished dimensions.
For example, a 50cm × 40cm rectangle can be arranged several times within either standard sheet size, while a much larger part may only fit once.
The exact cut plan should allow for the real cutting process, tolerances and any required edge allowance. The Ethafoam sheet yield guide explains how to make a useful first estimate without treating it as a production guarantee.
Offcuts can be useful when you control the cutting
Buying a full sheet means the unused material remains with you.
That can be useful if offcuts can be used for sample work, small pads, packing trials or future jobs. It can also be inefficient if the offcuts are unlikely to be used.
The value of keeping offcuts depends on your operation. A workshop that frequently needs small protective pads may make good use of them. A customer who only needs one finished piece may prefer not to store the remaining sheet.
This is a practical commercial consideration rather than a material-performance issue.
Cut-to-size is not the same as a complex converted insert
A rectangular cut is simpler than a detailed packaging insert with pockets, profiles, joined sections or other converted features.
All Foam can also discuss custom converting and lamination, but those requirements should be described separately rather than assuming every bespoke packaging part is covered by a basic length and width cut.
If the packaging needs shaped cavities, bonded layers or a repeat production drawing, send the full requirement so the conversion method can be considered.
The custom foam fabrication guide for businesses explains what information helps when the requirement goes beyond simple sheet cutting.
Do not confuse Ethafoam with AFP30 or AFP45
Ethafoam STPE200 and the All Foam AFP30/AFP45 range are different product families.
STPE200 is a semi-rigid, non-cross-linked expanded polyethylene packaging foam at a nominal density of 24 kg/m³.
AFP30 and AFP45 are rigid cross-linked polyethylene sheets at nominal densities of 30 kg/m³ and 45 kg/m³ respectively.
The Ethafoam vs closed cell foam guide compares the materials in more detail.
Choose the material first, then decide whether you want it as a full sheet or cut to size.
Full sheets may suit customers with their own conversion process
A trade customer with established cutting equipment may prefer full sheets because the material can be converted alongside other components in the same production schedule.
This can make sense when:
- multiple different parts are cut from each sheet
- drawings change frequently
- stock sheets are kept for urgent work
- offcuts are reused internally
- cutting is already part of the customer's normal production process
In that situation, the All Foam online full-sheet selector gives a straightforward way to choose the sheet size, thickness, colour and quantity.
Cut-to-size may suit a defined finished requirement
Cut-to-size supply is more attractive when:
- the dimensions are already final
- the same rectangular piece is required repeatedly
- there is no suitable cutting equipment on site
- storing full sheets would be inconvenient
- the customer wants the supplied foam closer to the final usable size
The material still needs to be specified correctly. Cut-to-size does not remove the need to choose the correct grade, thickness and packaging layout.
A simple decision checklist
Choose a full sheet if you answer yes to several of these questions:
- Do you need several different pieces from the same sheet?
- Are the final dimensions still being developed?
- Do you have suitable cutting equipment?
- Can you use the remaining offcuts?
- Do you want to hold material for future jobs?
Consider cut-to-size supply if you answer yes to these:
- Are the finished dimensions already known?
- Do you need repeated identical rectangular pieces?
- Would full-sheet storage be inconvenient?
- Do you want to avoid carrying out the basic cutting yourself?
Neither list decides whether STPE200 is the correct foam. It only helps choose the supply format after the material has been selected.
Choose the format that matches the job
The Ethafoam STPE200 product page gives live prices for standard sheets and explains the free cut-to-size service. Use full sheets when flexibility and your own cutting plan are valuable. Use cut-to-size supply when the finished requirement is already defined and repeatability is more important than keeping the complete sheet.
