More returns come from this one mismatch than from any fabric or nap decision. It is worth ten minutes before you order.
A cage frame carries the cover on a set of sprung wire arms that expand inside the core. It is the dominant system in North America and it is why American covers have a wide, unsupported bore.
A European push-in frame carries the cover on a single spindle that pushes into a closed or capped core. The core is narrower and often has a moulded end cap.
A cage cover on a push-in frame wobbles, so the film goes on unevenly and the ends leave tram lines. A push-in cover forced onto a cage binds, and the cover often tears when it is pulled off.
Neither failure looks like a manufacturing defect to the customer. It looks like a bad product, and it comes back to the shelf you sold it from.
Do not decide from the catalogue. Walk into a store in your own market and look at what is hanging beside the covers. The frames on that shelf are the system your customers already own.
| North America | Predominantly five-wire cage frames |
|---|---|
| Continental Europe | Predominantly push-in frames |
| Mixed markets | Carry both, coded clearly, or carry frames and covers as kits |
If you cannot be certain, sell frames and covers as a kit for the first season. It removes the compatibility question from the customer entirely.
Once the frame system is fixed, everything else in the specification follows from it, including the core and the end cap.
Bent wire paint roller frame with moulded orange plastic grip.
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Bent wire paint roller frames with plastic grips in black, red and dark grey.
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Complete 9 inch acrylic roller set with yellow tiger stripe cover and threaded chrome frame.
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Thermofused acrylic European roller set with rounded end and yellow cap.
View productNot reliably. Cores are built for one system or the other, and a compromise core tends to disappoint on both.
Yes. The range includes bare frames and assembled rollers, and covers built for cage, push-in and threaded mounts.
A frame where the cover mounts on a threaded spindle secured with a nut. Two lines in the range use it.
For a new range, often yes. It removes the compatibility question from the customer and protects the first season.
Send a photograph of the frames on your shelf and we will tell you which covers in the range are built for them.
