Sheet Counts, Roll Sizes, and Pallet Maths: A Trade Buyer's Guide to Bulk Toilet Paper

Walk into any wholesale tissue catalogue and you're hit with a wall of numbers: 200 sheets, 2-ply, 120mt, 60mm core, 84 boxes per pallet. For new trade buyers, the temptation is to compare on headline pack price and move on. That's how procurement teams overspend by 20%+. This guide walks UK trade buyers through how to actually read a bulk tissue spec — and how to evaluate cost per usable sheet across formats.

Sheet count: the metric most buyers ignore

Sheet count is the number of individual toilet tissue sheets per roll. UK retail packs typically range from 160 sheets (budget) to 320 sheets (premium quilted) per roll. In trade and bulk formats, the equivalent metric is metres of paper per roll — typically 50, 120, 150, or 200 metres for cleaning rolls; 200–400 metres for jumbo toilet rolls.

The maths buyers should run: cost per usable sheet (or per metre). A £6 pack of 9 rolls × 200 sheets = 1,800 sheets, so 0.33p per sheet. A £4 pack of 6 rolls × 160 sheets = 960 sheets, so 0.42p per sheet. The cheaper pack is actually 27% more expensive per sheet.

For the per-sheet maths on every product, see our live trade pricing — pricing is shown both per box and per pallet.

Ply structure

2-ply or 3-ply (occasionally 1-ply for industrial). Ply doesn't change sheet count — it changes thickness, softness, and absorbency. Three-ply uses 50% more raw paper than two-ply for the same sheet area, which is why it costs 30–40% more at trade.

Choosing ply isn't about quality (both are perfectly fine) — it's about positioning. See our 3-ply range and 2-ply range for the equivalent specs side by side.

Roll diameter and core size

For toilet rolls (especially jumbo and mini jumbo), the physical dimensions matter for dispenser compatibility:

  • Roll diameter: total external diameter when full. Standard 100mm; mini jumbo 180mm; jumbo 200–250mm.
  • Core diameter: internal cardboard tube. 60mm is the dominant modern UK format; 76mm is legacy; 90mm exists in industrial jumbo.
  • Roll length: paper wound on the core, measured in metres.

Get core size wrong and the roll doesn't fit your dispenser. It's the single most common procurement error. Always measure or check the dispenser spec sheet first.

Pack format

UK trade tissue ships in cases (boxes) of a fixed pack count. Common formats:

  • 4-pack (small retail format) — 4 rolls per shrink-wrapped pack
  • 9-pack (mid-market retail) — 9 rolls per pack
  • 12-pack (large household / budget retail)
  • 18-pack (value retail / hospitality bulk) — 18 rolls per pack

For commercial rolls (jumbo, mini jumbo, blue roll, centerfeed), the standard is 6 rolls per pack — sometimes 12 for mini jumbo. Don't compare pack price across pack sizes without normalising; always work back to per-roll or per-sheet cost.

Boxes per pallet

UK standard pallets carry between 42 and 91 boxes depending on product:

  • 3-ply 4-pack: 55 boxes/pallet
  • 3-ply 9-pack: 56 boxes/pallet
  • 3-ply 12-pack: 42 boxes/pallet
  • Blue Roll Eco 50mt: 91 boxes/pallet
  • Blue Roll Premium 150mt: 91 boxes/pallet
  • Mini Jumbo 200mt: 72 boxes/pallet

Pallet density matters for delivery economics — denser pallets ship cheaper per unit. Most online MTC Shop product pages show the pallet density alongside the tier pricing.

Pure pulp vs recycled

Two source streams: virgin pulp (typically FSC certified pure pulp) and recycled (post-consumer waste paper). Both are perfectly acceptable for commercial use; recycled is typically 5–10% cheaper at wholesale and carries stronger ESG credentials but is slightly less white in appearance.

For most office, hospitality, and public-sector washrooms in 2026, recycled white is the right default — see our jumbo range for recycled options.

Worked example: comparing two real SKUs

SKU A: White Roll Eco (50mt) 1×6 pack at £4.20/box (tier 1 pricing), 91 boxes/pallet

SKU B: White Roll Premium (120mt) 1×6 pack at £7.60/box (tier 1 pricing), 84 boxes/pallet

Cost per metre:

  • SKU A: £4.20 / (50m × 6 rolls) = 1.4p per metre
  • SKU B: £7.60 / (120m × 6 rolls) = 1.06p per metre

SKU B (Premium 120mt) is 24% cheaper per metre than the Eco 50mt — despite the higher headline price. This is exactly the kind of analysis trade buyers should run before standardising on a SKU.

Build your own pallet model

For any serious procurement decision, build a simple spreadsheet with: pack price, sheets/metres per pack, cost per sheet/metre, boxes per pallet, cost per pallet, and projected annual volume. Then compare like for like. The right answer often isn't the cheapest pack — it's the cheapest pallet on actual usage.

To get current trade pricing for the analysis, browse the live MTC Shop catalogue or request a wholesale quote with your forecast volume.

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