What Is Contract Converting, Also Known as Toll Converting?

Contract converting, also known as toll converting, gives manufacturers a practical way to outsource specialized material processing without pulling their own production teams away from the work they do best.

At Elite Converting, we work as an extension of our customers’ manufacturing operations. Companies can send us paper, films, tapes, adhesive materials, and other compatible substrates that need to be slit, rewound, cut, packaged, or prepared for the next stage of production.

Instead of requiring your team to stop its normal workflow to handle a specialized converting task, we can take care of that part of the process for you.

Our goal is simple: help you keep production moving while delivering converted materials in the specifications and formats your operation requires.

How Does Contract Converting or Toll Converting Work?

In a typical toll converting arrangement, you provide the material and tell us what the finished product needs to look like.

We then use our custom converting capabilities to process the material according to the agreed specifications.

Depending on the project, this may involve:

Slitting master rolls into narrower widths
Rewinding material into more manageable rolls
Cutting or sheeting material
Preparing specific core or roll configurations
Perforating compatible papers or films
Packaging converted products
Kitting multiple components
Preparing products for shipping or fulfillment

For materials requiring accurate width conversion, our precision slitting services can turn larger rolls into finished rolls that better match your production requirements.

The result is material that arrives ready for the next step instead of requiring additional work from your production team.

How Can Contract Converting Help Your Production Team Stay Productive?

One of the biggest reasons companies use contract converting is to protect their internal production capacity.

Your employees may already have the ability to slit, rewind, cut, or package certain materials. The problem is that doing so can interrupt the work that generates the most value for your operation.

Stopping a production line to perform a secondary converting process can create scheduling challenges and use employee time that could be spent elsewhere.

By sending that work to us, your team can stay focused on its primary responsibilities while we handle the converting.

This can be especially useful when:

Production demand increases unexpectedly
A short-run project interrupts a larger production schedule
Your employees are already operating near capacity
Specialized converting work is only needed periodically
Additional processing would create a bottleneck

Manufacturing guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology emphasizes improving process flow, reducing bottlenecks, and freeing production capacity as important parts of manufacturing efficiency.

How Can Toll Converting Help When Your Equipment Has Limitations?

Sometimes the challenge is not labor capacity. It is equipment capability.

Your machinery may only accept certain roll widths, core sizes, finished roll diameters, or other material configurations. A master roll may contain exactly the material you need but still be unusable in its original format.

That is where toll converting becomes valuable.

You can send the material to us so we can evaluate how it needs to be converted for your process. When discussing a roll converting project, specifications may include factors such as:

Incoming material dimensions
Required finished width
Core requirements
Desired roll length
Finished outer diameter, or OD
Material type
Packaging requirements
Downstream application

Our goal is to make the supplied material easier to integrate into your existing operation rather than forcing you to purchase additional converting equipment for a process you may not need every day.

How Can Contract Converting Extend Your Workforce?

Contract converting can function as an extension of your workforce without requiring you to permanently increase internal staffing.

When demand rises, your team may need additional capacity for processing, packaging, inventory handling, or shipping. Outsourcing those steps allows us to support your operation while your employees continue concentrating on core production.

We can also help move converted materials farther through the supply chain. Our fulfillment services support inventory handling, pick-and-pack workflows, kitting, packaging, and shipping.

Elite Converting also supports direct-to-end-user blind shipping with customized packing lists for applicable converting projects. This means the material does not necessarily need to return to your facility before continuing to its final destination.

For customers trying to simplify the number of times a product is handled, combining converting and fulfillment can create a more streamlined workflow.

How Can Contract Packaging Make Converted Products Retail Ready?

Converting does not always have to end when the material is slit or rewound.

We can also combine converting with packaging support when your product needs additional preparation before it reaches your customer.

Our packaging converting services can help prepare materials in formats that better match packaging and distribution requirements.

Depending on the project, contract packaging may include:

Shrink wrapping
Small retail roll converting
Kitting
Bundling
Specialty packaging
Promotional packs
Bulk packaging
Carton packaging

Our product kitting services can also combine multiple components into organized kits or packs.

This allows you to use one production partner for more than the initial converting step. We can help move the product closer to a customer-ready or retail-ready format before it leaves our facility.

Which Papers, Films, and Adhesive Materials Can Be Contract Converted?

We work with a wide range of paper and film products.

Paper converting projects can include kraft papers, coated papers, specialty papers, and customer-supplied paper products such as material used for wipes, paper towels, tissue products, and similar applications when the specifications fit our converting capabilities.

Our specialty papers and films capabilities also include experience with kraft and poly-coated papers, silicone-coated papers, shrink films, and other specialty substrates.

Film and adhesive projects can involve adhesive-coated films, protective films, tapes, and other flexible materials.

Some applications may also benefit from perforation services when a controlled tear, separation point, or specified perforation pattern is required.

Because every substrate behaves differently, we review the material and finished specifications before determining the appropriate converting process.

How Can a Release Liner Make an Adhesive Product Easier to Handle?

Adhesive products can become difficult to process, store, ship, or apply when the adhesive surface is left exposed.

A release liner provides a protective surface over the adhesive until the material is ready for use.

For applicable constructions, adding or working with a release liner can help protect the adhesive from contamination and premature bonding while making the converted product easier to handle during manufacturing and application.

Release liners may use paper or film substrates depending on the application.

Our guide explaining how release liners work with adhesive applications provides additional information about paper-based and film-based liner options.

For some projects, an adhesive construction may combine film, adhesive, and release liner into a material that can then be converted into the required finished format.

Why Should You Work With Us for Contract Converting?

When you send us material for toll converting, we understand that we are handling part of your production process.

That responsibility matters.

We approach each project by looking at the material, required dimensions, downstream use, packaging requirements, and delivery expectations.

Working with us may help you:

Keep your production team focused
Add converting capacity without purchasing additional equipment
Solve roll width, core, or OD limitations
Handle temporary increases in production demand
Convert paper, film, tape, and adhesive materials
Add packaging and kitting after converting
Prepare materials for fulfillment or direct shipping
Create easier-to-handle adhesive constructions with appropriate liners

Contract converting is not simply about making a roll narrower. It is about taking a manufacturing task off your production floor and delivering material in a format that works better for the next step.

If converting has become a bottleneck, your equipment cannot handle a particular material format, or your team needs additional production capacity, we are ready to discuss the project with you.

What Are the Most Common Questions About Contract Converting?

What Is the Difference Between Contract Converting and Toll Converting?

The terms are commonly used to describe outsourced material processing where a customer works with a specialized converter to process material according to required specifications. In many projects, the customer supplies the material and we provide the converting capability.

Can We Send Our Own Material to You for Converting?

Yes. Contract converting commonly involves customer-owned materials. We can review your substrate and specifications to determine whether the project fits our equipment and converting capabilities.

Can Toll Converting Help If Our Equipment Cannot Handle a Certain Roll Size?

Yes, this is one of the practical reasons to consider toll converting. We can review the incoming material, desired finished dimensions, core requirements, and roll OD requirements to determine an appropriate converting approach.

Can You Package Products After They Are Converted?

Yes. Depending on the project, we can provide packaging support such as shrink wrapping, kitting, bundling, specialty packaging, bulk packaging, and carton packing.

Can You Work With Paper, Film, Tape, and Adhesive Products?

Yes. We specialize in converting paper, films, tapes, adhesive-coated materials, and other compatible flexible substrates. Because materials have different handling requirements, we review each project before determining the best converting method.

Which Organizations Support These Manufacturing and Quality Principles?

International Organization for Standardization. “ISO 9001:2015: Quality Management Systems, Requirements.” International Organization for Standardization, 2015. Accessed 10 Sept. 2026.

National Institute of Standards and Technology. “Lean and Process Improvement.” Manufacturing Extension Partnership, U.S. Department of Commerce. Accessed 10 Sept. 2026.