When you buy paper towels for a building, the case price is the number on the invoice, but it is not the number that matters. What matters is what each hand dry costs you. Case sizes, sheet counts and towel lengths vary so much that a cheaper case can be the more expensive towel. Here is a simple way to compare, using current pricing from our catalog.
The Formula
Divide the case price by the number of usable units in the case. For roll towels, that unit is feet of towel. For center-pull and folded towels, it is sheets or towels. Then multiply by how many sheets a typical visitor takes.
Real Numbers From Our Catalog
Prices below are current listings and can change, so check each product page before you order.
| Product | Case price | Units per case | Approx. cost per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Swan Roll Towel 1-Ply, 205 ft (24 rolls) | $60.85 | 4,920 ft | 1.24 cents per ft |
| Tork Universal Hand Towel Roll, 800 ft (6 rolls) | $57.32 | 4,800 ft | 1.19 cents per ft |
| White Swan Long Roll Towel, 8 in x 800 ft (6 rolls) | $97.77 | 4,800 ft | 2.04 cents per ft |
| Tork Universal Centrefeed 2-Ply, 530 sheets (6 rolls) | $64.08 | 3,180 sheets | 2.02 cents per sheet |
| Tork Advanced Soft Mini Centrefeed 2-Ply, 266 sheets (12 rolls) | $88.83 | 3,192 sheets | 2.78 cents per sheet |
| White Swan Singlefold Towel (16 x 250) | $59.07 | 4,000 towels | 1.48 cents per towel |
| Tork Xpress Soft Multifold 2-Ply (16 x 94) | $85.89 | 1,504 towels | 5.71 cents per towel |
What the Table Tells You
Two hardwound cases at nearly the same price can be quite different value. The Tork Universal and White Swan 1-ply rolls land near 1.2 cents per foot, while the White Swan Long Roll costs about 2.0 cents per foot for the same 4,800 ft. Premium multifold towels cost several times more per towel than singlefold, which is a fair trade if softness is part of the brief and a poor one in a plant washroom.
Remember the units differ, so feet, sheets and towels are not directly comparable. A center-pull sheet is a different size from a folded towel. To compare across formats, estimate how many sheets or feet a visitor really uses, then multiply. If someone takes two center-pull sheets at 2.02 cents each, that is about 4.0 cents per hand dry.
The Costs the Table Leaves Out
- Labour: a bigger roll means fewer refills. See our washroom restocking checklist for how to count that time.
- Waste: dispensers that release too much paper raise your real cost per use. We cover fixes in 7 Ways to Cut Paper Waste in Commercial Washrooms.
- The same maths applies to tissue: compare rolls by sheets or feet in Jumbo vs. Standard Toilet Tissue.
Bottom Line
Do the division before you buy, compare like with like, and factor in refill time and waste. Then browse hardwound rolls, center-pull towels and folded towels with a shortlist and a number in mind.
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