Product Packaging: What You Need To Know To Reduce Damaged Goods

You have probably heard the horror stories about packages getting lost or severely damaged in transit through the mail. Packages are constantly being thrown by postal workers, dropped down chutes, falling off conveyer belts, suffering from rain damage, etc. To help ensure that your goods are able to survive all of this, you need to ensure that they are properly packaged when they leave your warehouse or business. Here is what you need to know about product packaging materials:

Outer Materials to Choose from

  • Polybags – These bags are inexpensive and resistant to water. However, they have no structural integrity. Therefore, they are not suited for fragile items. Instead, these bags should only be used with items that come well packaged already and could benefit from a water-resistant exterior.
  • Padded Envelopes/Mailers – These are similar to polybags except they have a layer of cushioning for protection inside. While it is still not a good idea to mail fragile items inside these mailers, they will work for small, non-fragile items.
  • Corrugated Boxes – These boxes come in single-, double-, and even triple-wall durability, are rigid and offer impact protection. They are great for fragile items. If you will be shipping heavier products, opt for double or triple-wall boxes.

Impact Protection Materials to Choose from

  • Bubble Wrap – If you are shipping products that need to be protected from impact, then bubble wrap can provide that type of protection. Unfortunately, it can get pretty expensive.
  • Brown Paper – This material is inexpensive and can be scrunched up or wrapped up around your products. It can offer similar protection as the bubble wrap, except that it isn't as strong.
  • Corrugated Roll – Generally, this will come as single-ply and is most often to line around the outside and bottom of cardboard boxes in order to enhance the impact resistance. It is also used to wrap glass bottles to reduce the risk of breakage during shipping, especially when more than one bottle will be shipping together.

Void Fill Materials to Choose from

  • Air Cushions – These are simply air-filled bags that are placed inside of the box after it is filled with the products that are being shipped. The bags help prevent the products from moving during shipping. The air cushions can be somewhat expensive due to the fact that the machine to inflate them is costly.
  • Styrofoam Peanuts – These are very lightweight and perform the same function as the air cushions. If you are worried about the environment, then you would want to purchase biodegradable peanuts.

For more information, contact a company like Texas Container.


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