Pick Your Packaging Materials Right for a Pristine Package Delivery

Got a fantastic piece of electronic kit? An antique vase? A priceless piece of memorabilia? Yep - me too. Okay, not the vase...

We all own items of deeply sentimental or high monetary value, which is precisely why we're careful with them when moving them from one place to another. You wouldn't' throw your granddad's pocket watch across the kitchen for someone else to enjoy, just as much as you wouldn't shake about a child's games console to see what's wrong with it.

No matter whether you're handling something which is 100 years old or one day old, we're all very precious about the things we - and hopefully others - own. It's exactly for this reason that we should take just as much care when packaging, storing and mailing items.

While it might be easy to find a box, plastic tub, newspaper or bag to wrap our treasures in, it's more rare that we take the time to properly pad them out and protect them from bumps, sudden shocks, drops and shakes.

This is why you should know your packaging supplies and materials inside and out.

Structural protection

Before you launch right in and pack your container full of bubble wrap - or another similar kind of packaging - first ask yourself if you've really got the right box, bag or container for the job.

If you're going with a square box, then great, you're in luck. Square and rectangular storage boxes lend themselves to being supported on all sides of the structure. Importantly though, your corners should also be protected. You may also think about buying jiffy padded bags for extra protection. 

Corner protectors are the ideal solution; they keep corners in shape and provide protection along three axis - width, depth and height. This means that the corners of your packaging aren't likely to take unsightly, damaging knocks. Even if they do, this shouldn't affect the interior.

Edgeboards provide a similar kind of stability but along the length of a package, on its 90 degree external corners. Each face inside the box can also be reinforced with extra pieces of card too for protection against damage pertaining the areas with the widest surface area.

Padded protection

This is the fun bit - the internal padding. This can be made up of your classic bubble wrap - as aforementioned - or alternatively other, lower-cost biodegradable materials like loose fill starch and packing paper or tissue.

While you don't have to be sparing with your method of wrapping, you might opt to loosen up the wrapping slightly if you want some air to circulate around the package. This might be helpful for something that's going on a long journey and won't be opened for weeks, for example.

Plastic mesh sleeving is a good idea if you want to wrap it around your gift/product, too. It hugs to the item and has stretchy capabilities so will retain the support without being too rigid in transit.

Depending on what you're mailing, you might need to also throw in some silica gel sachets. These prevent corrosion, condensation, rusting and fungal growth. Electronics, pharmaceutics, optics, tools and certain clothing materials should come packed with this in mind.

Secure protection

Finally, you're going to want to properly wrap and secure your packaging. This could be done with either simple, straightforward tape, or perhaps the whole container needs wrapping. It will help keep your package secure and waterproof. 

I am James Scholten,  a contractor for house hold constructions.There is always a constant effort from my side of providing people with useful information which makes their life easier. In my free time I listen to some good music or attend a few gigs .