Why Mailing Tubes Are Essential for Shipping Posters and Documents

Sending flat items such as posters, prints, drawings or documents can often be a problem and do not easily fit into a standard rectangular shipping box. As we all know flat items can easily crease, get bent at the corners and are prone to water damage, which can lead to waste and damage to very expensive paper products, which can be very costly to replace. Shipping flat items in mailing tubes ensures your valuable items arrive at their destination without sustaining any damage. Mailing tubes are an integral part of shipping business, art, design and document materials all over the world. Many companies, designers, architects and individuals rely on tubes for this purpose.

The Problem with Flat Shipping Methods

Standard flat shipping procedures on paper products leave them exposed to many hazards. Our Mailing Tubes will protect the contents from all of these hazards. A flat poster or document left unguarded in an open shipping envelope or box will be subject to the full force of other packages in the automated sort facility as well as in the trucks on the highways. This crushing force can create permanent wrinkles in a flat poster or reduce an important document to a crumpled piece of paper.

Corner damage is just one of the many problems caused by shipping flat products. The corners of a rectangular product can be caught by the conveyor belt, damaged during handling or crushed by uneven pressure in the shipping container. The effects of this concentrated damage can spread over time. Moisture that enters the envelope seams or the edges of the shipping box can cause many problems, including running or bleeding of ink, warping of the paper and in severe cases, product loss.

The damage to a buyer's perception of value to the item damaged is often unrelated to the value of the item. So, in the case of a poster the buyer had to remove from a badly damaged package, they only noticed that the poster was bent before they inserted it into the package. While they may have had an unpleasant encounter with the seller, they don't necessarily factor in the quality of the item as being part of the unpleasantness because they had no idea the item was bent before they received it. Many of our clients are artists, photographers and small business owners, whose products must always reach the buyer in pristine condition, or they face not only monetary losses, but also reputational damage. This is especially the case with first time sales, where the quality of the product is the first impression the buyer has of the seller and the quality of the products the seller sells.

How Cylindrical Design Provides Superior Protection

The shape of the tube itself provides protection from outside pressure. In this case the circular cross-section of the mailing tube provides an equal distribution of pressure on the outer circumference. In the case of a rectangular tube, the pressure would be concentrated on the sides of the tube rather than on the flat surfaces of the tube and the corners where the sides meet. A heavy load which would need to be compressed in order to fit it into a flat package for shipping is not made heavy enough to crush the package itself. Instead the weight of the load is evenly distributed over the exterior of the tube and does no damage other than to bear down on the smooth sides of the tube.

Papers do not crease easily when rolled into a tube form because a curved surface is a very soft condition and does not tend to violate the structure of the paper. Rolling into a tube is also less damaging to some papers than having to lay them flat in order to unroll them. A tube can be large enough to fully support the weight of the paper without forcing the roll flat. A large enough radius of curvature will not force undue stress on the fibers of the paper, and the tube structure of the roll will hold the roll up without allowing it to collapse in upon itself.

Material Options for Different Shipping Needs

The various materials used for mailing tubes differ in terms of strength, density, environmental impact and cost. By recognizing the properties of each material, the shipping of products can be effectively protected with a mailing tube that provides the right combination of properties for the specific product and shipping conditions. An effective cost saving can be achieved by selecting the material that is most suitable for the specific application.

Kraft Paper Tubes

Kraft mailing tubes are made from heavyweight kraft paperboard. A material with a strong strength-to-weight ratio and very environmentally friendly. The natural brown kraft colour of the tubes is also very environmentally friendly and ideal for promoting an eco-friendly image to environmentally aware customers. Our kraft mailing tubes are ideal for most poster and document mailing applications. Perfect for many shipping applications where weight and associated costs need to be kept to a minimum.

Recyclability of kraft pulps is also a key focus area in our sustainability agenda. The material cost effectiveness of kraft also supports the logistically complex business model of moving heavy volumes of low value material which can also be material to net profit.

Cylinder Mailing Solutions

Cylinder mailing tubes Heavy Wall with Reinforced Tubes are recommended for the protection of highly sensitive or valuable items that must be transported with care. In the event that you are shipping particularly high value items and you can afford to afford the risk in the event of a breakage, you may be sufficiently protected with a heavier walled tube. However, in the case of irreplaceable originals, the most valuable artworks, or very sensitive documentation where a breakage would result in a catastrophic loss, then a heavy walled tube may be just the beginning.

Versatile Paper Tube Options

Paper tubes are an economical solution for the standard shipping application where a product needs to be protected by a basic material that does not need a high specification. Our paper tubes provide protection to your product in an economical way. There are a growing number of companies shipping large quantities of products, and although the cost of each tube is low, the total cost can be substantial.

We think standard paper tubes are lighter weight, and therefore cheaper to ship. Savings of $100's to $1000's of dollars can easily be realized through lower dimensional weight charges with carriers. In many applications the product is sufficiently robust, and not requiring excessive packaging protection. Using a paper tube obviates the need for over-engineering.

Industry-Specific Applications

Mailing tubes are used in many ways in a number of industries for a wide range of shipping needs required by their products and customers.

Art and Photography

Pro's and Artists use special tubes to roll their high-quality prints. The cost of the print is paid for the fidelity of the image in terms of colour values, sharpness and presentation. A good gallery tube will keep the print unrolled and ready to have a frame put on it. No colour shift will occur as a result of humidity in the air being absorbed into the paper and no scratches will be suffered as a result of handling the print. An expense that could be incurred if the print had to be re-printed would be avoided, and any mark down in price to the customer would be to the detriment of your profit margin.

Poster mailing tubes specifically designed for art applications often include features like:

• Black interior surfaces preventing light reflection that could affect prints
• Extra-thick walls guarding against punctures and crushing
• Professional labeling areas identifying contents as fragile artwork
• Premium end caps creating secure moisture-proof seals

Architecture and Engineering

Many architectural firms, engineering companies and contractors send blueprints, technical drawings and construction documents. All of these documents require special care so that they remain legible when they arrive. A smudged dimension can cause problems when trying to measure it out, a creased detail can be lost in the fold and water damage to a specification can render it unreadable, all of which can lead to serious hazards on site.

Mailing tubes for architectural applications prioritize:

Education and Corporate Training

Poster and Educational Materials: Frequently Shipped Untracked A poster or educational material is sent to schools and corporate training facilities to be displayed on a bulletin board or used as an educational resource. These materials are typically fragile and need to arrive in good condition quickly so they can be displayed and used in the classroom or office. A mangled corner or crease in a roll-up poster can ruin an otherwise excellent resource. Having to replace the poster because it was damaged in the shipping process is an inconvenience for busy teachers.

All Educational Materials are packed in our Standardized Bulk Shipping Program. Standardized tube sizing enables efficient packing, reduces shipping costs and expedites order fulfillment. In addition, when materials are shipped to multiple locations, it is critical that they are packaged the same so that the condition of the materials is the same at all locations.

Customization for Brand Building

Custom shipping tubes provide basic protection for a variety of products. In addition to providing basic protection, custom shipping tubes can be used for a variety of marketing functions that turn functional packaging into effective marketing tools that reinforce your brand and company image, even as products are being shipped to customers. By incorporating custom printing, branded labels and customized colors, you can create memorable unboxing experiences that reinforce your brand and product image, and give your customers assurance that you have a high quality product.

The incremental cost of a custom tube is dramatically less than its perceived value to the customer. In addition to providing a unique and dramatic packaging experience for the product, the container is retained and repurposed for storage of other products and is therefore viewed as a marketing tool that communicates the value and image of the brand long after the product has been used and dispensed. Thus, the customer views and experiences the standard, off the shelf bottle for only a short period of time and the impact of an undifferentiated product is lost to the customer in comparison to the promotional impact of a well-designed, branded tube.

Selecting Appropriate Tube Specifications

The selection of a tube for an application usually involves a matching of inside and outside diameters, wall thickness and type of end cap required. Another important factor to consider is the shipping characteristics and properties of the material to be carried in the tube.

Diameter Considerations

The diameter of the tube for a rolled item should be about equal to the circumference of the rolled item plus some spare shrinkage to prevent shocks between the outside of the tube and the surface of the roll which could otherwise cause damage. A diameter that is too small results in a tight roll which may stress the fibres in the paper, whilst a diameter that is too large allows movement of the roll during transport which could cause shock damage to the roll as rolls bump each other.

Length Selection

When choosing a tube length, always choose at least 2-4 inches longer than the item that will be inserted into the tube. This is to ensure that both end caps can be seated without compressing the contents of the tube. A tube that is chosen to be too short can cause damage to the contents of the tube when they are crushed against the caps in the ends of the tube. On the flip side, choosing a longer tube will waste tube material, and may also increase dimensional weight rates.

Wall Thickness and Strength

The thickness of the protective wall of a protective part has a direct influence on its crush resistance and shock absorbing capacity in case of an impact. A thicker protective wall will generally provide a higher crush resistance and shock absorbing capacity, but this is also more expensive. The wall thickness of a protective part should be in relation to the value of the item to be protected, and taking into account the relative costs of the item to be protected and the costs of transportation. In this way, adequate protection can be provided at a minimum cost.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Mailing tubes are a bit more expensive than mailing an envelope but when you factor in the damage rates, the cost to replace the damaged package and the value to the customer it is far more cost effective to use a tube.

Heavy or valuable products require special care during shipping to prevent damage to the product and also to provide an acceptable level of service to the customer. In many cases, a tube bearing the load of the product can be replaced to avoid spare parts, and also to provide greater customer satisfaction. Interested in our wide range of packaging tubes and related products and services for your specific application or market? Please contact us!

Mailing Tubes are becoming an increasingly popular way to turn shipping and handling from a high risk, high collision "necessary evil" into a marketing tool and shipping solution. Shipping and handling products is an inevitable cost of business, which can be a high risk proposition, especially if they are fragile. With mailing tubes, shipping and handling can be turned into an additional marketing tool and an effective way to protect products in transit. Whether you are shipping sensitive electronics, samples of products, flowers, CDs, glass, VHS tapes or brochures, the right mailing tubes can ensure they reach their destination in one piece and that they catch the attention of customers and recipients.