Choose The Right Mailer

There are many shipping options out there, and mailers are no exception. How do you pick the right mailer for your product? We’re breaking it down for you today.

Corrugated Mailers

Corrugated mailers are made from the strong material you’re used to from boxes, but are smaller and lightweight to help you save on shipping. Choose corrugated mailers for lightweight items. You can buy corrugated mailers for specific products such as literary mailers or audio mailers. These could cost you a bit more in terms of shipping than some of our other mailers, but they do offer a lot of protection for your products.

Bubble Mailers

Bubble mailers combine a simple mailer with bubble technology to cushion your products during shipment. These are perfect for a range of semi-fragile objects. Use bubble mailers for small electronics, jewelry, DVDs, and other similar items. They come in a variety of sizes, though you usually use bubble mailers for smaller items. Bubble mailers are going to be a little bit more rigid than poly mailers, so that can make a difference when choosing which to use.

Poly Mailers

Poly mailers are strong, though they provide very little cushioning for your product. This makes them ideal for items that require protection but aren’t very fragile. They’re great for clothes, literature, and media products. Poly mailers are difficult to puncture or tear, and they’re ideal for keeping out moisture. Poly mailers are also a more eco-friendly option, as they’re easy to recycle. Poly mailers will reduce freight costs as they take up less space than some of the other mailer options.

Kraft Padded Mailers

Padded mailers use expandable fiber padding to keep products safe from damage due to punctures, moisture, and tears. The padding expands as the package is handled to absorb shock. You won’t need any additional padding when using a mailer like this. Padded mailers are more Earth friendly than some of the other options.

Kraft Flat Mailers

Use Kraft flat mailers for photos and documents. You won’t need any additional stiffeners when you use these, just slip your product in, seal it, and send it. The mailers are flat and rigid, keeping products from bending during transit. These are the easiest way to mail documents or photos out there, so we highly recommend them.

Jiffy Rigi Bag Mailers

Use these mailers for additional corner and edge protection. The laminated fiberboard construction stops your products from moving around and also resists bending and folding. You won’t need additional stiffeners with this mailer, though we still recommend using flat mailers for photos and paper documents.

Choosing Your Envelopes

Last month we featured our mailing bags and envelopes, but it got us thinking that we could have gone into a lot more detail when it comes to choosing the type of envelope that is right for your needs. When shipping you can’t simply choose any type of envelope, you have to choose one that is the best for your item. Despite what you may think, there is a huge variety when it comes to envelopes, and we’re here today to go into the different types in more detail.

Styles

Redi-Seal – You’ll be able to present documents professionally and without fuss with this type of envelope. These envelopes feature a self-seal, meaning you don’t need moisture to close them. Simply close the flap and press.

Self-Seal – These envelopes are easy to seal. All you have to do is pull off the tab and press the envelope closed. Fast, convenient, and uses minimal waste.

Gummed – The flaps on these envelopes are heavily gummed to ensure you get a secure seal. These envelopes require moisture to be sealed.

Clasp – Metal clasps on envelopes are easy to use and allow you to reuse your envelopes, making it a great economic option.

Jumbo – These oversized envelopes are perfect for mailing and transporting oversized documents. The flaps are ungummed allowing the envelopes to be reused.

Expandable – Expandable envelopes do just that, expand, so that you can more easily ship bulky items such as books.

Flat – These envelopes are great for use as stiff enclosures to prevent documents and photographs from being bent while in transit.

Materials

Paper – Paper envelopes are best for lightweight documents and products, typically in a personal or business setting. Our paper envelopes are made from 100% recycled content. These envelopes provide basic protection and are relatively inexpensive.

Ship-Lite – Ship-lite envelopes are made of paper that is reinforced with mesh screen poly fibers, making them six times stronger than standard paper envelopes. This type of material is strong enough to handle documents, catalogs, magazines, and even some books.

Nylon Reinforced – If you’re shipping items that don’t require extra protection or padding, this material is perfect. They are extremely lightweight and cheap compared to most other mailers.

Kraft – Kraft corrugated is tough and stiff, making this type of material ideal for items that need to not be bent or damaged.

Cool Shield – Keep perishable and temperature sensitive items at the correct temperature with this type of material. It is designed to also be puncture and water resistant to keep objects inside safe.

Tyvek – This material is ten times stronger than typical paper envelopes. If you need something that has extensive puncture, moisture, and tear protection, this is the type of envelope you want.

Poly – Lightweight, affordable, and resistant to tears and moisture, these are a great option for shipping items.

Jiffy Rigi Bag – Perfect for corner and edge protection. This material is stiff due to it being made from Kraft laminated fiberboard. Mailer won’t bend, fold, or crease.

Padded – If you need some extra protection, go for padded envelopes, which are made using expandable fiber padding to protect items from damage.