The Right Kind of Shipping Tools

There is a lot of more to packing than one realizes and when the package has to be shipped overseas, the story gets even more complicated. Many companies have come up with innovative solutions to help ensure that the products that are shipped, arrive at the destination in perfect condition. You have to consider the various conditions that the package will be exposed too and there is also a chance that the box might get dropped by accident. So while packing, you should make sure that no matter what, the contents are safe, and that is why it is essential to choose the right kind of shipping tools.

Things needed

When it comes to packaging materials for overseas shipments, there are many things that are involved such as the following:

Tapes
Bags
Labels
Wrapping material
Boxes
Dividers
Styrofoam 8475266671

All of the above can be custom made in whatever shape and size you need. You can even get them custom printed so that they display your brand name, logo and company information.

A few tips

Anybody can pack a box or bag, but not everybody can pack a product for shipment effectively. However, with the following tips, one can pack like a pro in no time at all.

Fill up empty spaces with Styrofoam peanuts or any other loose packing materials. Overfill slightly so that it can settle. Do not use this method for packing flat and thin products.
Use corrugated dividers while packing fragile stuff and do not be stingy with bubble sheets when you have to pack glassware. You can use bubble wrap for flexible items as well and you can cut them to any size that you want.
Use foam-in-place for secure packing and make sure that the foam-in-place is done evenly.

Things to do

It is not just a matter of putting stuff inside a box and then sealing it off. One has to make sure that the contents are secure and will not break when moved around. The lid has to be sealed properly and the address has to be readable. You can get customized wrapping tools and tapes from Instabox which specializes in packaging materials. The shipping tools have to be strong and at the same time light enough to be used repeatedly, for long periods of time. Make sure that you use a sufficient amount of wrapping material so that the products are adequately covered.

[5/16/2014]

The Advantages of Custom Printed Stickers

Having custom printed stickers is very handy since you can use them almost anywhere and on anything. People use them all the time, but it is the really creative ones who really know how to use them fully. Here are a few places where you can use them:

as labels on packing boxes
as car bumper stickers
as posters on walls and doors
as sticky notes on notice boards

They can be printed to fit any size or shape and they can be used to promote businesses and campaigns. You can print almost anything on a sticker including your logo, motto or address.

Unusual form of advertising

Custom stickers are a cheap but effective form of advertising as they can be stuck in unconventional and eye-catching places easily. You can even distribute them to customers or passers-by the way you do pamphlets or brochures. Also you do not have to pay anything to stick them or pay premiums to keep them there. There will be no pop up ads to block them and you do not have to depend on internet traffic to click on your ads. When you stick them on a vehicle, your ad will go places without costing you dime.

Economical solution to spread awareness

Custom stickers can be used by non-profit organizations and institutions as a campaign tool. As they take up very little space, they can be stuck anywhere and they catch attention easily. Although it is actually an old form of advertising, there is a lot of potential to it that is still untapped. They can be placed strategically to get the customer’s attention and you do not have to pay anything for its maintenance. If they get old, you can replace them with another sticker. Politicians use them all the time for their campaigns and people love using them.

Versatile form of advertising

Custom printed stickers can also be replaced easily and as they are very cheap to make, you can keep changing them to suit your marketing needs. You can just get your logo printed on stickers and then stick them on gifts or any other items as well. There is no need to spend a lot of extensive advertising campaigns when you have a simple sticker do the job for you. No matter how often you print them, they will not get wasted. They can also be stored safely as they are durable and will still look good after spending months inside a box.

[5/12/2014]

Custom Labels – Use Them Creatively

Labels can be used in many ways, but they are most commonly used to display the most basic information about a company or product. However, custom labels can be made to be an effective advertising tool and can be displayed attractively. Labels can be made in all sizes and in a variety of shapes. They can have a full color display with attractive graphics and witting slogans. Some unusual shapes that you can use for a label are ovals, circles and squares rather than the usual rectangles. You can also have them cut into funny and unconventional shapes which are sure to catch the customer’s attention.

Use them everywhere

You can use them as packaging labels also and use them wherever you want to. You can paste them on boxes, packages, letters, and other products or even on your desk. You can paste them on mugs, calendars, envelopes and any other item. You can use them to advertise your products by sticking them on promotional materials and when you print all the important information on them, they turn into a compact brochure. They can be distributed to all customers and stuck in unconventional places. The idea is to make a small thing like a label, speak a thousand words.

Unusual finishes

You can get a clear backing for your labels which will add a unique touch, especially when you want to stick them on windows. You can also get them in other unusual finishes when you print them on a gold or silver foil. To really catch the customer’s attention, you can get fluorescent finishes. You can get your desired shape by having them die-cut and while this may be a little bit more expensive than conventional shapes, the end result is well worth it. People love to look at unusual things and when they receive packages with an unusual custom labels, they will remember it for a long time.

Make them count

Do not just make packaging labels with ordinary information but make them in such a way that they really catch customer’s attention. They should be aesthetically pleasing while putting across a powerful message to your customers. Make them functional and decorative at the same time and you will save a lot of money. Don’t just settle for a label that is good enough, make sure it has the look and impact you want.

[5/6/2014]

Corrugated Box – Dream Up The Ideal One

Your customers are important to you and it is every business owner’s dream to have their product delivered in perfect condition. Now that would require the perfect box with the exact specifications of the product dimension, so that there is no extra space and therefore, no chance of damages. Although, there are many companies offering readymade folding cardboard boxes, it might not fit your requirements if your product has a unique shape. Sometimes, you might need your box to have compartments to fit accessories and that might not be available in a standard, readymade box.

So what you need is a box made just for you, in the way that you want it. You can get any type of box with the following added to it:

Labels
Stickers
Dividers
Packaging materials

Ordering folding cardboard boxes takes the headache out of manufacturing it and getting the help of specialists just adds to the perfect touch. Having the perfect finish talks a lot about your company and it is in fact, a type of advertising which is subtle and loud at the same time. Also, getting your boxes from a box supplier will ensure that you choose the right materials, since the supplier will be able to guide you, depending upon the product.

You can make use of a corrugated box for your own use as well, especially when you want to store your belongings for a season. You can go in for an old used box but the chances are, your belongings are going to get damaged. So even if you think that the investment is a bit too high for home use, it will eventually prove to be the wiser decision as it will act as a more secure option for your goods. Also, you might require special boxes for a specific purpose or special occasions and old boxes will never do.

Most suppliers of folding cardboard boxes stipulate a minimum number such as a 100 or 500. However, if you want just one to try out, you can order from Instabox, which allows the customer to order a single box. Try it on for size and if that is not right, you can always change your specifications later on. Also, ordering just one corrugated box is not as expensive as you might think. In fact, it is cheaper in the long run to reject just one as opposed to a hundred boxes, which you would have otherwise bought from another company.

[5/1/2014]

Custom Printed Tape – Use It For Your Packaging Needs

You can select from readymade tapes or you can be innovative by getting custom printed tape, bearing your company logo and any other information that you need. This is an innovative and cost effective form of advertisement as well. Imagine your boxes and other packaging materials advertising your company all the way up to the destination! You can get them made in any kind of width that you need and when you order in bulk, they are still relatively cheap. Sending a package to a customer with your own customized tape will say a lot about your company and it will help to make your company a household name.

Types of Tapes Available

In this day and age, you can get just about anything the way you want it and the same is true when it comes to custom printed packaging tape. Here are the different kinds of tapes that you can choose from:

Polypropylene tapes are considered the standard ones that most people go for since they are economical and strong. They can withstand a lot of pressure and they are easy to use, especially when you have to pack a lot of items. Printing on this tape is easy and since the tape is extremely durable, your printed information will also last a long time. You can also get extra strong, heavy-duty tape for those special packages, which need to go a long way.
Paper tapes are another option that you can consider as they are eco-friendly while being inexpensive. They can be recycled too and will show everyone that you care about the environment. Another advantage of using paper tapes is that they can stick to dusty surfaces and can be used for almost any type of packing.
Another widely used custom printed tape is the PVC kind which comes with a good vinyl backing and is used to seal heavy boxes.

Advantages of using customized tapes

When you make a custom printed packaging tape for your company, you are promoting your company in a very unique way. It will also help build trust as it tells your customer that you take every measure to make sure that the product arrives safely. You can even use the tapes to store your company products and it will help you to take stock meticulously. You can even get the tapes printed with promotional material and information that will be of value to the customer.

[4/29/2014]

Shipping Materials That Every Business Needs

Your business is your life. You want the best of the best for your clients. You want to protect your investments and make sure that they get where they need to be. If this sounds like you, you need to know all about shipping your products. The shipping materials that you choose for shipping your products to your clients should be chosen with care because your reputation is at stake. When you take the time to choose the ideal shipping supplies, you are taking the time to protect yourself, your merchandise and your clients all at once.

Here is a compiled list of 5 shipping supplies that you might not have thought of when planning for shipping your merchandise.

Custom Printed Bags- providing your clients with customer printed bags when they make purchases can give your business an extra edge against your competitor who doesn’t. Imagine the impact that seeing your logo on a daily basis, all over town, will have on your business.
Custom Printed Tape- Now that online sales are skyrocketing, you may find yourself mailing more and more merchandise. Instead of using plain, clear packing tape, why not have custom made printed tape? When you seal your box with tape that has your logo on it, you are giving your customer another shot to recognize your logo.
Hand Trucks- These handy tools allow you to easily move up to 1000 lbs of merchandise without straining or hurting yourself. They are perfect for moving boxes around in your shipping area and onto the trucks.
Paper Wrapping Material- When you have smaller items in your boxes, you may need to have some wrapping material. A low cost option to replace costly packing peanuts is to use colored paper. You can choose a color that goes best with your brand. You can also use newsprint or tissue paper.
Shipping Tags and Accessories- adding shipping tags to your boxes can allow you one more chance at infusing your brand to your shipping materials. You can also use them to keep track of where your boxes need to go to.

Remember that the small touches are the ones that your clients will remember. Going above and beyond to show off your brand on your shipping materials, and to package your merchandise can make all the difference between you and your competitor.

[4/25/2014]

Packaging Supplies For Shipping

It is important that you take time to use the proper packaging supplies and shipping accessories to ensure that your item arrives on time without damages. With three simple steps your package will be ready to ship.

Step 1: Use a Brand New Corrugated Box

While it is possible to reuse a corrugated box, when it comes to shipping it is better to go with a brand new box. Every time that a box is used for shipping it loses some of its structural integrity. If you use a new box, you can be sure that the strength of your box has not been weakened by past use. As with all packaging supplies, make sure that your box is the most lightweight and smallest dimension possible for the item you are sending. This will protect you from additional costs of shipping for a larger container.

Step 2: Protect Your Item

Ideally, when you package your item using packaging supplies like paper wrap, corrugated dividers and foam packing peanuts you will be able to protect your items from moving around. Any movement of your items during shipping can cause damage by products bumping together. You should wrap each item separately and keep at least two inches of padding between breakable items.

Step 3: Close Box and Label Correctly

Using shipping accessories like a tape gun and 2 inch wide pressure sensitive tape or nylon reinforced filament tape will assist you in securing your items. Be sure to use 3 strips of tape at the bottom and top of the box along the three edge seams. This will ensure that the openings do not open unexpected during transit.

Other shipping accessories that will help with effective shipping are shipping labels. Be sure that when you fill in the shipping address that you include the entire address, including the name of the recipient, the whole street address with postal code and the suite or apartment number if there is one. The more complete your shipping label is, the more likely your package will get where it needs to go.

When you have all the shipping accessories and packaging supplies that you need on hand, shipping and packaging becomes a walk in the park. You know that your items will get where they need to be, and that your reputation for high quality goods will remain intact.

[4/21/2014]

Shipping and Packing Materials – Does it Matter Which Ones You Use?

When it comes to shipping and packing materials, remember that there is a reason why boxes come in different shapes and sizes. It is crucial for effective shipping that you choose materials that are ideal for your project. The right shipping and packing materials can make the difference between your package arriving and your package arriving in one piece. Here are some of the different kinds of packing materials and supplies that you might need for effective shipping and packing.

Boxes:

There are a variety of boxes that you might need depending on what you are planning on shipping. For example, if you are mailing clothing to one of your clients, you may wish to purchase a wardrobe box with a bar. This box is perfectly suited to shipping delicate clothing that must be handled with care. The bar will allow you to neatly contain the clothing without wrinkling or folding.

If you are shipping many documents that must remain organized, you can have sturdy file boxes that ship well and stack easily. These paper wrapping materials allow you to label and consolidate your precious paperwork without the threat of smashed or shifted documents.

There are many other shapes and sizes of boxes that may assist you with a successful shipment catering specifically to your products.

Mailing Tubes:

If you are mailing promotional materials like posters, fliers or even parts of billboards, you may require a mailing tube. Our mailing tubes come in hundreds of shapes and sizes and can be used for mailing just one sheet, or hundreds depending on your shipping and packing needs. These tubes are ideal as paper wrapping materials because they protect your valuable assets without fear or water damage, bending or folding.

Other products:

Packing tape
Packing peanuts
Bubble wrap
Tape gun
Corrugated pads
Chipboard dividers

While you may not require every one of these products for every package you ship, you may find it worthwhile to keep some on hand.

There are many other shipping and packing materials that you may wish to use in order to quickly, safely and effectively ship your delicate, valuable merchandise and paperwork. You can contact a number of professional shipping and packing materials providers to see what options are available and viable for you. You’ll be surprised at the number of cost effective, simple solutions that are available.

[4/17/2014]

Fiberboard Dividers Help Protect Your Goodies

Anyone who has to ship and package inventory or merchandise knows that it is important to package your boxes correctly. Using the right kinds of packing materials will prevent damage to your goods, saving you money and reputation points with your clients. While it is obvious that packing peanuts, bubble wrap and other stuffers can help to protect your merchandise, other packing solutions like fiberboard dividers and chipboard dividers can prevent additional damage that stuffing cannot.

Here are a few interesting tidbits about fiberboard dividers and chipboard dividers that you might not know.

Fiberboard dividers are sturdy storage solutions that are made from corrugated fiberboard. They are heavy duty and versatile; perfect for storing loose parts of machines, nails and screws, and other small but heavy pieces. According to government testing, these dividers are slated to last between 30 and 50 years. They are more fire resistant than chipboard dividers, but are still completely recyclable. They can be assembled without tape or staples, allowing for a quick and simple installation or removal.

Chipboard dividers are a fantastic, inexpensive option for shipping fragile items. The nice thing about chipboard dividers is that they are much cleaner than some other divider options. They create less dust and are lightweight so they are less expensive to ship. They are made of non-bending paperboard that is composed of mixed waste papers. Chipboard dividers can come in a variety of ecologically friendly arrangements to meet most of your fragile shipping needs. Many businesses are starting to understand the need to be ecologically responsible- using greener shipping alternatives can be an affordable way to make that happen.

While there is an option of using plastic dividers for certain projects, it is almost always more economical to stick with paper based dividers. Plastic dividers can provide additional damage prevention- especially for returnable items- but the costs of implementation can be unreasonably high for their use. They are also not as green as the paper options.

For the biggest bang for your buck, chipboard dividers and fiberboard dividers give you the protection you need for your valuable materials. The reassurance of using a 100% recyclable and low cost material will help you sleep a little better, knowing that your product will get where it needs to be in one piece. Choosing the best alternative for your business can be simple, as long as you know exactly what it is you need it to do and protect.

[4/14/2014]

Corrugated Cartons: A brief History

Today we take for granted the fact that one can simply run to a grocery store, or a hardware store to pick up a couple of boxes for moving. We can order dozens of custom made corrugated cartons for low prices and our shipping boxes rarely cost more than a couple of dollars. This sense of ease for shipping has not always been a reality.

Before the 1850’s, it was necessary to package anything that was to be shipped anywhere into hand crafted wooden crates. These crates cost a lot to build and were not necessarily custom to the items that you were shipping. Being in crates that did not protect them from shipping hazards damaged many items.

The corrugated cartons that we are now familiar with got their start in New York City when Albert Jones patented them. Although originally used in England to protect hats inside of hatboxes, they were first used for shipping bottles and lanterns in 1871. In 1890, corrugated cardboard got a boost from Robert Gair, who discovered that by adding two sheets of flat board on either side of the fluted center paper, the strength of the box increased.

This discovery allowed for corrugated cartons to become the benchmark for shipping containers and lead to an enormous boom in shipping across the globe. We might even go as far as to say that the invention of corrugated cartons revolutionized the world of enterprise for North America, the United Kingdom and the globe.

Today, we are able to make boxes using machines that are capable of cranking out cardboard at a rate of over 500 lineal feet per minute. We can add logo designs, create large volume boxes and transport large and small items without so much as a second thought.

The technology required to create a corrugated cardboard box doesn’t seem like something that would be complicated, folding paper and gluing it between two flat sheets of board. The invention took thousands of years to master, but when it was finally a reality it became a massive catalyst for the world of commerce.

Today, through the use of corrugated cartons, many businesses are able to safely ship a wide number of products in a safe, secure and cost effective manner. Cardboard is also recyclable, making it a great option for companies that are currently “green” or in the process of going “green”.

[4/10/2014]