Shipping Your Products: Everything You Need to Know About Fillers and Cushioning
Posted on: 30 June 2020
Good quality packing takes more than putting your materials inside a box and shoving them into a container. It involves paying attention to the safety of the goods and the visual impression it will create to the person receiving. Usually, some of the items you are transporting might not fit perfectly inside the packaging material. You need padding and cushioning material to guarantee the wellbeing of the items while they are in transit. The following teaches you everything you need to know about fillers and cushioning you can use when shipping items through marine transport:
1. The Importance of Fillers and Cushioning
Using fillers and cushioning when preparing goods for shipment is essential for protective packaging. The filler and cushioning take up extra inches of space to keep items still as the vessel navigates over water waves. Besides, the cushioning also absorbs shock and protects your items from damage caused by brute force. Third, the filler and cushioning ensure that you deliver the product as desired without scratches and scrapes, which also improves the unboxing experience for the person receiving it.
2. Filler and Cushioning Materials Options
You can take on protective packaging using a variety of materials. The first option is using wrapping materials and the alternatives in this case include:
- Polyfoam: Polyfoam refers to a rubbery foam made by embedding bubbles of carbon dioxide and air inside a polymer matrix. It is the same concept used to make insulating materials and mattresses. Polyfoam material is waterproof and ideal for packaging items transported in marine vessels. In case of an emergency, you can count on the cushioning to keep your items safe as you salvage them.
- Paper: Paper is one of the most economical and practical options for filler and cushioning material. It comes in pre-cut sheets or rolls weighing between 20–25 kilograms. The thickness will vary depending on the items you are cushioning with brittle items requiring the thickest sheets. Paper is also beneficial because you can recycle and live up to your objective of sustainable marine transport.
The second protective packaging option you have is loose-fill material. Here, you pump loose materials into the spaces around the item to fill up space. It is the best option for transporting small pieces with irregular shapes because the loose materials penetrate the individual spaces. It is paramount to use enough loose-fill because the items can still move about, especially when large and heavy.
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