These days we're all looking for ways to reduce our use of plastic, but we're simply not sure of what the alternatives are. Not only will these paper packaging ideas provide you with everything you need including product protection, but all of these will fulfill your promise to the environment and to your customers.
We will look at whats available to:
- wrap up your items
- fill the void in packages
- What we can pack our items into
- what non-plastic choices we have in sealing up our packages.
Wrapping it up – some ideas of how you can wrap up your goods using recycled and recyclable paper products
- News Print – a very lightweight paper, newsprint is off white and made from 60% recycled paper fibre. An economical way to collate and wrap up your goods.
- Kraft Paper - a lightweight, economical, yet strong material (80gsm) that can easily wrap up goods and leaving them looking good too. It is available in a range of widths too and is easily recyclable.
- Corrugated Cardboard – As it is corrugated it provides a little bit of cushioning for your goods as well as providing the strength of cardboard - so can be used for fragile items as well as other items. Being flexible it can be used as an alternative to bubble wrap packaging.
- Cardboard Perforator – these provide a great way to re-use your existing pre-loved cardboard packaging and create an attractive form of cushioning packaging at the same time. There are stand alone as well as bench top models available, but you simply feed your strip of cardboard into the perforator and it slices through it creating a versatile and free protective material that can later be recycled again.
- ProPad Paper Cushioning System – the ProPad creates lengths of paper padding using kraft paper – either in predetermined or endless lengths. It features four operational settings including manual through to programmable sequences and can produce up to 150 protective paper pads per minute.
- TempGuard Thermal Packaging – Tempguard is used as an alternative to foil lined bubble thermal packaging and where you are packaging heat sensitive items. It is made from heavy duty kraft paper outer and recycled paper fibres inside that will ensure the proper temperatures are maintained. Tempguard is used with gel ice packs and is 100% curb side recyclable and easily absorbs moisture which reduces condensation on products.
Filling the void – when it comes to filling up the void in boxes then the Fasfil is your paper packaging answer, alternatively the ProPad and Cardboard Perforator (mentioned above) can do these jobs too.
- FasFil – the Fasfil will create lengths of crimped paper used specifically to fill the void in boxes. All the paper is made from recycled content, and then becomes recyclable again. It is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bubble packaging. The Fasfil system is available as a Fasfil 1500 High performance Void Filling System which is a high output 118m per minute system.
Packing it Up – The paper alternatives to finally boxing or packing up your items
- Boxes/cartons – an obvious choice, all boxes are made of corrugated board and recyclable. Cardboard cartons are available in a range of off the shelf sizes or can be custom made to order.
- Maltese Cross Cartons – these are another type of cardboard box, but made specifically to wrap flat packed items such as books, brochures or even CD’s or DVD’s. Maltese Cross cartons create a very strong and fully protective casing around your items and are lightweight enough to not increase the cost of postage.
- Jiffy Padded Mailers – a paper padded mailer bag made from a heavy duty kraft paper exterior, with internal padding made from recycled paper fibres. New to the collection are Jiffy Padded Lite mailers which are also made from a heavy duty kraft exterior, whilst the padding is made from a woven paper lining that has a honeycomb structure
- Brown Paper Bags – a heavy duty kraft paper and environmentally friendly alternative to plastic shopping bags
Sealing it up - seal up your boxes or cartons using paper tapes
- Kraft Paper Tape – Simply a kraft paper alternative to traditional plastic packaging tape. It comes as a traditional kraft or a filament reinforced tape for additional strength. It can be used with a traditional tape gun dispenser.
- Water Activated Tape is made from kraft paper and adhesive that is starch based. When the paper is wet, the adhesive is activated and the tape can be applied to the carton. One of the best things about water activated tape is that it adheres the fibers of the carton it’s applied to making it almost impossible to remove without evidence. So it is not only tamper proof, but pilfer proof too. Water Activated Tape is also available in a filament reinforced tape.
