Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses and distributors have faced a lot. From shuttering business for a couple weeks or months to transferring major aspects online, they have had to pivot every time a new obstacle popped up. Now, they’re facing a shortage of bubble mailers.
Bubble mailers are easy to use for many businesses. You simply drop your product into the envelope, seal it, place a shipping label on the front, and send it off. The slim packaging helps with DIM weight yet is protective enough for an incredible variety of products. If businesses can’t ship with them, they might have to switch to boxes, which add weight and take up space in shipping.
However, other alternatives are available. What could be a bad situation is actually a win-win for businesses and consumers. Here are the top three ways you can tackle a lack of bubble mailer wrapped envelopes while increasing throughput and saving the environment.
1. Switch to curbside recyclable mailers
A curbside recyclable mailer offers the same ease of use that a regular mailer has. But it comes with the added benefit of recyclable materials. Many consumers are becoming more aware of how their online shopping affects the environment and seek out companies with sustainable practices. Using 100% recyclable mailers, such as Curby Paper Mailers and Jiffy Padded Mailers, will keep your products safe during shipping while also elevating your brand in the eye of the consumer.
2. Make your own bubble mailers
If you thought ordering individual envelopes was easy, you’ll be blown away by fully automating the bubble mailer packaging process. For example, the PACjacket from PAC Worldwide produces up to 20 bags per minute using protective bubble film. This is over 400% more efficient compared to hand-filling and sealing bubble mailers.
Only one person is needed to operate the PACjacket. They start by scanning their item and placing it between two layers of bubble film. The machine then automatically sizes and seals the film before labeling it for shipping.
And, once again, the bubble film is curbside recyclable for waste management companies that accept #2 and #4 plastics.
3. Use cold seal automation
Another packaging solution is cold seal automation. Sealed Air’s PriorityPak uses a similar process as the PACjaket to package a variety of differently shaped products. However, you can use recyclable rigid board in addition to bubble film.
PriorityPak also uses only one operator and can package up to 15 ready-to-ship mailers per minute. The cold seal process locks and seals the products in place. This provides great protection during shipping due to less shifting inside the package.
Which one will you go with?
All of these options can be easily integrated within your packaging line. They’ll help increase throughput and sustainability while decreasing costs in labor and shipping. Contact a Hughes packaging professional today to find out how you can improve your supply chain redundancy plan in order to optimize your packaging process.