Custom Shipping Tubes.

Thick enough that the tube does not bend across an unsupported span, because that is how a long tube fails in a parcel network. Stacking crush matters less than bending on a tube that is three feet long.

As a guide, a 3 mm wall suits documents and light prints, 4 to 5 mm suits rolled textiles and heavier prints, and 6 mm or a composite wall suits high-value or heavy contents. Tell us what goes inside and how far it travels and we set the wall.

Plastic plugs grip the inner wall and are the standard for transit. Paper caps make the pack all-fibre. A plug seats inside the tube and resists being pushed out, which is what a long roll does when a parcel is dropped end-first.

Paperboard caps are available where the recyclability claim matters more than push-out resistance. For heavy contents we recommend plugs at least at the bottom end.

Roll the print at the diameter you will actually ship it at, measure its length, then add 25 to 40 mm at each end for the plugs. A tightly rolled print needs a shorter tube than a loosely rolled one.

The common lengths are 24, 36 and 48 inches, in 2, 3 and 4 inch diameters. Custom lengths are cut in 10 mm steps, so an odd size is not a problem.

Yes. An optional printed wrap makes a shipping tube print exactly like a retail one. Most brands choose a one-colour logo and return details on the kraft body, which brands the tube without the cost of a full wrap.

A full-wrap litho print is available for direct-to-consumer brands that want the delivery to feel like the unboxing. The wrap adds a little to the unit cost and nothing to the lead time.

Yes. That is what the format is for. A heavy-wall wound tube with plugs at both ends goes straight into the carrier network without any further packaging.

The wall is the protection, which is why we specify it against your contents and route rather than picking a stock grade. Long tubes ride conveyors and get dropped end-first, and the spec accounts for both.

The wound body is kerbside recyclable, and it usually carries a high recycled-fibre content already. With paperboard caps the whole pack goes in one fibre stream.

With plastic plugs the customer removes the plugs first. If you want the tube to be recyclable as one item, ask for paper caps and we will confirm the push-out resistance for your contents.

300 units in one length and diameter. Plain kraft tubes with a one-colour print reach that minimum easily, and full-wrap print runs start at the same figure.

Because the tube is long, freight to you is a bigger share of the cost than on a small tube. We quote delivery with the order so there are no surprises.

7 to 10 business days after approval for standard production, with rush at 5 to 7 business days. Plain or one-colour tubes sit at the fast end of that range because there is no wrap print to schedule.

Samples take 5 to 7 business days, and on a shipping tube the sample is for checking wall stiffness over the full length, which a spec sheet cannot show you.