Polly Bubble Mailer.

It handles surface knocks and abrasion well, but it won't stop crushing or a hard corner drop. The bubble layer spreads a light impact and keeps a book cover or an accessory from getting scuffed in the sort. Under a heavy parcel on a conveyor, though, the envelope simply flattens.

For glass, ceramics or anything that breaks, we'd put you in a box with void fill instead of a padded mailer.

The trade orders them by number from #000 up to #7, and the numbers mean roughly the same thing from one supplier to the next. A #0 is about 6 × 10 in, a #2 about 8.5 × 12 in and a #5 about 10.5 × 16 in. Allow for thickness when choosing, because a thick item uses up length and width as the envelope wraps around it.

Custom sizes are possible too, but a numbered size keeps reorders simple.

It's harder to recycle than most packaging because the film and the bubble layer are laminated into one multi-material sheet. Curbside programs generally won't take it, and store drop-off acceptance for film varies. Recycled PE film cuts the virgin plastic but doesn't change the construction.

If recyclability matters more to you than water resistance, a paper-padded kraft mailer is the honest alternative. We mark the disposal route on the mailer to match whichever one you choose.

Co-ex film is several polymer layers extruded together, here an LDPE and HDPE blend, and it resists tearing and puncture better than a single layer. On a padded mailer that matters most at the corners, where a boxed item with sharp edges rubs through thin film. Heavy-gauge grades go further for sharper contents.

The outer layer can be white or coloured for opacity, so nobody in the sort can see what's inside.

Yes, full-coverage CMYK print is available on the outer film, in a matte or metallic finish. Film takes ink differently from board, so keep fine type and hairlines a little heavier than you would on a carton. Leave a clear panel where the shipping label goes.

Directional marks by the tear notch and the numbered size can be printed too, which helps a warehouse pick the right mailer quickly.

Yes, the dual-seal version has two adhesive strips, one for the outbound trip and one for sending it back. The customer opens it at the tear notch, puts the item back in and closes it with the second strip. That saves you packing a separate return bag in every order.

The peel-and-seal closure is tamper-evident as well, since the film distorts if someone tries to lift it after sealing.

You can order as few as 500 printed mailers in one size and design. Printing on film needs plates and a press setup, and 500 is roughly where that setup spreads out sensibly. Larger programs run all the way to 100,000.

If you sell across several product sizes, pick the one or two numbers that cover most of your orders instead of printing every size.

Plan on 7 to 10 business days of production from artwork approval, with a rush option at 5 to 7. Samples take 5 to 7 business days, and it's sensible to hold one against your actual item to check the fit before bulk. Delivery goes anywhere in the USA.

Whatever you pay for the sample is credited back when you place the production order.