How To Pack Heavy Items for Easy Shipping

 The best and easiest way to pack heavy items for shipping is to use a purpose-built product. These products are specially designed to help you ship large and heavy items so that they arrive at their destination unharmed and damage-free.

Trying to wrap a fragile object in traditional packaging is a sure way to end up with a broken item. A purpose-built product will have protective padding specifically designed to absorb impact and reduce the chance of breakage.

These products also come with straps, handles and other features that make it easy to lift, carry and store your goods while they're being delivered. These are useful when moving house or transporting goods around your workplace.

How to Pack Heavy Items for Shipping?

Shipping heavy items can be tricky. Here are some tips and tricks to make packing heavy items easier to get you started.

Tape Plates to Top of Box

To keep breakable items from shifting or moving in transit, wrap them in bubble wrap or other sturdy and thick material. You must keep them steady. For instance, if you are shipping plates, place your plates on top of the other items in the box. This way, even if the box shifts or moves slightly during transit, your plates will not move and risk breaking.

Wrap this around all sides of the item, completely covered on all sides. You can also consider using Styrofoam peanuts instead of bubble wrap as these may provide more cushioning for delicate items.

Use good quality tape with a strong adhesive to ensure your heavier items are secure enough to stay put during transit. Make sure you use a lot of tapes, though, if the box gets jostled in transit.

Choose the correct size box

An essential part of any packaging operation is choosing the correct size box. Many people think that a package with plenty of space is required, leading to extra space and wasted materials. Instead, select a box that's slightly bigger than your item—this will give you room for cushioning materials without wasting space inside the packages.

When shipping smaller and lighter items, you may not need to worry as much about how they are packed. But when you're shipping larger items, cumbersome ones, they must be packed well so that they do not shift inside the box.

Different Types of Packing Material

If you're shipping heavy items, it's essential to package them the right way. Poorly packaging your items can result in damaged goods, which is bad for your business. This guide will teach you how to safely and adequately ship heavy items.

Tape vs Foam: When packing heavy items, foam packaging is your best bet. It's a better shock absorber than tape, so it will protect your items if they get bumped during transit. You can also use foam padding to fill voids in your box, thus reducing the amount of space you need to fill with paper or bubble wrap.

Bubble Wrap & Air Bags: Bubble wrap acts as an excellent shock absorber when used correctly. You should wrap the item in bubble wrap using multiple layers on all sides and ends, ensuring no gaps or open areas on the item. If you're shipping smaller, lighter objects, airbags work well in place of bubble wrap.

Packing Paper: Packing paper, such as newspaper or brown corrugated cardboard, is excellent for filling voids and keeping heavy items from moving inside your box. Also, try wrapping heavier objects individually with paper before placing them in the box—this will help keep them from knocking into each other.

When shipping heavy items, you need to know a few easy packing tricks. Follow these steps to package and ship items without the high cost quickly.

Tape is your friend! Use it for everything: reinforce the box flaps and seams, hold corners in place, and even keep the item from sliding around inside the box. Heavy-duty tape is best, but clear packing tape works well too.

How to ensure the Packages are Safe for Transit?

Source: How to Pack Heavy Items

• Create a cushion with crumpled up newspaper on each side of the item. This trick will protect fragile items like glass figurines or vases. It's also handy if you're shipping stereo equipment because you can put one cushion under the amplifier and another under the speakers.

• Use plenty of padding in all directions—top, bottom, front, back to protect the items within. Bubble wrap or foam sheets are great for this purpose. They are available at most office supply stores. If you're sending something precious, consider using both bubble wrap and foam sheets for extra protection.

• Pack items securely in a box before adding your padding material. This will prevent them from shifting around during transit and causing more damage than necessary.

• When you're shipping large, heavy items, the last thing you want is for the box to get damaged by shifting around in transit. One of the best ways to protect your products from such damage is packing peanuts.

• Tape and bubble wrap is excellent for preventing minor scratches, but they don't do much to prevent shifting.

• Packing peanuts fill up all the available space inside a box and provide cushioning. They are often made from recycled materials and can be reused for years without replacing them.

Packing Peanuts versus Bubble Wrap

You might be wondering which item is best for your shipment needs: packing peanuts or bubble wrap? Both are excellent products that will help protect your items during shipping. However, packing peanuts offer some critical advantages over bubble wrap.

Packing peanuts are more economical than bubble wrap because you only use what you need instead of buying it by the yard. You'll find that packing peanuts come in smaller sizes than bubble wrap, too, so you can use fewer of them per box. The most significant advantage of packing peanuts is that they keep your items sliding around inside the shipping container while still providing cushioning.

Tips to Pack Heavy Items

So you've got a heavy item to ship. What can you do to make it easier?

• Tape the lid to the box when shipping glass on a pallet. It will stay in place and help prevent the glass from shifting in transit.

• The more air you can get into a box, the easier it will be to move around. You can use red duct tape to seal any seams or holes in the boxes. It makes for easy opening, and you can reseal it if necessary.

• If you're boxing up your electronics for shipping, make sure you use suitable packing materials. You'll need styrofoam peanuts for items that have chips or circuit boards and bubble wrap for fragile items like screens or lenses. If you're sending a bunch of smaller parts that don't need any extra protection, brown paper wrapped around the item will help keep it from bouncing around inside the box.

• Colour code packaging materials so you don't pick up the wrong ones at the last minute. Label each material with a different coloured label, then stick them on your storage containers with an adhesive label maker. The next time you need them, they'll be easy to spot!

Wrapping Up

When you're shipping heavy, fragile, or valuable items, you have to put a lot of thought into what kind of packaging will be most effective. Sending heavy items can be tricky, but you should be able to handle any packing job with these helpful tips. These tips can help you save money and space when shipping all kinds of items.