Most damage in transit comes from a product moving around inside its box, not from the box being crushed. Protective packaging fills the gaps, absorbs knocks and holds the product in the centre of the carton. The range of packaging materials is wide: paper, air pillows, foam, honeycomb and board, each with its own cost and strength. Send us your product, its weight and how it travels, and suppliers near you quote directly. It is free and you are under no obligation.
Void fill: paper, air pillows and loose fill
Void fill stops the product sliding in empty space. Kraft paper, either crumpled by hand or run through a dispenser, is recyclable and good for light and medium items. Air pillows are inflated on a small machine from a film roll, weigh almost nothing and fill big boxes cheaply, so you ship air by the roll and inflate it on the bench. Loose fill such as starch peanuts flows around odd shapes but spills and is messy. Fill until the product cannot move when the closed carton is shaken, and leave about 30 mm of cushion on every side.
Foam, corners and edge boards
Heavier or more valuable goods need a firmer cushion. Polyethylene foam sheet and rolls, 2 to 10 mm, protect surfaces from scratches and wrap furniture, while thicker foam blocks and corners, cut or moulded to the product, hold appliances, instruments and tools. Edge and corner boards made of laminated board, at about R3 to R15 each, protect the corners of pallets, frames and panels, and they work with pallet wrap to stop the load crushing. For glass and fragile items, pair foam with bubble wrap.
Honeycomb paper, dividers and inserts
Honeycomb paper is an expanding paper structure that replaces plastic wrap. It supports weight and cushions at the same time, and it recycles with ordinary paper. Dividers and cell inserts keep bottles, jars and glasses from touching, which is the main cause of breakage in cartons of glass. Moulded pulp trays hold eggs, fruit or small electronics. Dividers and inserts can be bought standard or cut to size, and the order should state the number of cells and the internal height of the carton, so see the notes on cardboard boxes.
How to pass a drop test
Pack a sample, close it and drop it from about 1 m onto concrete, on a flat face, an edge and a corner. If anything inside is damaged, add cushion or reduce the gap and test again. For courier parcels, the box must survive being thrown on a conveyor and stacked under other parcels. Keep weight under what your courier accepts, and use a stronger board when you stack heavy boxes. A few rand of extra protective material per parcel is cheap compared with one refund. Ask suppliers for samples, and compare costs in our packaging price guide.
What to include in your request
- What you are protecting and its weight
- Carton inside size in mm (L x W x H)
- Paper, air, foam or honeycomb preference
- Fragility and how the parcel travels
- Quantity per month and delivery address
Protective Packaging for different businesses
- Online shops and ecommerce: paper void fill and air pillows so fragile orders arrive intact and boxes stay light
- Restaurants, takeaways and food producers: dividers and inserts for bottles, jars and gift hampers, and cushioning for delicate goods
- Shops and retail stores: foam and paper wrapping for homeware, ceramics and glass sold from the shop
- Factories and manufacturers: cut foam, honeycomb and corner boards that hold finished products in the carton
- Warehouses, distributors and exporters: edge boards and honeycomb for pallets so loads survive stacking and long routes
- Households and offices moving: foam sheets, paper and corner protectors for furniture, mirrors and screens
- Farms, packhouses and nurseries: dividers and moulded pulp for bottled sauces, oils, wine and eggs from the farm
- Cosmetics, candles and health products: cell inserts and foam beds around glass bottles, droppers and gift sets
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest void fill?
How much space should I leave around a product?
Is foam packaging recyclable?
Can suppliers cut foam to fit my product?
Protective Packaging by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg