How is bubble wrap made?

Protective packaging, such as bubble wrap, plays one of the most important roles in the packaging of goods. They keep the item safe from bumps and shocks, so it reaches its owner safely.
Bubble wrap is lightweight, strong and soft, it’s easy to work with and offers amazing protection for anything – and besides, popping bubbles helps against stress! 🙂
In this article we will look at bubble wrap in detail; we will look at how the wrap is made, how it was made and how it can be used for packaging. Amongst other things how to recycle it too!

How is bubble wrap produced?

Bubble wrap is made from tiny beads of resin, almost like grains of rice. Because of their different properties, several different resins are used and combined into the material we know and use as bubble wrap.

The tiny resin beads are melted to over 450 °C where they fuse together to form a thin film, which is the base material for the bubble wrap. This film is then flattened to the required thickness before being introduced into cylinders with small holes.

As the film travels through these cylinders, with the help of vacuum, small holes are created which cause air bubbles to form. To prevent air from escaping from the bubbles, a second film is stuck on and this seals the air inside the bubbles.

Finally, it is cut to width and perforated so that it can be rolled into large, industrial rolls. The bubble wrap produced goes to quality control.

A revolutionary invention!

Bubble wrap was invented in 1957, not by a single person, but by two inventors named Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes.

Alfred and Marc weren’t trying to create a packaging material, they were actually trying to invent three-dimensional tactile wallpaper by sealing two shower curtains together!

Unfortunately, their invention failed to sell as wallpaper, so they tried to sell it as a greenhouse insulator, also with limited success. It wasn’t until a few years later in 1961 that the packaging and protection offered by their invention was fully realized.

The name “Bubble Wrap” was trademarked by the Sealed Air corporation (which was founded by Alfred and Marc), and IBM became their first major customer to use it to protect sensitive computers in transit. More than 50 years later, it is used worldwide and is one of the most common packaging materials today.

Is bubble wrap recyclable?

This amazing material not only excels in great protection, but surprisingly it can also be recycled. This section will address a common question: “is bubble wrap environmentally friendly?”

There are several ways you can recycle bubble wrap; the most common way is by recycling it into yellow plastic containers.

If you want to go a completely different route. There is the option of using shrink wrapping paper. However, you need to allow for the fact that you need to use a little more of it to fix the goods well.

How to pack with bubble wrap

As you know, bubble wrap has a flat side and cushioned bubbles. So the question is: “how to pack the goods in such a way that they are not damaged during transportation?”

We recommend to always pack with the bubbles inside to the product so that the cushioning occurs directly on the product during transportation. Also remember to use adhesive tape to seal the packaging.

If you are shipping a shipment with several items inside, bubble wrap can be used for layering and separation, providing a soft layer of air cushioning while preventing products from moving freely during transport.

Bubble wrap is not only available in rolls, but also bubble bags. These are particularly suitable for small delicate products such as jewellery, cosmetics or small electronic products. But watch out for electrical products! It is best to use anti-static bags, which prevent static discharge.

In RAJAPACK, as every month, we have a special offer of -20% on selected bubble wrap. You can find the special prices at www.rajapack.sk!