Poly mailers are an indispensable tool for e-commerce and shipping, offering durability, light weight, and cost-effectiveness for packaging. At Lessgopack, we take pride in being an expert in both plastic and paper packaging, ensuring high-quality poly mailers that meet the demands of businesses and consumers alike. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the process of how poly mailers are made, highlighting our unique expertise and the meticulous care that goes into every step of production.
What Are Poly Mailers?
Poly mailers are lightweight, flexible plastic envelopes primarily used for shipping soft goods such as clothing, books, and small items. They are an ideal choice for e-commerce retailers and logistic companies because they are water-resistant, easy to store, and affordable compared to traditional boxes. At Lessgopack, our poly mailers come with advanced features such as self-sealing adhesives and tamper-evident closures, making them an excellent packaging solution.
The Raw Materials of Poly Mailers
The first step in making poly mailers involves selecting high-quality raw materials. Typically, poly mailers are made from polyethylene—a plastic polymer that is versatile and durable. We use two primary types of polyethylene:
- Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE): LDPE is used for the outer layer, providing flexibility, strength, and a smooth finish that makes our poly mailers easy to print on.
- Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE): LLDPE is often blended with LDPE to enhance the strength of the poly mailer while maintaining flexibility. This ensures the bag can withstand handling during shipment without tearing.
At Lessgopack, we prioritize sourcing eco-friendly materials whenever possible, offering options like recycled polyethylene to minimize the environmental impact.
Extrusion: Creating the Film
The production process starts with extrusion, where polyethylene resins are melted and transformed into a plastic film. Here’s a look at how the extrusion process works:
- Melting the Resin: Polyethylene pellets are loaded into an extruder machine, where they are heated to high temperatures, turning them into molten plastic.
- Forming the Film: The molten plastic is pushed through a circular die, creating a continuous tube of plastic film. This process is called blown film extrusion. The plastic tube is inflated like a balloon and cooled down to form a uniform film.
- Flattening the Film: Once the film cools, it is collapsed and flattened into sheets. These sheets will eventually be cut to the desired size for poly mailers.
At Lessgopack, we ensure that the extrusion process is closely monitored for consistency. Proper temperature control and quality checks help us maintain a film that is free from defects and has the right thickness for durability.
Printing: Custom Branding Options
One of the key features of our poly mailers is the ability to add custom printing. Printing adds a personal touch to the mailer, enhancing the brand identity of our clients. At Lessgopack, we use flexographic printing for this purpose. This process involves:
- Design Preparation: Clients provide their logos, colors, and branding elements. Our design team ensures the artwork is print-ready.
- Printing Plates: Flexographic plates are created, each plate corresponding to a color in the design. These plates are attached to the printing press.
- Printing the Film: The flattened polyethylene film passes through the flexographic printing press, where each color is applied in layers to create a high-quality image.
Our flexographic printing process ensures vibrant colors and crisp images that stand out, giving our customers the ability to create packaging that leaves a lasting impression.
Cutting and Sealing
Once the printing process is complete, it’s time to convert the printed film into individual poly mailers. This involves cutting and sealing, a crucial part of ensuring each mailer has the correct dimensions and features.
Cutting the Film
The printed film is fed into a cutting machine, where it is cut into individual pieces of the desired length. The cutting machine is calibrated to ensure precision, producing mailers that are uniform in size.
Bottom Sealing
After cutting, the bottom of each piece is sealed using heat to form a bag. The heat-sealing process melts the polyethylene layers together, creating a strong seam that prevents the contents from falling out. At Lessgopack, we use high-quality heat sealers to ensure the durability of every poly mailer.
Adding Features: Adhesive Strip and Perforation
Poly mailers are designed with functionality in mind. To make them convenient for use, we add features such as:
- Self-Sealing Adhesive Strip: A strip of adhesive is applied to the flap of the mailer. This allows for easy sealing without the need for extra tape. Our adhesive strips are strong and tamper-evident, giving added security during shipment.
- Perforation: Some poly mailers have a perforated tear strip, making it easy for the recipient to open the package. This feature enhances the customer experience, ensuring that the contents can be accessed without hassle.
Quality Control: Ensuring Top-Notch Products
Quality control is a core aspect of our production at Lessgopack. We conduct rigorous quality checks at various stages:
- Thickness Testing: We measure the thickness of the polyethylene film to ensure it meets the required standards for strength and durability.
- Seal Strength Testing: The heat-sealed seams are tested to confirm they can withstand stress during transportation.
- Print Quality Assessment: We verify the accuracy of printed designs, ensuring colors are vibrant and free from smudges or defects.
These quality checks help us guarantee that our poly mailers are of the highest quality, providing reliability and peace of mind to our customers.
Eco-Friendly Initiatives at Lessgopack
At Lessgopack, we understand the importance of sustainability in packaging. We strive to reduce our environmental footprint by incorporating recycled materials into our poly mailers and optimizing production processes to minimize waste. We also offer biodegradable and compostable options for customers looking for greener alternatives.
Our commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop there. We continuously invest in research and development to find new ways to make our products more eco-friendly without compromising quality or performance.
Final Thoughts: The Lessgopack Difference
Poly mailers may seem like a simple product, but the process of creating them requires precision, expertise, and a commitment to quality. At Lessgopack, we pride ourselves on our specialized knowledge in flexible packaging, delivering products that meet the highest standards of durability, functionality, and customization.
From selecting premium raw materials to maintaining rigorous quality control, every step of our production process is designed to ensure that our poly mailers serve the needs of our customers effectively. Whether you’re an e-commerce brand looking for custom-branded packaging or a logistics provider in need of reliable shipping solutions, Lessgopack has you covered.
Ready to elevate your packaging game? Contact us today to learn more about our poly mailer solutions and discover how we can support your business needs.
