Bubble Envelope Mailer

As with most things, the bubble wrap was invented by accident. Back in 1960, the founders of Sealed Air (Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding) were developing a new type of textured wallpaper, but soon realized that this was actually a superior cushioning material. After that, it all changed. Now, Sealed Air is a Fortune 500 company with a wide range of packaging solutions, operations in 51 countries and has annual sales in excess of $4 billion.

The bubble wrap is a brand cushioning over 45 years ago and it’s now proven to be versatile, protective packaging material providing better cushioning, longer lasting protection, reduced packaging costs and ultimate value!

The secret behind the bubble wrap is that the full air bubbles eliminate damage from physical shock during handling and throughout the distribution cycle. This air protects your products from the hazards of the shipping environment. Currently, there are other companies besides Sealed Air, that produce bubble wrap envelopes, boxes and etc. But of course, the technology differs. Sealed Air and their Bubble Wrap® brand protective packaging employs a "barrier layer" which retains air, providing superior, longer lasting protection over other brands. The difference is in this barrier.

Here is a brief description of the production technology developed by Sealed Air over the years. Polyethylene (plastic) resin, in the form of beads about the size of pea gravel goes into an extruder - a long cylinder with a screw inside that runs its entire length. As the screw is turned, heat builds up and the resin melts into a liquid that is squeezed out of the cylinder into two stacked sheets of clear plastic film. One layer of the film is wrapped around a drum with holes punched in it, and suction is applied drawing one web of film into the holes that form the bubbles. The second layer of film is then laminated over the first so that when the two films are joined, they stick together and trap the air in the bubbles.

The material initially used for the production of bubble mailers was polyethylene. But the problem with it is that air can easily leak out through the pores, which tends to limit the cushioning ability of the packaging. Realizing this, Sealed Air started using a Saran coating to seal the air in the bubbles. Eventually, a method of encapsulating an air retention barrier in the polyethylene during the extrusion process was developed. This process is now a trade secret of Sealed Air Corporation.

There are different types of bubble wraps that you can buy depending on what item you want to pack. For example, the Anti-static Bubble Wrap Brand is designed to protect electronic components, because of its high performance static-free characteristics. Basically it provides a static-safe environment for ESD-sensitive electronic components that does not degrade electrically with multiple uses.