Packing boxes

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emrr

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Apr 12, 2006
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I got this 50 lb antique limiter in for service recently, and was pleased to see a well packed box for a change.  Actually, this should be considered minimum standard.  If you can't get it at least this good, don't play.  Just go smash it in the yard and save yourself the postage.  Heavy hard foam, voids filled with bubble wrap, including the inside of the unit.  Even better, double box and have solid heavy foam between boxes. 

6502784617_6689cb0af3_b.jpg
 
Yeah , always pack things like you EXPECT them to be dropped
several times from at least a few feet up ,  crumpled newspaper doesn't do it
neither does cheap or lazy
 
Hard foam like this helps the integrity of the box itself, the cardboard stays in plane, rather than looking crumpled. 
 
Too bad his cousin wasn't tended to in same manner.

I just sent a small mixer to someone recently and went as far as to remove the ($$) knobs and push the attenuators back inside the chassis . . . just in case.  You never know.
 
I stopped buying RCA BA-33's and 43's because they are 14-15 inches long, and 80% of sellers put them diagonally into a 12 inch square box.  8 metal corners punch 8 holes through the box, every time. 
 
FWIW when packing things to ship, I like to use old magazines and phone books, or the paper on a roll for packing.
A short mason jar with a sponge and some water, dab your fingers and get to shredding.

Wad the paper up tight and fill in all voids and spaces.  Do a simple test by closing up the box and shake it some.  If there's any play add more paper.  I also try to tape all seams to prevent the box from opening in transit.

It's a labor intensive process, but this way I know the package will survive.

And please enough with the packing peanuts already  :p
 
Paper might be okay for small things, but not for large.  I can't stand getting paper, I can't reuse it easily.  Peanuts keep on giving!

Here's a great example of average ebay packing that arrived recently.  Traveled 4K miles this way, not even any tape on that bubble.  I'm not exaggerating. 

6506720709_d9c1263a11_b.jpg
 
The 'best' one I had this year was an RCA 77DX ribbon mic arrive in a jiffy bag.

No bubble wrap, no box, just a $1500-ish mic in a jiffy bag!  :eek:
 
And that's an awful shabby box it came in too.

Box finding tip:  Find a local restaurant that sells fries.  Ask for their boxes (they usually throw them away).  Most french fry boxes I've seen are fairly thick and hefty.  It may be a little tight for standard 19in but may work ok with rack ears removed.
 
Peanuts and plastic and electronics = esd nightmare.  That probably borders on paranoid I know..

For heavy items, and especially anything with rack ears, heavy foam is a must.  The two part thermal form stuff is fantastic if you have access to somebody with that setup. 

LOL what was the function of the green stuff in your photo?  ;)

zebra50:  ouch  :eek:
 
I bought a guitar on ebay where the seller put duct tape on the case latches and dropped it in the US mail.  The funny thing is I was buying the guitar mostly because I needed the case for one of my other guitars.
 
MicDaddy said:
Peanuts and plastic and electronics = esd nightmare.  That probably borders on paranoid I know..

Anything I send with peanuts is fully entombed in bubble wrap first.  Yeah, plenty just shower electronics with peanuts and tape the box shut; no solid anything around the item. 
 
I don't know what its called, but its the best packing I have ever seen. Basically it is foam that someone sprays in the box and it expands around the item, a perfect custom hard foam case that protects extremely well. I bought a protools mac computer that was packed like that, I was very impressed.
 
abechap024 said:
I don't know what its called, but its the best packing I have ever seen. Basically it is foam that someone sprays in the box and it expands around the item, a perfect custom hard foam case that protects extremely well. I bought a protools mac computer that was packed like that, I was very impressed.


maybe this:

http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/indexC.php?gclid=CIzjnvmTgK0CFQ4j7AodFxmfTA
 
I do not mean to sound smug Doug but that packing could have been better. Starting with wrapping the item in poly bag and bubble wrap. But the hard foam indeed supports the box greatly.

Great majority of people do not know how to use peanuts, or chips as we call it.  Even the sellers give a terrible example with a wine bottle thrown inside a box full of chips.  It is like quick sand. The object will move and end up at the bottom getting damaged. You really have to compact the chips absolutely tight so that there is no movement at all before they take effect.

The sandard in packing is that it has to survive a 1m drop. The biggest problem of course is that the box might be perfectly well intact without any  dents but the item inside can get damaged. In which case the insurance will not pay up. So the method of packing greatly depends on the type of object.

Anyhow, as Abe mentioned the best packing method is the polyurethane foam spray. You first spray it inside the box, put a layer of polythene sheet over and gently press the object. The object embeds itself. Then you put another layer of polythene sheet over the object and spray the foam again. Finally you wrap up the foam with the excess of the polythene sheet so that the foam block can come off during unpacking.  Pretty expensive though. I don't have it.

I still use bubble wrap and it ain't cheap either. I have just shipped four robot arms each of which cost me around £30 in packing materials.

 
Yes, Packing isn't cheap. I'm trying to find a good way to pack stuff, Bubble-wrap and peanuts for now. But I'm also starting to wonder if I should invest in better boxes, seems like damage sometimes happens if you over-stuff the box with padding, peanuts or whatever and then during transit when the item is dropped/thrown/kicked and whatever else the post people seem to like to do with boxes instead of the box taking the impact it seems to get transferred directly to the unit through the densely packed padding.

Still too bad those expanding foam machines are so darn expensive. clearly the best way to go.
 
zebra50 said:
The 'best' one I had this year was an RCA 77DX ribbon mic arrive in a jiffy bag.

No bubble wrap, no box, just a $1500-ish mic in a jiffy bag!  :eek:

juffy bag. I just had to look that up as I am not familiar with that term... part of me wants to laugh at that, part of me is mad they did it, part of me is sad they did it, and part is just puzzled they would do that.


I had a mic get shipped from south Africa to a client/friend of mine. The mic is a prototype. Anyway the shipping/packaging was awful. Put the mic up during a session and it sounded like poo. turns out the mic was damaged during shipment which is not the best thing you wish when your trying to show case a new company to a prominent engineer and artist. I fixed the mic and mind you the damage was an easy repair but it was damage none the less and now clients weary of said company.
 
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