Custom Paper Padded Mailers
Custom paper padded mailers with a paper cushion instead of plastic bubble, from 100 units. They go in the paper recycling whole, they seal with a peel strip, they print like an envelope, and they protect a soft or semi-rigid product about as well as bubble does — with one honest limit we will tell you about.
The padded envelope with nothing plastic in it
- Cushion
- Macerated paper, honeycomb paper, or crimped paper
- Skin
- Kraft or white kraft, 50–70 lb
- Sizes
- 6 × 9, 8.5 × 11, 10 × 13, 12.5 × 19 in; gusseted option
Get a price for Paper Padded Mailers
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Three paper cushions
Macerated is the closest to bubble in feel and is what most brands mean by a paper padded mailer. Honeycomb is a step up for anything with a corner — a boxed product, a small electronics case. Crimped is for a book or apparel that needs a scuff barrier and nothing more.
| Macerated paper | Shredded paper fiber between two kraft skins; the softest, the most common |
|---|---|
| Honeycomb paper | An expanded hex-cell sheet; lighter, stiffer, the best edge protection |
| Crimped paper | A single embossed layer; thin, cheap, for scuff protection only |
What it protects, and what it does not
Paper cushion absorbs impact by crushing, and it crushes once. Bubble recovers. For a soft product, a boxed cosmetic, a book, a phone case, a garment or a small accessory, the paper mailer performs as well as bubble in carrier testing. For glass, ceramics, or anything that will be dropped more than once, it does not, and the honest answer is a corrugated box. We say this at the quote stage rather than after a claim.
A paper padded mailer is water-resistant, not waterproof. For a product that cannot get damp, the poly mailer is still the right tool, and our 10 × 13 poly mailers for apparel page covers the case for it.
Sealing, opening, and the return
The dual-seal return version is worth its small premium for apparel, where a third of orders come back and the customer otherwise finds their own bag.
- A peel-and-seal strip with a hot-melt adhesive that holds on kraft — the standard.
- A tear strip across the top so the customer opens it without scissors.
- A second adhesive strip for returns, so the same mailer goes back.
- A gusseted version with expanding sides for a thicker product.
Print, and the recycling claim
The outer skin is kraft or white and prints in one or two colors flexo across the whole face, so the mailer is the brand at the door. Because the cushion is paper, a recycle mark is honest here in a way it is not on a bubble mailer, and we set the wording against the rules in our guide to recyclable and compostable claims.
Paper Padded Mailers — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Cushion
- Macerated paper, honeycomb paper, or crimped paper
- Skin
- Kraft or white kraft, 50–70 lb
- Sizes
- 6 × 9, 8.5 × 11, 10 × 13, 12.5 × 19 in; gusseted option
- Seal
- Peel-and-seal strip; tear strip; dual-seal return version
- One or two color flexo, full face
- Recycling
- Curbside with paper, whole
- Minimum
- 100 mailers
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to four colors straight onto the liner; litho-lamination where the box needs full color or a photograph.
- Color
- Flat colors on kraft. Full color needs a white top liner or a laminated sheet, because brown shifts every color warm.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1.5 mm. The flute compresses, so corrugated runs wider than folding board.
- Tooling
- No die on a regular slotted box, which is cut on a slotter. Die-cut mailers and trays need one, made once and kept.
- Food contact
- Food-grade liners and a vented build where the box carries hot food.
- Sustainability
- High recycled content through liners and flute as standard, and the box recycles whole if it is sealed with paper tape.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build paper padded mailers on
Corrugated is a fluted sheet glued between two liners, and the flute decides nearly everything: how it prints, how it dents, how high it stacks. These are the grades we run.
E flute
About 1.5 mm. Prints well and folds crisply; dents under a stack. Retail boxes, mailers and light shippers.
1.5 mm, single wallB flute
About 3 mm. The working default for parcels — takes print reasonably and stacks reasonably. Most shipping boxes are B.
3 mm, single wallC flute
About 4 mm. More cushioning than B, slightly less stacking strength per weight. Common on grocery and produce cases.
4 mm, single wallBC double wall
B and C glued together, about 7 mm. Heavy or fragile goods, pallet stacking, anything over roughly 15 kg.
7 mm, double wallKraft liner
Brown, strong, absorbent. One or two flat colors flexo print well on it; photographs drink into the brown and go muddy.
Outer and inner linerWhite top liner
A bleached outer liner for full-color print on corrugated. Costs more and marks more easily than kraft.
Outer liner onlyRecycled-content corrugated
High post-consumer fiber through liners and flute. The default for shippers; a slightly greyer brown and no loss of strength at grade.
All flutesCoated and water-resistant
A coating or a wax-free barrier liner for damp stores and cold chains. Check the recycling stream before printing a claim on it.
B and C fluteNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Corrugated takes fewer finishes than folding board, and the ones it takes it takes well.
Flexo on kraft
One or two flat colors straight onto brown. Cheap, fast, honest.
Litho-lamination
An offset sheet glued to the flute: full color and photographs on a shipper.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance with no film, so the box still recycles whole.
White top print
Full color flexo on a bleached liner; brighter, and it marks more easily.
Inside print
A second pass on the inner liner — the panel a customer sees first.
Printed tape seal
The brand applied at the last moment, on paper tape that recycles with the box.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a corrugated box against the carrier, not the catalog: paper padded mailers
Corrugated is cut to your internal size, so the box goes round the product rather than the product going into a stock size. That is where the money is: a box 20 mm smaller each way is often a whole postage band cheaper.
- Internal dimensions
- Length, width and depth of the space you need. Board thickness is added outside that, and the flute is thicker than people expect.
- Clearance and void fill
- 5–10 mm a side for a rigid product. Size it properly and you need no void fill at all, which is cheaper and better received.
- Stacking
- Tell us how high the boxes stack on a pallet or a shelf. Edge crush grade is specified from that, not guessed.
- Weight
- The contents weight sets the flute and the liner grade. Over about 15 kg we move to double wall.
- Score allowance
- Corrugated needs more room at the folds than boxboard. The dieline accounts for it; a box drawn from flat dimensions comes out tight.
- Cutting tolerance
- Plus or minus 1.5 mm on corrugated, wider than folding board because the flute compresses.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Paper Padded Mailers in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about paper padded mailers? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
Is it really recyclable?
Yes, whole, with paper. There is no plastic layer; the cushion is paper fiber between kraft skins.
Does it protect as well as bubble?
For soft, boxed or semi-rigid products, yes. For glass or anything dropped more than once, no — paper crushes once and bubble recovers. We will tell you which yours is.
Which cushion should I choose?
Macerated for the bubble-like feel and most products; honeycomb for anything with a corner; crimped for scuff protection on books and apparel.
Is it waterproof?
Water-resistant, not waterproof. For a product that cannot get damp, a poly mailer is still the right choice.
How does it seal?
A peel-and-seal strip with hot-melt adhesive. A tear strip lets the customer open it, and a second strip makes it a return mailer.
Can it be printed?
Yes, one or two colors flexo across the whole face, on kraft or white.
What sizes do you make?
From 6 × 9 in to 12.5 × 19 in, with a gusseted version for thicker products. Custom sizes to order.
Is it heavier than a bubble mailer?
Slightly. The paper cushion weighs more than bubble, which can matter at a postage band edge; we will check the size against your carrier.
Can I put a recycle mark on it?
Yes, and honestly. We set the wording to what the mailer actually is.
What is the minimum order?
100 mailers per size. Flexo print set-up is small, so short runs are practical.
How long does production take?
It depends on the print and the quantity. We give a date with the quote rather than a number before we have seen the spec.
Will you send a sample?
An unprinted mailer in your size and cushion, so you can pack your product and post it to yourself before print.
Same range
