Mailing tubes, whether they be kraft tubes, bulk mailing tubes or plastic mailing tubes, are essential when you need to protect your shipment. Whether you need to ship artwork or blueprints, there is a wide spectrum of mailing tubes types and styles to fit your unique business needs and budget constraints.

While suppliers of mailing cylinders offer numerous styles of mailing tubes, you need to compare the different types of shipping tubes to find the right cylinders to both meet your needs while being cost-effective. As you research mailing tubes types and styles, you should:

1. Partner with a supplier of shipping tubes that offers mailing cylinders in a variety of sizes and styles to meet your changing needs.

2. Use customized mailing tube products that showcase your business logo or slogan for advertising purposes.

3. Buy plain mailing tubes wholesale as a cost-effective way to send mass shipments.

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Buy a variety of mailing tubes to meet your changing needs

Partner with a supplier of mailing tube products who offers a wide selection of clear plastic mailing tubes, cardboard mailing tubes and kraft mailing tubes. Finding a supplier with such a wide range of products will help ensure you have all the shipping cylinders you need for your purposes.

I recommend: Order shipping tubes from ULINE, the shipping supply specialists. From kraft tubes and clear plastic tubes to square shipping tubes, ULINE offers the variety you need at the prices you can afford. Paper Mart stocks a nice selection of mailing tubes in a spectrum of sizes to meet your changing needs.

Create custom mailing tubes for your business

Customize white mailing tubes or plastic mailing cylinders to highlight your business and attract new customers. Remember that an aesthetically-pleasing mailing tube is the first thing your clients and potential customers see when they receive your package.

I recommend: Partner with Chicago Mailing Tube to fulfill your custom mailing tube needs. Choose the color and size of the mailing tubes you need and add an imprint of your logo or slogan to showcase your business. All custom mailing tubes offered by Chicago Mailing Tube meet or exceed national shipping standards. Create unique shipping cylinders with Ace Paper Tube, a family-owned, Ohio-based business.

Buy plain mailing tubes at wholesale prices

For large shipments of similar stock, choose plain shipping tubes at lower prices as a cost-effective way to save on shipping and handling. Buy plain mailing tubes in bulk to further your savings.

I recommend: PackagingPrice.com offers various types and styles of basic shipping tubes at bulk price discounts. Staples, a leader in office supplies, offers general-use mailing tubes and volume price discounts.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Buy mailing tubes made of recycled products to promote environmental awareness among your staff, clients and perspective customers.

The mailing tube is not just another office supply; or at least you shouldn't label it as one. Using good quality mailing cylinders can mean the difference between getting that next client and falling short of your goal. When you're sending documents or a product that you've spent weeks preparing, it's important to find a good quality mailing tube to deliver that product intact and in perfect condition.

Sometimes mailing tubes become your line of advertising. In those cases, it is equally important to find a well-designed, eye-catching tube that can convey your business message.

1. Select shipping tubes based on their quality and look.
2. Look for sturdy, well-made tubes to use for heavy or very important products.
3. Find colored, clear or other mailing cylinders to use as advertising tools.

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Look for mailing tube options

When choosing mailing tubes, the two most obvious decisions to make are what color tubes you want and what types of end closures the tubes will have.

I recommend: Tubes come in many colors from the basic white to gold. Colored tubes make great marketing tools. Put your custom logo on the tube, and you've opened up a new advertising market for yourself. Once you've chosen the look of your tube, you need to pick a closure. Kraft tubes come with plastic push ends, snap seal ends or twist and pull ends.

Find tubes that will get your product there safely

If your company needs mailing tubes to send heavy items or protect important documents, extra-strength mailers or water-resistant tubes are the right choice.

I recommend: Order heavy-duty mailing kraft tubes that hold up to 300 pounds from Erdie. These 3 or 4-inch diameter tubes come in 24 to 36-inch lengths. If you're sending very important papers that can't get wet, use Moisture-Guard shipping tubes made of polycoated fiberboard or blueprint tubes made of PVC plastic.

Search for sound or music mailing tubes

Want to send a message with your mailing tube? Consider making it a very personal message, so personal, you record it yourself.

I recommend: Here's a very unique mailing tube that can bring home your message -- literally. The Sound Mailing Tubes let you record your own personal 10 second message or choose a pre-recorded sound bite. When the cap is removed, the message plays for the recipient.

Get odd shaped mailing tubes

Mailing tubes aren't always cylinder shaped. Sometimes what you really need is a triangle-shaped tube or a square container to send your product.

I recommend: Uline sells many shaped tubes besides the normal cylinder-shaped ones. They offer 3 and 5-inch square mailers in different lengths, and either a 3-inch or 6-inch giant triangle shaped tube.

Find clear plastic mailing tubes

When you're sending a product or information flyer you want everyone to see, a clear plastic mailing tube is the way to go.

I recommend: Clear mailing tubes work great for product awareness. Businesses also utilize clear tubes when putting messages on flyers inside the tube that customers can view from the outside. There are many other uses for clear plastic tubes. Use plastic mailing tubes for messages like invitations or sale notices you don't want your customers to miss.

Look for adjustable cardboard mailing tubes

Businesses that need to mail many sized items should order adjustable mailing tubes wholesale.

I recommend: Order Telescoping tubes in bulk and use them for different mailings of all sizes as the tubes adjust in length. For businesses, these tubes can be a cost-efficient way to order mailing tubes wholesale as you don't wind up with sizes you can't use.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Mailing tubes have other good office uses. Display products or important documents in clear tubes for easy employee access.

Knowing mailing tubes pricing and costs can help you to spend money where you need to and save it when you don't. There are many varieties, each with varying costs associated. The average mailing tube can be purchased for less than $1. Some are more durable or are made of something other than plastic, and those can cost upwards of $3 each. It is important to remember, though, when setting your mailing tubes budget, to remember that most mailing tube varieties can be used more than one time.

Assessing what you will be shipping in your mailing tube is important when assessing mailing tubes pricing and costs. If you will be shipping blueprints or original posters, you may want to consider springing for the more durable types. However, if you just need to send photo copies or items that are replaceable, you can get away with spending a little less. Consider the following when setting your mailing tubes budget:

1. Kraft mailing tubes are basic and will get the job done.

2. Clear plastic mailing tubes offer a little more durability.

3. Snap and seal mailing tubes are the most inexpensive option when comparing mailing tubes pricing and costs.

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Buy kraft mailing tubes for an every day shipment

Kraft mailing tubes wholesale is typically the way mailing tubes are sold and run anywhere from $0.30 to $2 each depending on the length and diameter of the tube. These tubes are sturdy cardboard and often come with a plastic capped end to protect your shipment. Heavy duty kraft tubes hold about nearly 20 more pounds in weight than a regular kraft tube and cost $0.60 to $3 a piece depending on length and diameter. Kraft tubes come in brown or white. The white tubes cost only pennies more than the brown option.

I recommend: Erdie Industries shows the brown style of kraft mailing tube. Uline Shipping Supplies shows varying sizes of the white type of kraft tubes.

Research mailing tubes pricing and costs to purchase clear plastic mailing tubes that you can reuse

Clear plastic mailing tubes can be purchased in both round and square to fit any shipment. Although they cost between $1.50 and $3 per tube, they are reusable and can serve many purposes. Since these mailing cylinders are clear, you can use them as storage or when packing for a presentation or a move and easily access the documents or materials you seek. Although each tube may cost more upfront, if you can get several uses out of it, it will more than pay for itself. Keep in mind, these tubes would not be good for confidential materials since you can see the contents from the outside.

I recommend: VisiPak carries several shapes and style of clear mailing tubes. Fast-Pack offers a variety of end cap colors for their clear shipping tubes for further organization.

Get snap and seal mailing tubes as the most inexpensive option

If you are looking for the cheapest variety of cardboard mailing tubes, you can go without the plastic end cap and go for a pinched end variety. This type of mailing tubes costs a few cents less per tube since you aren't paying for the plastic cap. These mailing tubes aren't as secure as if you were to use a plastic end cap, but in some cases, you may feel comfortable sending your materials in a pinched end tube.

I recommend: The Callenor Company shows the various ways of securing the contents inside a mailing tube. Paper Mart shows the ease of snap and seal mailing tubes.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider all of your packing, storage and shipping needs, set your budget and carefully consider mailing tubes pricing and costs before making any purchases. This way, you can make a bulk purchase and have these materials on-hand whenever you need them.

Whenever a business needs to get any kind of rolled up paper or materials out to a location, mailing tubes are the common solution. Whether cardboard, plastic or of other designs, mailing tubes help keep maps, blueprints, posters and much more from being damaged in transit. Businesses looking for good buys on these shipping tools can get ideas from checking out some of the basic key terms for types of mailing tubes and their uses.

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Kraft tubes

Kraft tubes (named for the brown Kraft paper they are made from) are a specific kind of spiral bound cardboard tubing that business leaders often buy for shipping fragile documents or rolled up materials. Their simple 'plain brown wrapper' style is efficient and economical.

I recommend: See more on Kraft tubes at JC Danczak.

PVC

PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is a plastic material often used for mailing tubes. PVC is very sturdy and will not bend under moderate pressure in transit. It's also used for a lot of heavier projects, including plumbing.

I recommend: See more about PVC at 3DChem.com. See examples of PVC mailing tubes at Art Supplies Online.

Triangle mailing tubes

Triangle mailing tubes represent an alternative to a cylindrical tube. The triangle tube has three flat surfaces to prevent rolling. Rolled materials can often be packed and unpacked from triangle tubes more easily than from cylindrical mailing tubes.

I recommend: See more on triangle mailing tubes and other shapes at ULINE.

U.S. Postal Service (USPS)

U.S. Postal Service establishes specific postal rates for some mailing tubes, while others can be shipped at the same rate as standard packages. Because USPS rates change often, it's important to check the U.S. Postal Service website for the latest pricing.

I recommend: More on U.S. postal rates for mailing tube packages is available at the USPS site.

Open ended and snap seal mailing tubes

Open ended and snap seal mailing tubes are two different solutions for shipping rolled materials. Open ended mailing tubes rely on caps, sized to match the diameter of the tube, for closing. In snap seal mailing tubes, the ends fold inward to seal the tube.

I recommend: Learn about open ended and snap seal types of mailing tubes at the Office Guide.

Clear mailing tubes

Clear mailing tubes are tubes made of transparent plastic. Although clear tubes reveal the contents, which isn't always desirable, some shippers choose to use these as a marketing device. Clear tubes can be imprinted with designs or logos and will carry adhesive mailing labels.

I recommend: See clear plastic mailing tube designs at Visipak.