The Benefits of Packing Paper

Moving supplies come in many different types and sizes. Some offer surface or exterior protection, some protect from shock and vibration, and others are used for void fill. Packing paper is unique in that it serves all three purposes. Packing paper is excellent for providing surface protection to breakable kitchen items like glasses and dishes. It can be applied with a wrap and roll method.

Inexperienced people can tend to believe that newspapers can be used to provide surface protection as well. But they are printed on with an ink that easily rubs onto other surfaces, so they would not be suitable for protecting items you eat off of and/or are decorative. When using packing paper to provide shock absorption, don't hesitate to use it in large quantities. The weight of the object you are packing can potentially damage the object itself, so it can require padding to shield it from vibrations during transportation and reduce the shock generated by its own weight. Because packing paper is cost effective and produced in mass quantity, it can be used as void fill. When packing a moving box there is often empty space left within the box. Movement while shipping boxes is what causes most damage to household goods, so this empty space must be filled in on order to completely protect delicate, breakable items.

Newspaper is unsuitable for this task because of the ink that would rub off it onto a box's contents. Another disadvantage of using newspaper as packing is the time it takes to unfold the paper flat into usable stacks. In contrast, packing paper usually comes in individual sheets rolled into bundles. Simply cutting the tie will let 10 to 30 pounds of paper roll out into a ready to use stack of packing paper.

Newspaper can be used to provide cushioning at the top and bottom of boxes, though. Packing paper wadded up and stuffed into empty box spaces serves as the perfect void fill medium. So when you need to protect your fine china from scratches, your crystal ware from breaking, or you need to fill in empty space in a moving box, packing paper is an excellent, inexpensive option.