Christmas is coming.
Are you busy with packing gifts for your family members and friends? To protect some fragile stuff, you may use a lot of bubble wraps.
But, do you know how bubble wraps are made?
The origin of bubble wrap
We found an answer for you. The 1st Bubble Wrap manufacturing machine was built in 1957 by engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes. The original idea was to produce textured wallpaper, but they are failed in marketing it then. Later on, they called their product “Air Cap” and found that it could be used in packaging. That’s what we know as Bubble Wrap today.
How bubble wrap is made
The basic principle of making a bubble wrap is to adhere and seal a pair of plastic films together in a way that causes air bubbles to be trapped in between them. Usually, one of the films is shaped to be a texture by vacuum forming with a roller containing many holes on the cylinder. The shaped film is then passed through another set of rollers to glue and bond with another piece of film. For you to understand more easily, here is a short video about bubble wrap manufacturer on YouTube.
In this video, the factory-made bubble wraps from resin pallets, which are the raw materials of the plastic films. The resins are mixed and melted by an extruder to form a film. A series of rollers further refine the film to control the thickness of the film by pressing and drawing processes. If you want to DIY your own bubble wrap, it is unnecessary to produce the films by yourself. But for factories, it is better for them to control the properties and quality of the bubble wraps as well as the economics of mass production. For example, adding color to the plastic film.
Custom bubble wrap
Now you know the shape of bubbles is formed by vacuum molds. There are many bubble wraps with different sizes of bubbles in the market but as we knew all are round-shaped. The round bubbles textures are so iconic that they restricted our imagination of other options. In fact, it is not the case! It can be other shapes.
Do you know there are heart-shaped bubble wraps?
It looks KAWAII, right?
This heart-shaped bubble wraps awarded Winning packing idea prize in 2005 Japan packaging contest organized by Japan Packing Institute (JPI).
Do you feel special if you receive a gift wrapped in this unique packaging?
Yes, I think so. It gives surprise and shows the giver’s heart.
So, why not prepare your Christmas gifts, Valentine’s Day presents, and any pieces of stuff on your special days with these special bubble wraps?
Related: Find Valentine’s crafts ideas from our Pinterest Board
Where to buy?
After the heart-shaped bubble wraps awarded for a decade, they are no longer only sold in Japanese. Aliexpress is one of the online shopping platforms that you can buy this product cheaply with a wide variety of colors and sizes.
I wish this post can help you to create more amazing gifts for your important people.
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