Shipping tube

A shipping tube, mailing tube, or cardboard tube is a shipping container used to ship long items. It is usually a long package with a narrow cross-section: square, triangle, or round.

History

Composite paper tubes started being used for shipping at the beginning of the 20th century. A machine for making convolute composite cans, where sheets of straw paper or board are wound perpendicular to the tube, was introduced in 1886 by the W. C. Richie Company. In 1904 the Monroe Binder Board Company introduced the first large cylindrical juteboard shipping containers for packaging cheese, and convolute drums wound from kraft paper saw widespread use in WWII. Several methods for making spiral-wound composite cans, which could be made from continuous strips of paper, were introduced between 1900 and 1910, and provided a quicker and cheaper method of manufacturing small tubes.^[1]

Light duty

Rolls of paper, rolled artwork, curtain rods, posters, etc are often shipped in tubes. Many tubes are made of layers of paperboard of appropriate strength, and are referred to as composite cans.^[1] The open ends may have plastic caps or plugs.^[2]^[3] Pressure sensitive tape can seal tubes; some paper tubes have two sections which slide to telescope closed.

Corrugated fiberboard is also used for shipping tubes. Five panel folders and similar designs are common. Triangular folders are also used.

Heavy duty

Longer and heavier tubes are usually made of stronger grades of corrugated board, sometimes double wall. Five panel folders can be used for heavier duty applications. Some long boxes have separate recessed pieces of corrugated stapled inside the ends. Wood ends are also used when needed.

References

^ ^a ^b Twede, Diana (2014). Cartons, crates and corrugated board : handbook of paper and wood packaging technology (Second ed.). Lancaster, Pa., U.S.A.: DEStech Publications. ISBN 978-1605951355.
^ US 4504009, Boik, Elmer J. & Marshall, Frederick P., "Closure having means for retention in tubular container", published 1985-03-12, assigned to The Continental Group Inc.
^ US 7909236, Erdie, Jason S., "End caps for tubes and shipping containers formed therefrom", published 2011-03-22, assigned to Erdie End Caps LLC

v t e Paper products
Containers	Box Carton Cigarette pack Coffee cup sleeve Corrugated box Corrugated fiberboard Envelope Molded pulp Oyster pail Paper bag Paper cup Paperboard Shipping tube
Hygiene	Facial tissue Napkin Paper towel Toilet paper Wet wipe
Stationery	Continuous stationery Greeting card Index card Letter Manila folder Notebook Postage stamp Postcard Post-it note
Financial	Banknote Business card Coupon Passbook Visiting card
Decorations	Ingrain wallpaper Mat Wallpaper
Media	Book Magazine Newspaper Newsprint Pamphlet
Recreation	Confetti Paper craft Paper toys Playing card Quilling
Other	Drink coaster Filter paper Form Paper model Sandpaper Security paper

v t e Packaging
General topics	Active packaging Child-resistant packaging Contract packager Edible packaging Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging Overpackaging Package delivery Package pilferage Package testing Package theft Packaging engineering Resealable packaging Reusable packaging Reuse of bottles Shelf life Shelf-ready packaging Shelf-stable Sustainable packaging Tamper-evident Tamper resistance Wrap rage
Product packages	Alternative wine closure Ammunition box Banana box Beer bottle Box wine Case-ready meat Coffee bag Cosmetic packaging Currency packaging Disposable food packaging Drink can Egg carton Evidence packaging Field ration Flour sack Foam food container Food packaging Fuel container Gas cylinder Glass milk bottle Growler Juicebox Low plastic water bottle Luxury packaging Milk bag Optical disc packaging Oyster pail Popcorn bag Pharmaceutical packaging Plastic milk container Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags Sand bag Seasonal packaging Self-heating food packaging Screw cap (wine) Single-serve coffee container Spray paint Toothpaste pump dispenser Unit dose Water bottle Wine bottle
Containers	Aerosol spray dispenser Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bag Barrel Biodegradable bag Blister pack Boil-in-bag Bottle Box Bulk box Cage Case Carboy Carton Chub Clamshell Corrugated box design Crate Disposable cup Drum Endcap Envelope Euro container Flexible intermediate bulk container Flexible tank Folding carton Glass bottle Gunny sack Inhaler Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Jar Jerrycan Jug Keg Mesh bag Multilayered packaging Multi-pack Packet (container) Padded envelope Pail Paper bag Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Retort pouch Salvage drum Sachet Water sachet Security bag Shipping container Shipping tube Skin pack Spray bottle Squround Stand-up pouch Steel and tin cans Tetra Brik Thermal bag Tub (container) Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box
Materials and components	Adhesive Aluminium foil Bail handle Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Coextrusion Container glass Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Flip-top Foam peanut Gel pack Hot-melt adhesive Humidity indicator card Kraft paper Label Lid Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Living hinge Low-density polyethylene Meat absorbent pad Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Package handle Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic-coated paper Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Pump dispenser Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security tape Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tamper-evident band Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat
Processes	Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Converting Corona treatment Curtain coating Die cutting Die forming (plastics) Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Flame treatment Glass production Graphic design Hazard analysis and critical control points Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection moulding Lamination Laser cutting Molding Package tracking Papermaking Plastic extrusion Plastic welding Printing Product development Production control Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Thermoforming Track and trace Ultrasonic welding Vacuum forming Vacuum packaging Verification and validation
Machinery	Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cap torque tester Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Drum pump Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material-handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapper Packaging machinery Pallet inverter Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Seed-counting machine Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine
Environment, post-use	Biodegradation Can collecting Closed-loop box reuse Environmental engineering Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Packaging waste Paper recycling PET bottle recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management
Category: Packaging

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Shipping tube

History

Light duty

Heavy duty

Further reading

References