Packing, Shipping & Moving News & Information

Packing For The Holidays

2005-12-15T09:23:00.000-05:00

While proper packaging is required all year long, doing the job correctly takes on new meaning
during "the holidays". Not only are many of the packages we send out over the next few weeks destined to be gifts for our customers family and friends, but with the increase in shipping volume at this time of year the chances of your packages being handled more roughly than normal is virtually assured to happen. The sheer volume the shipping companies are trying to move and deliver during this "crunch time" is tremendous and in that attempt to handle everything and get it where it needs to be, small corners are cut in an effort to save time and space.

With the above paragraph being commom knowledge to experienced sellers and shippers, it's always a good idea for anyone shipping packages this time of year to take a few minutes to review some of the basics and make certain that everything is in place before the rush hits and we get caught unprepared for it and try to cut corners ourselves. Depending on what your product is, chances are it might be a gift for someone and there is basically only going to be one chance to ship it out and get it there on time and in one piece. If it arrive damaged and the process has to start over, what are the chances of the second package making it there on time?

Starting with the outside of the package, usually a cardboard box of some kind, choose one that will allow a good 2" on each side of extra clearance room. This extra room is for the cushioning material used to protect the item inside. This extra room is also a good idea if you've ever seen how packages are kind of jammed into nooks and crannys in the trucks used to transport and deliver packages. Every square inch of truck space is a valuable commodity so if there is a 5" space and they have a 6" box, guess what - you got it, that 6" box WILL fit in that 5" space!

Next is the cushioning material used to fill the space. Be sure to have a good supply of whatever it is you will need - bubble wrap, packing peanuts, blank newsprint paper, kraft paper or whatever your favorite material is. If you are shipping fragile items such as glass or china, a good way to package them is a combination of both bubble wrap and peanuts. Wrap the item in bubble wrap and tape to secure. Then using the peanuts - preferably the "C" or "S" shaped ones that won't crush and settle during transit - create a bed for the item on the bottom of the box, place the item in the center of the box and fill the rest of the void with more peanuts making sure the peanuts settle into place so that no open spaces are left. Crumpled newsprint or kraft paper can also be used to fill open areas as well.

Getting a box of the proper size can be challenging at times especially for those who re-use boxes from incoming shipments. Choose one to small and the result can be a damaged product. Choose one too big and you have to use extra void fill to fill in the space. You can't stretch a box to make it bigger, but you can trim one down to size quickly and easily with what is known as a box sizing tool. Basically this tool is nothing more than
a multi-pointed wheel that perforates the inside wall of a box so it can be easily folded over at the desired location. An adjustable bar that hooks onto the top of the box makes a straight and even line possible. Simply ste the sliding bar to the proper height and then go around the box with the tool. After that, slit the corners of the box from the perforated line to the top and fold the sides in. Even a large box can be trimmed down to size in less than 20 seconds.

To give your packages a little more impact and visual appeal during the holidays, you can throw in a splash of color. Colored tissue paper, mailing tubes and tape can be used to create eye catching packages that are remembered. Color tape is available in masking tape for inside boxes and also in carton sealing tape for closing and securing the exterior box. Red or green tape on a white box automatically makes it look like a wrapped gift.

Even the packing peanuts can be used to create a visually appealing effect. Mix white and pink peanuts together for a nice soft look that will compliment and enhance the item inside. A nice touch that many of our customers have complimented us on in regards to using peanuts is that we will put peanuts in a poly bag and seal the end shut. This way when the package arrives at its destination the receiver only has to remove the bagged peanuts and not a bunch of loose peanuts that usually blow all over the place and annoy people. It can't be done in every instance, but we try to do it when we can.

The use of "FRAGILE - Handle With Care" or "Do Not Bend" labels is a debate that may never be settled.
While it may be a good idea to mark potentially fragile packages in the hope of it being given at least a little extra care, I have seen and heard shipping employees take those labels as a challenge to see just how well packed the box is by throwing and kicking it around. This is the exception to the rule as the vast majority are really trying to do a good job for the customers.

The last thing is what holds it all together - tape. Resist the urge to save a few pennies here by buying the cheap stuff. While you don't have to spring for the top shelf, high dollar tape, a good quality tape will be worth its cost. The cheap tape tends to tear easily and does not stick well, especially in a cold enviroment such as will be encountered during its journey during the month of December in the back of a tractor trailer. The best overall tape for sealing boxes and taping bubble wrap or foam around items a good quality 2" wide, 2 mil tape in either 55 or 110 yard rolls. Both sizes fit in standard tape guns and do a good all around job in the shipping department.

Keeping some of the basics of proper packaging in mind will help insure everyone has a happy and joyous holiday season.

About the author - Steve Madsen is the owner of www.pacnseal.com, a Suffolk, Virginia based packing and shipping supply company that ships throughout the US and Canada. He has written numerous articles to help business owners with their packaging operations and participates on several internet forums answering quetions and offering advice.

Choosing The Right Plastic Bag Sealer For Your Business

2005-10-02T08:33:00.000-04:00

Choosing The Right Plastic Bag Sealer For Your Business

September 21, 2005

Steve Madsen

Choosing the proper sealer for the job at hand is essential. Choose the wrong one and your packaging operations will grind to a halt.

What you're sealing and how many need to be done per day or per hour will be the determining factors in the sealer you eventually purchase.

The basic types of sealers are single impulse, double impulse and constant heat.

Single impulse units utilize a single piece of Ni-Chrome wire mounted either in the upper or lower jaw of the sealer to produce the desired seal. Single impulse units use either a round wire element or a flat wire element of various widths. Round wire elements are typically used for what is called cut and seal operations such as working with shrink film. Flat wire elements are available in widths from 1/8" to 3/8" with the 1/8" width being the most popular by far.

Double impulse sealers just what they sound like. These units have an element in both the upper and lower jaws of the machine. Double impulse sealers are normally used in the sealing of thick materials, usually up to 20 mil as well as sealing foil bags.

Constant heat sealers, as oppossed to impulse sealers are always on and ready to go. The units use an electrical resistance heater mounted either in or on the sealing bars. The sealing surface of these bars is typically designed to yeild a cross-hatch pattern in the seal but is also available in a horizontal line pattern as well. Temperature on these units is controlled by a thermostat and a thermalcouple is attached to one of the bars to turn power on and off to the heaters as needed to maintain temperature.

Now that you know the types of sealers out there, we can discuss the different designs. These include hand operated, foot operated and automatic models.

Hand operated units sit on top of a table or bench and are operated by lowering a hinged arm down onto the material being sealed with one hand while holding the material with the other hand.

Foot operated impulse sealers work in the exact same way, but are instead freestanding units that are mounted on a pedestal base and vertical tube. These sealers are activated by depressing a foot pedal mounted on the front of the unit. Being foot operated, this leaves both hands free to move the product in and out of the machine to increase production.

Automatic impulse sealers, like the hand operated units, are set on top of a table or workbench, but these units once the timers are set properly will operate automatically without any input from the operator. The timers will control when the jaw closes, how long the element wire is energized and then the cooling or congealing time before the jaw opens back up. This makes for the most consistant seals as it eliminates operator error. Most sealers of this type also have a manual override switch to make the unit cycle between timer settings if needed.

Once you have decided on the style of unit you will need - hand, foot or automatic, and then the amount of sealing power you need - single/double impulse or constant heat, you still have a couple of more things to decide on.

Depending on the impulse sealer you're considering and the material you're packaging, you may need to decide on the seal width you need to make. Typical choices are a thin, round wire seal and then the flat wire seals that come in 2mm, 5mm, and 10mm.

Impulse sealers are built around the size of the element wire to be used. This means that the transformer mounted inside the unit is specifically designed to power a certain element wire. The only interchangability is with the round wire and 2mm flat element wires.

For example, put a 10mm element wire in a unit powered for with a transformer for a 2mm element and virtually nothing will happen. Conversely, put a round wire element in a unit designed for a 10mm element and see just how fast that wire melts away!

Match the seal width to the job at hand. Round wire elements are normally used in shrink wrapping work or where a thin, narrow seal will suffice. 2mm wide seals are considered standard and are used to creat seals on most packaging. A 5mm seal width is used where a stronger seal is required for either package strength or seal integrity such as food product packaging. The extra wide 10mm seal is most commonly used in medical and dental product packaging where seal integrity is of the utmost importance.

The remaining choice, if you've decided to go with a hand operated impulse sealer is whether or not to opt for the unit with the built-in trimmer which will cutt off excess material to within 1/4" of the seal as it is being made. These sealers a sliding handle in the arm with a 2 sided blade attached to remove excess bag material. As the seal is being made, the operator slides the handle along its track and the cut is made.

Armed with this information you should now be able to make an informed decision and choose the correct machine for your application that will perform well and last a long time.

About the author - Steve Madsen is the owner of www.pacnseal.com, a Suffolk, Virginia based packing and shipping supply company that ships throughout the US and Canada. He has written numerous articles to help business owners with their packaging operations and participates on several internet forums answering quetions and offering advice.

USPS, UPS, and Fed Ex suspend deliveries to areas hard hit by Katrina

2005-09-03T06:08:00.000-04:00

The three major shipping carriers have suspended deliveries to areas in Louisiana and Mississippi hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.

The U.S. Postal Service yesterday said it will not accept from any source any Standard A Mail (letters and flats) or periodicals addressed for delivery to ZIP Codes that start with 369, 393, 394, 395, 396, 700, 701, and 704. It said it is working on plans to address the handling of mail already in the mail stream addressed to those ZIP Codes.

The postal service also won’t deliver Express Mail to Zip Codes 365-366 (Mobile, AL); 369, 393 (Meridian, MS); 394 (Hattiesburg, MS); 395 (Gulfport, MS); 396 (McComb, MS); 700-701 (New Orleans); 703 (Houma, LA); and 704 (Mandeville, LA).

Federal Express is discouraging shipments or suspending services to the Zip Codes 70000-70499 in New Orleans and 39426-39595 in Biloxi and Gulfport, MS, and the surrounding areas.

United Parcel Service also is discontinuing delivery and pickups to most of the same areas of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle due to storm damage and flooding. Packages already in the system will be returned to the shipper as permitted, UPS says.

All three carriers are posting updates on service to the affected areas on their web sites: www.fedex.com; www.usps.com; and www.ups.com.

The Postal Service also reports that it is suspending delivery to Mississippi for the following ZIP Codes: 36901, 36904, 36907, 36908, 36915, 36919, 36921, 36922, 36925, 39044, 39062, 39114, 39140, 39145, 39167, 39305, 39307, 39320, 39322, 39323, 39324, 39325, 39326, 39327, 39328, 39330, 39332, 39335, 39337, 39338, 39341, 39342, 39346, 39347, 39348, 39352, 39354, 39358, 39360, 39361, 39362, 39363, 39365, 39366, 39367, 39402, 39421, 39422, 39423, 39426, 39427, 39429, 39436, 39437, 39439, 39440, 39451, 39452, 39455, 39456, 39457, 39459, 39461, 39462, 39463, 39464, 39465, 39466, 39470, 39474, 39475, 39476, 39477, 39478, 39479, 39480, 39481, 39482, 39483, 39503, 39520, 39530, 39553, 39556, 39558, 39564, 39567, 39571, 39572, 39573, 39574, 39576, 39601, 39666, 39667.

Standing Out From the Crowd

2005-07-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

Visit us at www.pacnseal.com for all of your packing and shipping needs.

New Arrivals:

Packing List Envelopes And More

Cardboard & Plastic Bin Boxes

Box Paint And Stenciling Ink

Color Cardboard Tubes

Cardboard Sheets

A Larger Selection Of Impulse Sealers And Parts

We have added a lot of new products to our ever expanding product line
and more are being added almost daily.

********************************

Standing Out From The Crowd

July 27, 2005

By Steve Madsen

© 2005 Pac-n-Seal.com

How does a small company or individual eBay seller who wants to get big one day do it? The answer is easy - they work hard to stand out from an already crowded field to have their product, service and name recognized before the others.

This can be acheived several ways:

First, is to simply have a better product than your competition does.

Next, is to do it better and faster than the other guy.

Yet another way to separate yourself from the crowd is to deliver your merchandise in a way that stands out and is remembered by the receiver.

An example of this might be who's box of widgets is more likely to be remembered first at re-order time, the one that arrives in a plain brown box with clear tape or the one that arrives in a white box sealed with red, blue, green or yellow tape? Obviously the white box will be remembered because it is different from the rest and provided the net cost to the customer is relatively close, chances are the better remembered package and company will come to mind first therefore getting the next order.

When it comes to gaining repeat customers, it's not always the best price that brings people back for more. You may charge a little more, but if your overall service is superior and you get name and/or product recognition, you will get quality customers coming back as oppossed to the ones only looking for the rock bottom price and who tend to complain the most as well.

If your selling over the web, the first "hands on" impression your customer gets is when the order is delivered. That's where the the first impression truly takes place. If the package arrives looking right, it extends an aire of quality, professionalism and attention to detail that leaves an indelible mental impression on the customer regardless how ordinary the product might be.

Once you have the customers attention when the package arrives, they can't help but open yours first to reveal its contents. The customer never expected such an eye catching package usually get fixated on it and just have to open it. In doing so not only is the packaging remembered, but so is your name. Chances are good that your name will come up in conversation as well and possibly generate more business.

Depending on your particular market, further lasting impressions can be made inside the package as well. Matching or contrasting color tissue paper can highlight the item as can packing peanuts. Instead of white, pink or green alone, you can mix pink and green together for a different look.

If your products are shipped in cardboard tubes such as posters, artwork, blueprints or fabric, a great impact can be made with colored tubes instead of plain kraft for little extra expense.

It goes without saying that no matter how colorful and impressive your packaging may be, it means nothing it is not packaged properly to arrive in one piece.

No matter who the carrier is, UPS, FexEx, USPS, etc., you can be sure that your packages will ride a myriad of conveyor belts, get tossed around some and will fall down at least one mail chute along the way. You can also rest assured that in all likelyhood, the "Handle With Care" label won't make a bit of difference to a package sorter if it is even noticed at all.

With said, you need to pay attention to what is in the inside of the package as well as the outside. Be sure to package things with the above paragraph in mind. Bubble Wrap, loose fill peanuts, tissue paper, foam, and the other various types of inner protection that are available make it easy to do a good job and get the customers order delivered in one piece.

A stand out splash of color will get you and your product remembered and proper packaging will get it there safely so everyone is happy at the end of the day.

Check in the Mail? Postal Service Ready to Tell You Where

2005-07-07T08:22:00.000-04:00

By Larry Dignan

If the U.S. Postal Service has its way, "the check is in the mail" excuse will no longer be valid. The company that sent you the bill could verify whether you're bluffing through a bar code on the return envelope scanned by the Postal Service.

That tracking system, which starts this month, is one way the Postal Service is making first-class mail such as bills and personal correspondence more valuable, in a world full of e-mail and electronic documents. Meanwhile, the red, white and blue may just become a serious competitor to brown—United Parcel Service in small package delivery

The Postal Service says a financial institution will test the system in July by using the new bar code. The customer will track mail as it winds through the Postal Service's 283 processing and distribution centers across the country. Currently, mail is mostly scanned at the beginning and delivery points.

By year's end, all letter mail could be tracked at Postal Service facilities. The Postal Service will add commercial customers throughout 2006.

The Postal Service plans to win favor with large first-class mailers—groups such as financial institutions that send bills, customer correspondence and statements. Such customers send 50 billion pieces of mail a year. But the bar-coding tracking system is just one way the USPS is winning customers as it carries out a transformation plan launched in 2002. The Postal Service has: Revamped its Web site to become an e-commerce portal, now serving 2.2 million visitors a day. Introduced new services such as Click-N-Ship, an online postage printing service, to generate more than $200 million in revenue. Created better mail tracking through a service called Confirm, which allows business customers to follow mail through the Postal Service's automated systems.

"There's a lot of interest in making first-class mail more intelligent," says Charlie Bravo, senior vice president of intelligent mail and address quality at the Postal Service.

The core of that campaign is the bar-code tracking system. Here's how it would work.

A direct marketer, such as Williams-Sonoma, would know when you received a catalog with 99% accuracy, because each piece would be scanned before it hit a mail deliverer's bag. A utility company would reduce phone costs—and annoyed customers—if it could verify on a USPS-run Web site that your check was indeed in the mail. A credit card company, such as MBNA, could bring in additional clerks when it saw an unusual spike in payments on the way.

In many respects, the Postal Service is catching up to the techniques pioneered by Federal Express with packages. It's also a defense strategy. The Postal Service, which has a monopoly in mail, has to make first-class mail more relevant since it accounts for more than half of the organization's $69 billion in annual revenue.

Kate Siggerud, director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office, says first-class mail is one of the Postal Service's biggest challenges. In 2004, first-class mail volume fell 1.1%, the third consecutive annual decline.

So far, the Postal Service has weathered the declines by boosting efficiency. According to the GAO, the Postal Service's productivity increased 5.2% from fiscal 2001 to 2004 as it cut costs and work hours. The Postal Service, which has 707,000 employees, down 9.4% from 2001, cut debt to $1.8 billion for the year ended Sept. 30, 2004, down from $11.3 billion in 2001. Operating margin was 4.6% for fiscal 2004, up from 1.8% in 2002. The technology campaign also helped: Consolidating systems saves $100 million a year.

Still, the Postal Service has challenges. Its facilities, compiled over decades, often don't share common equipment, specifications and processes. That means the Postal Service can't replicate the productivity of a company like Wal-Mart, which builds nearly identical distribution centers. It doesn't own its transportation network and is saddled with excess capacity. The cumulative effect is that the service can become more efficient, but may hit a productivity wall given its infrastructure and high pension costs, Siggerud says.

"[The Postal Service has] been making some noticeable improvements four years in a row," she says. "They're on the right track, but still have more to do."

Small steps

Nevertheless, the Postal Service has come far enough that it can't be dismissed. In a June 9 report, Morgan Stanley analyst James Valentine says the Postal Service is a viable threat to United Parcel Service for shipping small packages from businesses to consumers.

"The U.S. Postal Service is often overlooked as a competitive threat to UPS, but we believe it's a force to be watched," Valentine says. "Its improved service is putting pressure on UPS' pricing where they compete."

The Postal Service competes with UPS on two fronts: overnight mail and delivering lightweight parcels such as books and music. Improved service along with steady prices since 2002 has made the Postal Service "all that more attractive to shippers," Valentine says.

However, getting to the point where it could compete meant the Postal Service had to update and consolidate its technology infrastructure, says USPS chief technology officer Bob Otto.

The Postal Service's first move was to standardize its personal computers and software for its 245,000 users to make maintenance easier. The organization also consolidated 15,000 Unix servers to about 1,200 to 1,500, saving $50 million a year. Application and network maintenance was consolidated in two computing centers in Eagan, Minn., and San Mateo, Calif., to save another $50 million annually.

The Postal Service also shared technology services across departments such as finance, human resources and help desk. Otto whittled 119 technology help desks to three. By centralizing finance operations, the Postal Service saved $60 million a year and cut 750 positions.

"We just accumulated a lot over the years," Otto explains. "In the last five years, we modernized everything."

Defending Its Turf

As Otto was cutting technology costs, Bravo in 2003 formed the engineering, marketing and technology groups that would make first-class mail more valuable to large mailers. Their mission: to create a bar-code system to accommodate all services, including Confirm, delivery confirmation and certified mail. Previously, the Postal Service created a new bar code every time a service was launched. The end result was as many as 30 types of bar codes.

Bravo needed to pack more information on bar codes so one system could account for multiple services and mail types like "flat" mail, which consists of items like magazines and newspapers. The group settled on a 31-digit bar code, up from the 9-digit code then in use, that could be easily printed on ink-jet and laser printers. The new code would require few software changes for most of the Postal Service's customers, which range from small businesses to credit card giants to non-profit organizations.

If the implementation is successful, customers will be able to get tracking information on any piece of mail.

Next up: Another transformation plan due in September to take the Postal Service to 2010. That plan will cover potential changes such as further automation of processing centers and retooling older facilities.

New At Pac-n-Seal

We're back from our inventory counting and a couple of days vacation and are back in full swing.

New products are being added almost daily with many more coming in soon.

Due to demand, we have begun expanding our impulse sealer parts inventory to include some of the smaller parts such as the micro switches now available individually instead of in multi packs, the arm spring and for trimmer impulse sealers we now stock the sliding cutter handle complete with blade, retainer and the nut/bolt.

For higher volume shippers and receivers, we've recently added the Flo Vac line of loose fill packing peanut vacuums and vacuum/dispenser combos. Units include the Flo Vac Jr. - a battery operated and portable peanut vacuum that empties a 1 cubic foot box of loose fill in less than 10 seconds, the Flo Vac 3 - a portable peanut vacuum on wheels that gently removes loose fill quickly and quietly and the Flo Vac "All-in-ones". These combo. units are a loose fill packing peanut vacuum and dispenser built together - no more lowering the hopper to refill and you re-use the peanuts that come in your incoming packages!

Coming soon - we will be making our Marsh© brand cardboard box paints available by the single can as well as cases.

eBay business is booming at local post offices

2005-06-05T07:16:00.000-04:00

By Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller

FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Sunday, June 5, 2005

Postmaster Ginette Simpson sees a lot of transient faces at her small post office in Hostetter, Unity Township.

"They come in with a lot of packages at any given time," she said.

They are part of the growing number of eBayers who have increased the volume of parcels in post offices all over the country, from tiny rural sites to metropolitan offices.

According to eWeek Enterprise News & Reviews, the popularity of Internet communication put a dent in first-class mail handled by the U.S. Postal Service.

However, the rise in eBay commerce picked up that decline in volume. The Postal Service handled 90.1 billion pieces of mail in 2000, then only 87.2 billion pieces in 2002. In 2004, the volume dramatically increased, to 95.6 billion pieces, eWeek reported.

"According to eBay officials, at any given time, there are more than 25 million items for sale on eBay," said Diana Svoboda, a communications specialist with the Postal Service in Pittsburgh.

That includes the ordinary to the strange, items that a decade ago would have been sold at flea markets or yard sales, or even thrown away. Now eBayers are shipping it all across the country and around the world.

Linda Noel, postmaster at Forbes Road for 12 years, has about a dozen eBay customers who come in once every week or two.

"I love the stories they tell," she said. "One woman mailed a pair of nylon stockings -- not pantyhose -- with seams, and got $25 for them. Another customer paid $5 for an old Bundt pan at a flea market and sold it for $300. Another bought a vintage pink canister set for 50 cents and sold it for $80."

Then there was an old high school varsity jacket that was purchased for 50 cents and sold for $60.

Someone even unloaded a mint-green polyester suit with pearl buttons. The local hawker advertised it on eBay as perfect for a Texas oil tycoon, and sold it to an oil company executive who collected oil memorabilia.

Some of Noel's customers ship old books and used CDs, but more recently, she sees fewer of them as they opt for more convenient USPS services.

"I used to have a customer who shipped out glassware on a regular basis, but now she uses home pickup," said Simpson, who has been at Hostetter since 1993.

They started working with eBay in September 2003, and shipping is now easier for people who don't want to stand in line or wait while their parcels are being processed.

"They have teamed up to offer sellers one-stop shipping that currently includes fully integrated shipping solutions on the eBay Web site," Svoboda said.

Sellers can calculate rates on their own scales or use one of the Postal Service's priority flat-rate envelopes or boxes. Then they print out mailing labels and charge the postage to their credit cards, or pay through the PayPal, an online payment service. The service also includes free tracking.

Sellers can take their readied parcels to any post office, drop them into mailboxes if they fit, or contact their local post office for next-day pickup.

"Carrier pickup has become quite a big thing," Greensburg assistant postmaster Jeff Gogets said. "And it gets bigger and bigger every day. One local business that advertises on eBay has 20 to 25 packages picked up daily, and we're seeing more and more of this throughout the county."

Priority boxes and envelopes are free at local offices, and customers can order certain other free supplies that are shipped directly to their homes. There are even boxes that carry both the Postal Service and eBay logos.

"People can get free priority boxes, free delivery confirmation, and combine that with carrier pickup, and that's hard to beat," Gogets said. "We are helping customers, and they are helping us."

New At Pac-n-Seal

American Express is finally here!
We've finally worked out an agreement directly with American Express to begin accepting their cards for orders. American Express cards are processed directly, eliminating any 3rd party processors making it acceptable to government card users and large corporations who forbid the 3rd party handling of their account information.

LOWER PRICES ON ZIP LOCK BAGS!!!!!!!
In a continuing effort to bring you the most bang for your packaging supplies buck, Pac-n-Seal has been able to reduce prices on most of our zip lock reclosable bags. Some of the Clear Zip brand bags have been reduced by as much as $15 per case. We are currently working on the Minigrip zip bags to get those prices reduced as well.

Pac-n-Seal Now AcceptsAmerican Express Credit Cards

2005-06-03T05:56:00.000-04:00

In a continuing effort to better serve our corporate and small business customers, Pac-n-Seal has now added American Express to the list of credit cards we now accept.

Not only do we now take American Express, but the added benefit is that the processing goes directly through American Express and not through a third party service provider thereby making it acceptable to government and large corporations who do not allow the use of third party credit card processors.

The Pac-n-Seal secure shopping cart has been updated to include the choice of American Express cards in addition to the Visa, Master Card and Discover cards we've always taken as well as mail in payments such as checks and money orders.

Don't forget to hold your mail

2005-06-02T06:18:00.000-04:00

From The Winchester Times
Thursday, June 2, 2005

You spent months planning the perfect vacation and the time has finally come. The bags are packed, the car is loaded and the dog's in the kennel.

At the last minute you remember you haven't asked the Post Office to hold your mail while you're away. The Postal Service now offers customers the option of requesting that their mail be held from three to 30 days quickly and easily online at www.usps.com.

"When you go on vacation, the last thing you need is to be concerned about the safety of your mail while you're away," said David B. McDonald, officer-in-charge of the Winchester Post Office. "Our Hold Mail Service makes it easy."

Customers simply go to www.usps.com, click "Receive Mail and Packages" in the blue bar at the top of the page. Select "Delivery Services," click on "Put Your Mail on Hold," and enter the zip code at the prompt. Then enter the address information and the dates the mail should be held. At the end of the process, customers are given a confirmation number to modify the request if they come back early or if they decide they want to stay on vacation a little bit longer.

The online service electronically notifies the local Post Office, which holds all mail for the time specified. Delivery resumes on the requested date.

Nearly 650,000 customers have taken advantage of this convenient feature since its 2003 launch. Another 700,000 customers have used the Postal Service's toll-free number, 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777), to have their mail held. And customers can always stop by their local Post Office and fill out a simple from there.

Post office promotes its eBay connection

2005-04-15T08:09:00.000-04:00

By EDWARD D. MURPHY, Portland Press Herald Writer

Russ Bornstein has some lamps, tables, tools and electrical equipment he'd like to sell, but the 87-year-old isn't planning a yard sale.

Bornstein, of Portland, plans to sell those items on eBay after attending a recent hourlong workshop on the online auction site conducted by the U.S. Postal Service.

Why does the post office want people like Bornstein to use eBay? Because after the auction, any items sold have to be shipped - and the post office wants to maintain as much of that business as possible in the face of stiff competition from Federal Express, UPS and other shippers.

The post office's bread-and-butter - first-class mail - is beset by rising costs and falling use. E-mail and faxes have cut into the amount of mail sent each day, but the post office still has to bear the cost of delivering to every business and home, six days a week.

Package shipping, however, remains a profitable and booming business, as evidenced by the number and earnings of private shippers in the market.

So the post office's "eBay Days" are equal parts a primer on how to sell and buy - mostly sell - online and a sales pitch for using the Postal Service to complete the transaction.

"Competition is increasing for us," said Leanne Payeur, a local post office spokeswoman. "In the past, we were a monopoly and that's not the case anymore, but we believe we do it best, frankly."

Payeur points out that the post office will deliver just about anywhere - "we're coming to your house anyway" - and offers free boxes and heavy-duty envelopes for those using overnight or Priority mail. And, to make it easier for those in the vanguard of the new, digital economy, the post office will pick up shipments at home and its Web site sells mailing labels with postage included that can be printed out from a home computer.

That's especially important for heavy-duty eBay users who wouldn't want to leave the house and possibly miss the last few minutes of an auction of a porcelain doll or Beanie Baby.

The home pickup was a key feature for Bill Mozak of Bath, who attended eBay Days in Portland last week to get over his admitted "squeamishness" about online transactions.

Mozak said he has some sporting goods he'd like to sell and figured a tutorial on eBay might help him overcome his reluctance to post the items online.

"One of my faults is when it comes to mailing something, but if someone will come to my house and pick it up, great," he said. "To ship it right from your home is ideal."

During the session at the downtown post office, Dave Shepherd, the postmaster for East Winthrop, led about 25 people on a tour around the eBay site, projected on a large screen behind him. He noted the registration process, eBay's companion payment system, PayPal, and how to search for items.

He even put an item up for sale, a post office commemorative poster and canceled envelope commemorating last fall's World Series win by the Red Sox, complete with a picture of the item.

"You may think you have something that's not worth a thing, but it's how you write it up," Shepherd said.

Then Audrey L. Johnson, the postmaster of Gardiner, took over, with an overview of the Postal Service's Web site and how easy it is to send an item that someone has sold on eBay to the buyer through the post office.

She noted the free boxes, the ability to print postage and mailing labels and the free pickup. Log on by 2 a.m. to tell the post office you have a package and your regular carrier will pick it up later that day, she said. The carrier will even look "on the porch, under the sofa," if the shipper won't be around and alerts the carrier where the package will be, Johnson said.

EBay has long had a cozy relationship with the post office, realizing what's good for one helps the other, said Hani Durzy, a spokesman for the California-based auctioneer.

Durzy said eBay hosted about 150 postmasters a couple of months ago to discuss eBay Days. Although eBay encourages the post office to hold the sessions, the company doesn't pay for them and leaves the content up to local postmasters.

"It's a great marketing tool for them and it's great for us," Durzy said. "What eBay's great at is removing friction points for buyers and sellers, and payment and shipment are two big friction points."

PayPal, which allows payments to flow easily from buyer to seller, eliminates the friction caused by having to mail checks or money orders, Durzy said, while the post office's online services - which can be linked to via eBay's site - takes care of shipping hassles.

Durzy noted that 20 million shipping labels with postage were printed via the eBay/post office link last year. EBay users can also link to the UPS site, he said, but it doesn't have a formal relationship with FedEx.

Durzy said he didn't have any figures on how many eBay users opt for UPS or other shippers, but added, "The USPS has gone out of its way to embrace the eBay seller."

Bornstein said he felt comfortable enough to give it a go.

"I've been leery of it, but it isn't that hard," he said after the session.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com

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The post office wants an extra 2-cents-worth for its stamps.

2005-04-10T06:55:00.000-04:00

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

However, at the same time yesterday that the agency proposed the stamp price increase, it also invited Congress to eliminate the need for it.

The proposal sent to the independent Postal Rate Commission calls for increases to take effect early next year.

They would boost first-class stamps from 37 cents to 39 cents, increase postcards from 23 cents to 24 cents and raise other postal prices similarly.

In announcing the rate proposal the Postal Service said it is needed only because a 2003 law requires the agency to place $3.1 billion annually in an escrow account.

Postal officials have been urging Congress to drop that requirement and said they will withdraw the rate request if Congress does so.

Postage rates last went up June 30, 2002, rising from 34 cents to 37 cents for a first-class letter.

Now that the post office has formally asked for a 5.4 percent increase, the Postal Rate Commission will hold hearings and collect information before ruling on the proposal.

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Post office warns of scam

2005-04-06T14:36:00.000-04:00

By Jamie Cooper

Staff Writer

Acting Postmaster Kim Morse had heard about the scams involving counterfeit postal money orders but she never thought it would be a problem in Mt. Pleasant. That is until yesterday when not one, but two incidents occurred.

"People use the Internet everywhere I guess," she said.

According to Iowa Postal Inspector Linda Jensen, the scam begins when a victim is contacted by someone through an Internet chat room or online auction site such as E-bay claiming to need help cashing international postal money orders.

"The person often claims to be living in a foreign country, but the scam artist can cook up the scheme from any location," Jensen said in a press release. "The scam artist is simply looking to recruit someone in the United States to cash the money orders and return the funds via a wire transfer."

Victims are lured into the scam with the promise that they can keep some of the money as a payment for their help.

The victim then provides their home mailing address and is told they will receive a check or postal money order that they should deposit in their own back account but must first wire back the remainder of the money through Western Union or a conventional bank wire transfer.

The victim only learns of the scam when they attempt to cash the counterfeit money order or when their bank refuses payment on the bogus deposit.

Phillip Speidel of Mt. Pleasant was almost one such victim. Speidel breeds Siberian Huskies and sells them on his personal Web site and also on a friend's Web site.

About two months ago a man claiming to be from Tennessee e-mailed Speidel's friend about purchasing two dogs. The man said one of the dogs would be sent to Tennessee but the other would have to be sent to Nigeria. He said there was a man in Nigeria who owed him and was going to pay for the dogs.

Speidel said the total amount for the two dogs plus the shipping came to $1,600. The man said he would send a money order for $3,600 and for him to send the remainder of the cash to his address in Tennessee.

Speidel's friend who had been in contact with the man immediately became suspicious and told him that the deal was off.

"He never asked if the dogs were male of female or what their eye color was or anything pertaining to the dog itself," Speidel said. "He upset her over the phone and she said she wanted nothing to do with it."

Nonetheless, a letter from Nigeria arrived in the mail Friday with Speidel's friend's name on it and his address. Speidel opened the letter at the post office after they told him about the scam.

"It upsets you that there's people out there doing things like that. No one likes someone to take advantage of anyone," he said. "Everybody is so inviting to people. We're too honest. You think no one is going to pull something on you, but they're out there."

The other incident in Mt. Pleasant occurred yesterday when a man received what he said was an unsolicited letter from Nigeria. Morse said when the man opened the package there were four counterfeit money orders inside. He agreed to hand them over so the postal inspector could investigate them.

Morse said she would encourage people not to respond if they receive offers like these.
"There's no easy way to make money," she said. "Bring it (the letter) into the post office. The more information we can get, the better. We have to make people aware that it is happening and start to curb it."

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Leaders of The Packed

2005-04-04T16:04:00.000-04:00

Part 4 of 4
And inside those boxes? Rich Habel, who owns two UPS stores in the District, sees it all. At his store near American University, the end of the school year always brings numerous students trying to cram a whole dorm room into a few boxes to ship home.

"They'll use bedding," Habel says. "They'll wrap everything up in a comforter."

Many customers arrive with boxes padded with blankets and newspapers, which UPS discourages.

"They don't spring back," Habel says, "so if something settles, it settles against the side of the box. The whole idea is to keep what's in the middle of the box away from the sides."

Habel encounters many, many optimists in his line of work. These are people who arrive with a bonsai tree in a pretty pot or an Easter lily encased in plastic and foil and confidently hand it over for shipment.

"Make sure it doesn't turn over," they tell Habel. He tries his best, he says, to fasten the plant so it's stationary, but there's no way he can guarantee it will remain upright. "It goes on a conveyor belt," he finds himself repeating.

Michael Spates, consumer advocate for the U.S. Postal Service, has seen coconuts go through the mail, unwrapped but bearing an address label and stamp. "We accepted it," he said. Worms get mailed, cosseted in old ice cream containers, baby chicks in specially designed boxes. "We don't accept steaks."

Packaging is only going to grow -- every time another baby is born, another customer for a packaged product is created. And the job of designers will be to make it ever more efficient, Armstrong says.

"They may be graduates from various Schools of Packaging at universities such as Michigan State, Clemson, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cal Poly, et cetera," he says. "Or, some may just be graduates from the schools of practical experience and hard knocks. That's how we do it."

Leaders of The Packed

2005-04-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

Part 3 of 4

"The biggest trend today is global," Armstrong says. "More and more products are made in Mexico or Sri Lanka, and the challenge is packing them to survive the trip."

The modern packaging industry began in World War II, he says, when huge amounts of equipment were being moved around the world. "You had to have better and better means of packaging," he says, "because dropping a radar set or other piece of equipment could be fatal."

3M, which now sells packing noodles, Cushion Wrap and endless amounts of Scotch tape among its many products, got into packaging in 1941, making pressure-sensitive tapes to seal U.S. Army K rations.

Last year it came out with the Easy Open poly mailer, an envelope made of plastic film that you can open with a pull tab instead of having to attack it with a knife or scissors. David Wagner, business manager for 3M's Industrial Tapes and Adhesives Division, says the Internet created the demand that got the company interested in the evolution of the plastic envelope. There's an ever-expanding need for economical and convenient packaging, he says, that takes products from the provider directly to the consumer, cheaply.

"The alternatives might be a corrugated box with some sort of fill, either traditional peanuts or the little bubble pillows," he says. "When you start using multiple classes of materials, the cost goes up."

A few years ago, says Steve Uihlein, vice president of finance for Uline Inc., an Illinois-based distributor of shipping and packing materials, it looked as if big companies shipping directly would eliminate middlemen and small shippers.

Those predictions didn't account for eBay Inc.

Uihlein says his family-owned company does a brisk business in orders from small at-home businesses, individuals and eBay merchants.

"Our median order is about $100," he says, "and we do lots and lots of them."

If global shipping demands high-tech, eBay allows the low-tech to flourish as well, as you may have noticed if you've bought a used hubcap for a 1995 Chevy for 99 cents on eBay and were charged $8 for shipping and handling. The "handling" may mean an ancient box and assorted pieces of cardboard taped into the semblance of a package and sent off to the post office.

Leaders of The Packed - Part 2

2005-03-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

Part 2 of 4

"It may be sorted, shipped and unsorted," he says. "At each step a package will get bounced around. It doesn't matter if it's a case of dog food or a computer. They'll be handled the same way, and it's not an easy journey."

The conveyor belt has decreed many changes: no more packages wrapped with string and heavy brown paper, sure to get caught in the maw of the machine and torn to pieces. And there has been a boom in boxes, mailing envelopes and resilient padding of every description as packages crowd all those conveyor belts.

Once, products were manufactured, packed on pallets and sent to a warehouse, where the mounded boxes would be broken down, trucked to stores and finally carried home by the customer. Now, many packages are ordered online and sent directly from the manufacturer to the customer, no pallets involved, more and more individual packing required.

"Now, that package has to get through UPS or the post office," Armstrong says. "Now, it's getting banged around. Another box has been added to the equation, and this has increased the need for something to fill it."

Armstrong sees those boxes filled with Bubble Wrap. He hears the call for Jiffy bags. He speaks happily of Instapaks. These are some of the products that have helped Sealed Air achieve $3.8 billion a year in sales.

"There's an immediate and profitable channel for the manufacturer, but there are issues to overcome," he says. "We [at Sealed Air] see that as job security."

Two inventors, Al Fielding and Marc Chavannes, came up with Bubble Wrap in 1960 as they were trying to create embossed wall covering and developed a means of forming and sealing two webs of plastic film together, capturing cells of air, Armstrong says.

They went on to start Sealed Air, and Fielding was active in the company into the 1980s, Armstrong says.

Sealed Air has 35 packaging and design labs worldwide, 11 of them in this country. Armstrong works in one in Connecticut, where he tests packaging with technology descended from the aerospace industry.

Trying to figure out how to get a product safely from a factory in Shanghai to its destination in Chicago, he'll simulate the vibrations on the truck from the factory in Shanghai to the port, the heat and humidity and condensation in the container at sea, along with the pressure of products loaded on top of each other in the container. He'll study the effects of the unloading in Seattle or Los Angeles, the container's journey to a warehouse, the breaking down and final delivery of the shipment.

Leaders of The Packed

2005-03-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

The Future Is Boxed, Cushioned, Wrapped and Ready to Ship

Part 1 of 4

By Kathy LallySpecial to the Washington Post

Sunday, March 27, 2005; Page F01

Bill Armstrong has figured out how to pack and ship everything from frozen pasta to embalming fluid.

He's a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Packaging -- "It's actually a profession," he says -- and a student of the history and art of wrapping things up and sending them off. "The pioneers put their dishes in the flour barrels of their covered wagons, but by the time they got to Wyoming, they had used the flour up baking bread. There were a lot of broken dishes on the Oregon Trail."

Today, as we have throughout history, we're still packing things up and sending them off, whether it's dishes for a move, care packages to homesick college students or birthday presents to favorite friends and relatives. And now we're on the Internet trail, ordering computers and clothes, books and CDs, medicines and more, all of which come individually packed and shipped.

With the flour safely in the pantry, we're using a whole range of materials to cushion our packages, including polystyrene peanuts, the ever-faithful corrugated cardboard, and Bubble Wrap -- little pockets filled with air, the popping of which is so oddly comforting.

Cushioning materials are a small but growing part of the very large packaging business. The Institute of Packaging Professionals estimates that packaging in North America alone is a more than $200 billion-a-year business. Packaging means everything from containing to protecting to selling (see In Store, Page F5), and 60 percent of the business is the packaging of food and beverages. Packaging of pharmaceuticals and health and beauty aids makes up 20 percent.

The remaining 20 percent includes soft goods, such as clothes and carpets, and hard goods -- nearly everything you see around you in your office, including the individually shipped phone, lamp, desk, chair, computer, stapler and coffee maker. Packaging those goods requires engineering acumen along with a bit of artistic flair, skills particularly important in the Internet age.

"The Internet has had a huge influence," says Armstrong, technical development manager for Sealed Air Corp., the company that makes Bubble Wrap brand air-cell cushioning. "It has created a whole new channel from manufacturer to consumer."

Not so long ago, Armstrong says, words alone were considered sufficient to protect some packages. This End Up. Fragile. Handle With Care.

"Ten years ago, we thought packages got dropped because people were careless," he says. "We thought if we put 'Fragile' on it, we wouldn't need so much packaging. Now, it's almost all mechanized, and there's no one to read a label that says, 'Please don't drop this.' "

Your package will find itself on a conveyor belt whether you use the U.S. Postal Service, UPS or FedEx, Armstrong says, and there is one guarantee: It will get a bumpy ride. Rest assured that it will slide down a 12-foot chute at least once.

No Plans Are On The Table Now For Postage Rate Increase

2005-03-27T11:57:00.000-05:00

Palladium-Item - Richmond,IN,USA

Question: Is the Post Office planning a rate increase soon?

No. There no doubt will be a rate increase by the U.S. Postal Service sometime, but not this year.

Richmond Postmaster Bruce Davey says the rumor of a rate increase is one of a number of issues and rumors he has had to address.

"First," he said, "the price of postage will not increase this year. It did not increase last year, nor did it increase the year before. Postage rates may increase next year.

"Rates are set by means of a very complicated process that takes approximately one year to complete from the time the Postal Service submits a rate increase request to the Postal Rate Commission."

No such request is before the commission at this time. After one is submitted, there will be plenty of time for public comment from all interested parties, including those who use -- and those who compete against -- the Postal Service.

Perhaps the rumor is prompted because many of the Postal Services competitors raised rates at the first of this year.

"Federal Express, United Parcel Service and DHL have all announced rate increases ... The Postal Service has not raised its rates since 2002. We will not do so until at least 2006, even though, as a business, we face the same increases in costs of operation that everyone else is facing," Davey said.

Another issue that he and other postmasters frequently face is the idea that the Postal Service is inefficient. Maybe that was true once, but modernization and dedication to customer service has turned around that image.

One example is the Postal Service's Web site, usps.com.

To find answers for readers of this column, I visit a lot of Web sites. There are plenty of good ones, but none I have used is better than usps.com. You can do just about anything there that you can do in a Post Office lobby. You can buy stamps; hold, forward, or resume your mail delivery; arrange for parcel pickup; change mailing address; buy stamps; and even create and print mailing labels. You also can learn about postal regulations and news about services.

And when a rate increase process begins, it will be your best source of reliable information about what is proposed and what eventually is approved.

One of the things you can learn on the Web site is why postal officials bristle at any suggestion that it is inefficient.

"...Revenue is up, productivity is up, service is at record levels...and our rates have remained stable since 2002," Azeezaly Jaffer, vice president of the Postal Service for Public Affairs and Communications, wrote at his Web site. "In the past three years, we have cut nearly 70,000 positions without layoffs, reduced costs by $4.3 billion and maintained one-time delivery scores in the mid-90s. Customer satisfaction (as measured by the Gallup Organization) showed that 94 percent of postal customers -- an all-time high -- rated their delivery service from USPS good to excellent during the last quarter of 2004."

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An Effort Containing Both Art and Science

2005-03-26T19:48:00.000-05:00

Sunday, March 27, 2005; Page F04
The Washington Post

No matter what you're shipping, the product has to end the journey in the manner in which it began: intact.

Take a look at the box that protects this cordless telephone handset from Panasonic Corp., shipped to a customer by Circuit City. Each part of the phone fits snugly; unfold it, and it's a flat piece of cardboard with perforated lines and cutouts.

Panasonic spokesman Jim Reilly says that even before there is a product there is a Panasonic "environmental guy" whose job is to make sure there's a way to ship it "efficiently and in a sound ecological manner."

Bill Armstrong, technical development manager for Sealed Air Corp., maker of Bubble Wrap brand air-cell cushioning and other packing materials, calls this kind of legerdemain "corrugated origami."

"The first part is engineering," he says. "The other part is art."
First the designer has to work with the phone manufacturer to find out what kind of treatment could break it, and what will happen to it on its journey from where it's made to its final destination. Underlying the process is the question of environmental impact: How much material is being used, and how will the person who ends up with the product get rid of the packing?

The engineering element comes into play as the designer analyzes the information with the goal of locking all parts in place two inches from the face of the box.

"Then it becomes an art form," Armstrong says. "How do you get the most amount of protection using the least amount of material? The corrugated people have a lot of experience. They can cut a piece out of here, roll it out here, put a tab in there."

The requirements can be put into a computer-designed program, and the corrugated piece is put on a sample table, where knives will cut out the piece just as the computer programmed it.

"You create the prototype, and that can be transferred to a manufacturing process," Armstrong says. A rotary die press with two cylinders -- one of them with blades -- meshes together, cutting the material at high speed. The process is the same whether it's corrugated, foam or bubbles, he says.

-- Kathy Lally

Beware of counterfeit USPS money orders

2005-03-21T18:43:00.000-05:00

03:55 PM CST on Monday, March 21, 2005
From 11 News Staff Reports

Money orders have long been a convenient way to pay bills or send funds through the mail.

They can be bought just about anywhere, including the post office.

Now, counterfeiters are using Uncle Sam's good name to target you.

"The scripture enjoins us to be as harmless as doves, as wise as serpents," says Dr. Alan Kitay.

It was that belief and computer savvy that kept Dr. Kitay from making a costly mistake.

The e-mail said that Dr. Kitay would get a huge donation for his church if he would send money to pay for legal and postage fees.

"She wanted to donate $27 million to my ministry, which she saw my Web page on the Internet," he says.

The counselor and teacher didn't fall for the message. Shortly afterward, he received, "three money orders for $1,000 each," he says.

He also received instructions to cash them and send back three new money orders with the church's name on it -- all to prove the church really does exist.

Dr. Kitay knew this was a scam and that the money orders were fake.

"It says here "Susan Gardner, then Gardener -- the second one says 'ener' and the third one says 'iner". The person who sent this theoretically came from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but the money order has a Texas zip code on it," he says.

"He was very smart. Unsuspecting citizens are being contacted by a fraudster whether it be on the Internet through a chatroom or on an online auction," says USPS Inspector Vanessa Kimbrough.

Kimbrough says since September, $27 million in counterfeit US Postal Service Money Orders have been found circulating throughout the country. Many of them have come from Nigeria.

"The Postal Service Money Order is one of the most secure financial instruments one can utilize when making a financial transaction. We don't want the public to lose faith," Kimbrough says.

If you receive money orders, there are some steps you can take to make sure they're not the counterfeits.

"Put it up to the light, look for that water mark, the impression of Benjamin Franklin," Kimbrough says.
You can see that same image on the back.

Also, there is a thread that runs all the way through the money order that has USPS on it.

The best form of defense is common sense. That, and a little faith, kept Dr. Kitay from becoming a victim.

You can verify a US Postal Service Money Order in person by visiting any substation or call 1-800-372-8347.

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Wrapped up in a new idea

2005-03-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

By John Stilgoe | March 13, 2005

Wrapped or roll-up sandwiches are replacing traditional sliced-bread lunches, while shrink-wrap plastic is transforming the outdoor storage of boats and other large items. Everywhere south of Boston, boats stand atop trailers or metal stands cocooned in white plastic, awaiting late-spring metamorphosis.

Plastic wrap began by accident. In 1933 Ralph Wiley, a college student employed by Dow Chemical to wash glassware, scrubbed hard at the residue of a failed experiment. The more he tinkered with the sticky product, the more he thought it might prove useful. The substance, called polyvinylidene chloride, stank, and its original green color deflected most observers. But in World War II, the military wrapped fighter planes in it before loading them in Liberty ships as Europe-bound deck cargo. After the war, Dow engineers eliminated the odor and made the film transparent. Saran Wrap was approved for commercial food-packaging use in 1949 and for home use four years later. A packaging revolution followed.

Unintended invention has shaped many packaging products. In 1938, Roy Plunkett discovered what became Teflon while working at Dupont on refrigerants. He paused to examine a flask of solidified refrigerant that became the tough, no-stick surface used by the military and then at home, beginning in the 1960s with Teflon-coated frying pans. Nineteen years later in Hawthorne, N.J., Alfred W. Fielding and Marc Chavannes failed in their effort to make plastic-coated paper wallpaper. But they accidentally produced what became known as Bubble-Wrap, the main item sold today by Sealed Air Corporation, the huge firm they created. Bubble wrapped items often move inside shrink-wrapped boxes themselves shrink-wrapped in cubes atop pallets. Plastic packaging protects against moisture, but also against movement and breakage.

Boat wrap is an industrial-quality, low-density polyethylene film made from fractional-melt resin that shrinks slightly when heated to between 275 and 350 degrees. Manufacturers first wrapped fiberglass boats to protect them during highway transport in open trailers. Longtime area residents might remember long trailers filled with Boston Whaler boats leaving the now-closed Rockland factory for delivery as far away as California. Highway debris sometimes marred the glossy finish and windshields of mass-produced boats, and by the late 1980s builders had begun cocooning them in white plastic. Transport boat wrap is more elastic than ordinary boat wrap, since it must withstand winds of 60 miles an hour and higher. It is almost always white, to reflect the sunlight than can raise interior temperatures and damage delicate details.

Storage wrap is less elastic and sometimes a bit thinner, although in this region installers err on the side of thickness to prevent snow and ice damage. Despite manufacturer options, most boat wrap is white. On the chance that some boat owners will leave boats covered through summer, few installers will use blue wrap, or the green that blends into foliage. Boat wrap is impregnated with ultra-violet-light inhibitors to prevent rapid decay, but this far north wrap has a far lower content of UVIs than that sold in Arizona. Thick Arizona wrap might last three or four years here.

The wrap is cheap. A roll 14 feet wide by 150 feet long and 6 millimeters thick costs about $82 at the factory. A roll 40 feet wide by 100 feet long and 7 millimeters thick costs about $196 and weighs 135 pounds. Except on very windy days, installation is simple. One or two people can wrap the clingy film over the top of a fiberglass boat, stretching it down over the hull and bottom. Then one waves a propane-fired or electric heat gun over the film, and it shrinks in place, grabbing the bottom of the boat and tightening tent-like over the top. Wise installers add a few stick-on louvers to encourage air exchange, and a 3-by-3-foot zipper door makes intermittent interior inspection easy. Prudent boat owners buy a small roll of specialized repair tape too.

But plastic wrap harms wood boats, which must breathe. Owners of traditional boats still erect frames of wood or plastic pipe, then cover frame and boat loosely with green canvas or blue plastic tarps that keep out rain and snow but admit air easily. Too much heat, even on a late autumn day, can blister paint or dry out a wood boat so quickly that its planks and frame twist, often beyond repair. A tight seal can produce condensation that causes deterioration. Old-timers know wood boats require constant ventilation, and they battle against squirrels and other wild creatures who see canvas-shrouded wooden boats as wintertime motels.

Plastic boat wrap also warns local planning boards of construction industry changes moving north from Florida and other southern states. Already contractors shrink-wrap commercial buildings before removing asbestos and other dangerous products. But across the South, small-scale renovators and property owners have begun to experiment with wrapping deteriorating buildings while they raise money for permanent repair. South-of-Boston residents accustomed to seeing new houses briefly covered with white Tyvek insulating fabric and fiberglass boats cocooned in white shrink-wrap might begin to ponder the appearance of houses and other structures mummified in white plastic for a few years. Abutters who accept wrapped boats may not easily accept wrapped garden sheds, disused automobiles, houses, and commercial buildings. But fore now, only contractors see the accidental invention implicit in boat wrap.

Five post employees office behind bars

2005-03-08T05:58:00.000-05:00

Arabic News.com

Morocco, Local, 3/7/2005

Five employees in the Moroccan post office (Barid Al-Maghrib) were arrested last Thursday for stealing parcels and mail coming from abroad.

Police started a probe in the case after an executive in the post office administration notified it that an increasing number of people have complained that they have not received the parcels and mail sent to them.

Three employees in the office were caught red-handed as they were transporting stolen packages to a car. The two others were arrested downtown, where they were supposed to meet their accomplices.

The culprits used to comb through the received mail to look for valuable objects before destroying any document likely to raise doubts.

They are facing charges of theft, abuse of trust and destruction of official documents.

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Privatize This

2005-03-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

The USPS needs urgent and wide-ranging reform.

By Sam Ryan

It's time to privatize the U.S. Postal Service. We no longer need a federal agency to deliver our junk mail. The facts are plain. Even with a locked-in monopoly, the USPS can't make ends meet. Its accounting is so murky and convoluted it makes our Enrons and WorldComs look like models of financial transparency. We mail-users — and ultimately taxpayers — end up paying through the nose for the increasingly obsolete privilege of "universal service," i.e., six-day-a-week delivery to every household in the nation.

If USPS were a private company, now would be the time to get serious about cutting costs and downsizing. Instead, the organization plans to do what it always does when the going gets tough — raise stamp prices. Last month, USPS took the first step when its board of governors directed management to file for an increase, which will probably hit stamp buyers in early 2006.

If USPS were a competitive company — as opposed to bloated federal bureaucracy — stamp prices would be falling, not rising. Despite new technology — like modern reader/sorters that process over 30,000 pieces of mail per hour — stamp prices have risen with inflation since 1970. Imagine if the price of a phone call or sending an e-mail rose with inflation for 30 years.

USPS is simply unable to capitalize on its multibillion-dollar technology investments, or on its massive economies of scale. A December study by leading experts of the Postal Rate Commission notes: "The doubling of overall volume coupled with scale economies should have resulted in the average price of the stamp dropping in real terms."

Well, okay. So you might have to pay 41 cents to mail a letter. What's the big deal? It may be illegal to take your envelopes elsewhere, but you can just move your business — including receiving and paying your bills — online, right? Let the postal service sock it to big mailers, who together make up a $900-billion industry, and to the nice people who still mail out Christmas and Valentine's Day cards. The problem is, USPS is already so deep underwater that even hiking stamp prices won't solve its financial crisis. Raising the price of letter delivery just drives customers away at an even faster rate.

Of course, politicians, economists, and postal officials have argued for years about the best remedy for the bloated, inefficient, and union-dominated postal service. Some change may finally come about during the current session of Congress, with postal-reform bills pending in the House and Senate. The draft proposals, however, don't call for busting the monopoly or privatizing the Service.

Yet in its own much-touted transformation plan, published in 2002, the USPS envisions itself as a future "Commercial Government Enterprise." The postal service's website suffix was switched from dot-gov to dot-com, and the postmaster general's title changed to "Postmaster General and CEO." But public posturing aside, what exactly does "Commercial Government Enterprise" mean?

"Postal Service managers would operate under more businesslike conditions. The Postal Service would offer both traditional and nontraditional products and implement market-based pricing, discounts and incentives, and business-based financing," the transformation plan says.

Unfortunately, the ballyhooed transformation plan says nothing about ending the USPS monopoly. Although postal officials want the postal service to walk and talk like a private firm, they won't consider making it one. After all, that would mean they'd have to divulge their mysterious accounting system that lumps 40 percent of costs into a murky, "general overhead" slush fund.

There is one side of private enterprise that's enticing the USPS though. It has no qualms about jumping into markets that have been transformed by private companies, like overnight package delivery. With all its special privileges and some expensive fancy-dance advertising, it can grab new business from the private sector. Remember, USPS is exempt from most taxes; it's free from SEC financial-reporting requirements; it can borrow from the U.S. Treasury at favorable rates, and, most importantly, it milks the cash cow of a government-enforced monopoly on letter delivery.

Having a captive monopoly market means the USPS can cross-subsidize — that is, use profits from letter delivery to fund expansion into other lines of business. Normally this would be considered predatory monopolistic behavior, and illegal. But the postal service is exempt from antitrust law.

Consider the transformation plan's bizarre phrasing: "At stake is the future of what has been, since this nation's founding, the right of every American to send and receive mail." It almost seems like the postal service thinks of itself as a constitutional right. Well, it's not. Mail may have once been the glue that held our far-flung nation together, but newer technologies make such USPS posturing ludicrous today. Most Americans these days would be far more upset by interruptions in e-mail than in snail mail. Yet you never hear the argument that the government should be the only provider of Internet access.

Indeed, the Internet has contributed to the postal service's long-term downward financial spiral, but USPS does not seem resolved to downsize its 800,000-strong workforce. "The Postal workforce is bigger than any two branches of the military combined. You could replace the Marines and the Army with postal workers, and you'd still have some mailmen left over," says Tom Readmond, federal-affairs manager of Americans for Tax Reform.

To be completely fair, Postmaster General John Potter has made a significant belt-tightening effort. Under his leadership, USPS has eliminated more than 85,000 employees, which represents a reduction of more than 10 percent of the workforce since 1999. Most of this reduction was brought about not by layoffs, but through attrition; i.e., leaving posts vacant when workers retired.

But USPS is still massively oversized, and waste abounds. Forget about the Pentagon's $600 toilet-seat covers. The average postal worker earns over 25 percent more than his private-sector, factory-worker counterpart. No wonder labor still accounts for two thirds of USPS costs, compared to about 50 percent at private delivery companies.

William Henderson, the U.S. postmaster general from 1998 to 2001, wrote upon leaving that "what the Postal Service needs now is nothing short of privatization." He even recommended an employee stock-ownership plan that "would motivate workers by allocating stock to them over time."

Across the Atlantic, such reforms are already underway. The European Union aims to privatize all its national postal services by 2009. Yet here, the U.S. postal service cries foul when it is faced with real market-based reforms.

Furthermore, declining mail volume, brought on by the e-mail revolution, has resulted in more than $4.5 billion in lost USPS revenue since 2000. And a long-term volume decline is just a small piece of the problem. Few Americans realize that the USPS already has accumulated over $70 billion in unfunded liabilities — mostly money promised to employees in retirement and health benefits. The USPS doesn't have that money. Nobody knows how on earth it's going to meet these liabilities.

But here's a not-so-wild guess. Sooner or later, USPS will ask Congress for a massive bailout. If there were any point to saving the postal service in its current form, such a gift might even be worth a few taxpayer dollars. But there isn't one. It would be throwing more good money after bad. The USPS is a drag on the government, on the economy, on the marketplace it unfairly distorts, and on consumers and taxpayers. It should be privatized without delay.

— Sam Ryan is a senior fellow at the Lexington Institute, a think tank based in Arlington, Virginia.

NEW PRODUCTS AT PAC-N-SEAL!

Pallet Covers & Box Liners

Polyethylene Drum Liners, Fitted Dust Covers And Cap Sheets

Plastic Sheeting In Clear And Black Recycled Polyethylene Plastic

Friday Fun - Go Fly A Kite!

2005-03-04T10:08:00.000-05:00

Originally invented to be used as wallpaper and/or insulation, this ultra-verstile packing material has found many more uses over the years. Not only is Bubble Wrap used as a play toy or stress reliever, it has been used to make clothing, intruder alarms, curtains and has even been known to be used inside a few boxes from time to time!

Here's a new use - building a kite made of Bubble Wrap. Gives the kids a way to get involved with Bubble Wrap other than just popping it.

Bubble Wrap Kite Instructions

MATERIALS: Bubble Wrap; thin, light weight wood; duct tape; string; scissors.

STEP 1: For a diamond-shaped kite, fold a piece of Bubble Wrap in half. Starting from the fold, make diagonal cuts. The sides on the bottom portion of the kite should be longer than the sides on the top half. Unfold.

STEP 2: Cut two pieces of wood to fit the length and width of the kite. Lay the pieces in a cross shape.

STEP 3: Cut two thin strips of duct tape and wrap them around the wood pieces where they cross each other.

STEP 4: Cut four more strips of duct tape. Lay one piece at each of the four corners and press firmly.

STEP 5: Cut a large piece of string with which to fly the kite. Tie it to the kite in the center of the cross.

Source: Liggett-Stashower

Program adds plastics to list of recyclables

2005-03-03T06:06:00.000-05:00

By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard

Bubble wrap, shrink wrap, plastic grocery bags, six-pack rings and dry cleaning bags - they're all officially recyclable in Lane County now.

But you still can't leave them curbside.

If you want to recycle them, you'll have to take them to one of nine recycling spots. The new program is being sponsored by Weyerhaeuser Co., which sells the material to industrial clients for conversion into other plastic products.

Until now, the common packaging materials have typically ended up at Lane County's landfill at Short Mountain. But starting Tuesday, Lane County's free recycling stations began accepting the plastic film, so long as it's clean and dry, said Pete Chism, waste reduction specialist at Lane County Waste Management Division.

Weyerhaeuser has been collecting plastic film from commercial clients for about three years, said Wayne Jackson, general manager of the company's recycling complex in Glenwood. The materials collected by Weyerhaeuser usually have been used to package commercial products such as lumber and wood-stove pellets.

The company has determined there's a consistent market for the plastic, Jackson said. "You hate to go public on a market until you feel like it's stable enough," he said. "Once you open the flood gates, it's really really tough to turn them off."

The plastic films are being used by manufacturers to create new extruded plastic products, and are also being combined with wood fiber to create decking boards.

Depending on many variables - such as how clean it is, where it's located and what quantity is being offered - baled plastic film can fetch up to $200 a ton on the market, said Lorena Young, senior sourcing representative for Weyer- haeuser.

Jackson didn't have exact figures, but said Weyerhaeuser is collecting well more than 30 tons of plastic film a month. He had no idea how much homeowners might increase to that. "A couple tons a month would be a great start," he said.

Chism couldn't forecast the demand, either. "We don't have anything at this point to compare this to," he said. "We're offering this service, and really we're going to have to just see what happens."

PUT PLASTIC IN ITS PLACE

Clean, dry plastic film is being accepted at Lane County's eight largest recycling stations:

• Cottage Grove, 78760 Sears Road. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

• Creswell, 34293 Cloverdale Road. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

• Glenwood, 3100 E. 17th Ave. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday

• Florence, 2820 N. Rhododendron Drive. Hours are 8 a.m.

to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday

• Marcola, 38935 Shotgun Creek Road. Hours are 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

• Oakridge, 48977 Kitson Springs Road. Hours are 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

• Rattlesnake, 82572 Rattlesnake Road, Dexter. Hours are
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

• Veneta, 24444 Bolton Hill Road. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday

• Also, Weyerhaeuser's recycling facility at 3425 E. 17th St., Glenwood, is accepting plastic film, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The wrap-up: Pop goes the Web page

2005-03-02T07:50:00.000-05:00

Popping Bubble Wrap® is just a click away—and you can do it from the comfort of your own desk.

Rick Lingle, Technical Editor, Pack World.com

Like duct tape, Sealed Air’s Bubble Wrap® packaging material has become part of our pop culture, so to speak. And for those addicted to popping Bubble Wrap—and you know who you are—there’s an online alternative to that one-of-a-kind satisfaction that only popping Bubble Wrap can provide. Billed as the “most fun you can have online!,” this site is found on the Web at virtual-bubblewrap.com.

Once there, and with Macromedia Flash Player installed, you can pop away using unlimited cybersheets of this “pop”ular material. You can also learn proper bubble popping etiquette. The site tracks the 50 top scores, so you could become a “pop star.” An “insane” version provides goofy sound effects.

The site has a link to the real Bubble Wrap page at Sealed Air’s corporate Web site. That’s where I discovered that I missed the 5th Annual Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, held on Monday, January 31, 2005. That burst my bubble, but we’ll have to plan ahead for next year.

Upon my return to www.virtual-bubblewrap.com, I learned that the site has had 750,000 visits that generated 2 2/3-million page views. I found that the average visit lasts 2:26. However, my visit lasted longer because of the research required for this article.

Meanwhile, until the next Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, you can virtually pop, pop, pop to your heart’s content.

Serious Packing

2005-02-28T10:08:00.000-05:00

Buy a tape gun and several rolls of tape.

Plastic sheeting, stretch film and sturdy garbage bags will help protect items from dust, dirt and damage.

Get coloured labels for marking where boxes will be going at the new home and to highlight special instructions like “fragile” and “this side up”.

Start hunting for those special boxes to pack those special items in.

For smaller items try to find boxes that are the same size, these stack easily and don’t waste space.

Find special boxes that will fit in the spaces under and inside furniture. Use the stretch film to hold drawers shut. Stretch film only clings to itself and will conform to any shape.

Keep boxes a reasonable weight - 30 to 40 pounds maximum. Put heavy objects in small boxes and lighter things in large boxes.

Figure out what you need to function comfortably and then pack everything else!

Use clothes, towels, blankets and such to wrap and pad delicate items. Socks are just made for glassware.

Take awkward items apart to save space and prevent damage. Lamp shades, lamps and light-bulbs each have very different packing requirements.

Bag screws, clamps and other hardware then tape the bags inside or underneath the furniture and appliances they go with.

Consider getting specialty packing materials for dishes and other fragile items. It’s a little more expensive but then so are broken dishes. Be generous with the padding such as bubble wrap, blank newsprint and foam packing peanuts.

Have a packing party. Get a little low stress help from your friends and a chance to visit too. Pizza is the #1 packing and moving day food in the US. Serve soda, juice or water with the pizza and save the beer for after the job is done!

Auction Safety For Both Sides

2005-02-27T07:47:00.000-05:00

While the vast majority of auction transactions are completely successful and without incident, there are some things that could point towards potential problems ....

If the deal seems too good to be true...
It's a good idea to check the ratings of a seller before entering into a deal with them. Check their track record - how many transactions have they had, how long have they been at it, the overall satisfaction of previous customers.

Beware of suspicious emails claiming to be from an auction site or payment site. Phoney emails puporting to be from eitherand PayPal are everywhere. They will try any number of things to get you to "log on" to your account. Reasons such as account information updating, we noticed your account has been accessed by someone overseas, you've added a new email or shipping address, all the way to "You've won the 2005 Ebay Dodge Viper Giveaway!".

All of these are scams designed to get you to click on a link that looks like it will connect to that companies website when in fact, it is nothing more than a copy of the web page. When you "log in" to the site, they then have that info. The next page or two will usually ask for all kinds of personal information. These sites look like the real thing, but are nothing more than scams to get your credit card nummers, Social Security number, bank account numbers and so on.

Beware of buyers or sellers who request payments to a location other than the one listed on their auction item page. If the customer pays through PayPal and you do not ship to the confirmed address, it could come back to haunt you.

Make sure the seller will accept a secure method of payment before bidding on an auction. For example, do they use PayPal or other similar payment company? Can you pay through a well-known escrow service such Escrow.com for expensive items? If the seller insists on a money order or cash as the only form accepted - beware. Sellers, watch out for stolen or forged money orders submitted as payment.

The latest scam going on is for someone to pay for an item with a USPS money order. What happens is they are either stolen or forged, sent to the seller and the shipping address is usually somewhere in Africa. The vast majority of these are in amounts over $750. The easiest way to protect yourself from these is to bring the money order to your local PO. They can verify that it is real and valid. Also, if they have the money they can cash it for you on the spot.

It doesn't happen too often, but beware of a buyer or seller who pushes to complete a transaction "off site". One party will contact the other privately and attempt make a deal away from the original auction site. It could be something as simple as the seller trying to avoid the fees or the buyer trying to negotiate a better deal knowing less fees would be involved. On the other hand, it could be a major rip-off in the making.

See our latest new product additions, check our clearance page for great deals or just stroll through our help and how-to pages to learn some new things.

Visit Pac-n-Seal for your packing, shipping & moving supply needs!

New post office but no letterbox

2005-02-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

Customers visiting Wrexham's new £300,000 post office have been left scratching their heads as they try to post their letters.

The new office opened on time but without a post-box outside.

People have been forced to queue inside and hand in their letters to staff over the counter.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail admitted there had been delays and said it could be "weeks" before a familiar red box is available.

The new post office opened in Henblas Street last week after the lease for their old building in Regent Street ran out.

Royal Mail officials said they had experienced delays in getting a post-box installed in time.

Customers at the post office on Friday thought it was distinctly second class.

Steve Williams and his wife Julie, who is a wheelchair user, said the situation was not good enough.

"There is a shortage of post boxes in Wrexham and Regent Street is quite steep in a wheelchair," said Mr Williams, from Rossett near Wrexham.

"We've had to hand a letter in over the counter and so we've had to queue."

Mrs Williams added: "It's very bad planning."

Jo Onissiphorou, who looked in vain for the post-box, said: "We've just gone in to post a letter and we've had to come back out."

"I can't believed it. I'm shocked and amazed."

Her friend Elaine Gibson added: "I've just gone to post a letter, there's no post-box and the queue is massive," she added.

Denise Sutton said she has heard a number of people complaining about the lack of provision at the branch.

"There's nothing here after spending all that money, it's ridiculous," she said.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said customers could take their letters into the new branch and staff would be able to deposit them.

"We've had to move and you have to put things in place," she added.

Jackie Alexander, manager at the branch said, "The inside of the building is really stunning, light and airy, and our customers will see a tremendous difference from the old office."

Coming Soon To Pac-n-Seal

We are in the final stages to add the following items
to our already extensive list of products

Cardboard Boxes

Bookfold Boxes

Square & Triangular Mailing Tubes

Tan And White Shipping Tubes

Eye catching COLOR Mailing Tubes

Color Tissue paper
PVC Shrink Tubing

White Kraft & White Poly Bubble mailer Envelopes

Vacuum Sealing To Prevent Tarnish

2005-02-25T09:01:00.000-05:00

MORRIS AND JAMES CAREY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

On other occasions, we've told you how to vacuum seal big and bulky things, including blankets, pillows, duvets and sweaters.

This is done by putting them in a large plastic bag, drawing the air out with a vacuum cleaner hose and then quickly sealing the bag with a twist tie.

But what about food storage for freezing or vacuum sealing smaller items to protect them from tarnish and rust?

Here's how.

To vacuum seal small stuff such as food (for freezing), or to prevent tarnish or rust, put the item in question in a plastic zip-top storage bag.

Insert a drinking straw as far to one side as is possible. Zip the top, suck out the air and then quickly zip the bag closed as you pull out the straw.
After one or two practice sessions, you'll be a regular vacuum sealing machine.

Postal Rate Inceases Set Into Motion

2005-02-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

The following was pulled from a press release issued earlier today ...

NEW YORK, February 17, 2005 - Today the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a press release announcing that its Board of Governors authorized management to file a limited rate increase request with the independent Postal Rate Commission. The increase should average about 6% and take effect in 2006.

The projected $3.1 billion to be derived from the increase is limited to the amount that the USPS must pay to an escrow account in September, 2006. The account was created when Congress reduced the USPS's statutory payment to cover future pensions, reflecting the fact that its payments would result in over-funding of its obligations.

When Congress provided that relief, however, it also required that, beginning in 2006, the excess amount (about $3 billion per year) must be deposited into this escrow account. Efforts since then by mailers and the USPS to convince Congress and the administration to reverse that action and allow the USPS to keep the $3.1 billion have been unsuccessful, but continue.

The full impact on periodicals mailers has yet to unfold, since an increase of 6% in periodicals rates would almost certainly leave periodicals revenues well below the USPS's costs attributable to periodicals. The Postal Reorganization Act requires that every class of mail cover at least its attributable costs, so in order to obtain Postal Rate Commission approval the USPS must either increase periodicals rates by more than 6% - perhaps by twice that amount - or dramatically reduce periodicals processing costs. There is some indication toward the latter, to cover a large part of the shortfall, but such a move would affect the way that mail is sacked by mailers and processed by the USPS.

As "Inside the Beltway" recently reported, when American Business Media first learned the USPS may implement significant changes to the Periodicals class, we asked for a meeting with Postmaster General Jack Potter. We will meet next week.

New Products At Pac-n-Seal ...

Electric Hand Dryers - wall mounted hand dryers eliminate the paper towel cost and paper towel expense.

Top Quality Vacuum Sealers - Vacuum sealers in single and dual nozzle and single and double impulse.

Clam Shell Case Sealer - hand held, plier type sealer for closing clam shell cases and making spot seals.

Ultra-Sonic Clam Shell Sealer - dual heat clam shell case sealer and tacker.

Constant Heat Roller Sealers - hand held roller sealers to make round, oval or virtually any shape seal needed.

Hand held Bar Sealers - seal cellophane and foil bags with ease.

Cut & Seal Impulse Sealers - foot operated impulse sealers with 2 elements! A 2mm wide flat element to make the seal and then a round wire element to cut off excess material to create a great looking package.

Adjustable Angle Tilt Head Impulse Sealers - foot operated sealers with a heavy duty work table and extended foot pedal. The sealer head can tilt down as much as 45 degrees for sealing bags with liquids, powders, seed, grain or any other loose material.

2005-02-03T07:21:00.000-05:00

USPS advises work-at-home scams don't pay

Thursday, February 3, 2005

The U.S. Postal Service recently cautioned consumers to be on the alert for fraudulent work-at-home schemes, whereby scam artists offer jobs that offer big financial rewards but do not deliver on their promises.

Postmaster Joanna M. Louf, and Sally Florio, manager of consumer affairs for the Massachusetts Postal District, issued this warning to consumers in advance of National Consumer Protection Week Feb. 6 to 12: "Don't open your door to work-at-home fraud."

They said the opportunity to work at home is becoming a popular and attractive option for many - from stay-at-home moms to college students to retirees. According to the 2000 Census, more than 4 million people in the United States work at home every day, and the numbers are increasing.

Although there are genuine jobs working at home, they said "many offers are bogus. You've seen the ads: Earn $50 to $200 per hour at home! Start your own business and make $1,000 a day! Envelope stuffing jobs now available."

The postal officials said whether the offer comes by phone or e-mail, appears in a flyer or newspaper ad, or arrives in the mail, thousands of people respond to these ads.

They cautioned consumers to "ask question. Legitimate work-at-home program sponsors should provide information in writing about the program they are offering."

They offered the following tips to help consumers evaluate questionable offers:

Closely examine the ad or offer: The company may not be offering to employ you directly, only to sell you training and materials and to find customers for your work. A legitimate company will be happy to give you information about exactly what you will be doing and for whom.

Check out the company: Research work-at-home opportunities through online sources or in the "Work-At-Home Sourcebook" and other resources that my be available in your local library. These resources provide good advice and list legitimate companies that hire people to work for them at home. Also, check out the company with the Better Business Bureau, state Attorney General, or local consumer protection agency.

Steer clear of "start-up" fees: Fraudulent promoters often ask for up-front payments for software, business kits, supplies, membership fees, or lists of hiring companies. Find out what the total cost is for the work-at-home program and what you will get for your money.

Know the refund police: If you must purchase equipment or supplies, ask if, and under what circumstances, you can return the material for a refund.

Find out if there is really a market for your work: Claims that there is a market for work such as envelope stuffing and craft making may not be true. If the company says it has customers waiting, ask for the names of the customers and contact them to confirm. Get references for other people who are doing the work. Ask the references if the company has kept its promises.

Be suspicious: Beware of advertisements that make unbelievable claims about job opportunities. Particularly be wary of any job offer that doesn't pay a regular salary or involves an overseas company.

Take your time: Don't be pressured into making a quick decision. Con artists make a living on their victims' poor judgment. Be smart. Seek advice and double check the "facts."

The reminded consumers: "Don't believe that you can make big profits easily. Operating a home-based business is just like any other business - it requires hard work, skill, good products or services, and time to make a profit. There is no easy way to wealth. A consumer's good judgment is the first, last and best line of defense against the con artist."

They said there are many other mail fraud schemes including identify theft, travel schemes, chain letters, insurance fraud, medical fraud and false billing.

"Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," they cautioned consumers.

New Holiday!

2005-01-30T08:43:00.000-05:00

Monday, January 31, 2005 has been designated as the
Fifth Annual National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day

Originally invented to be used as wallpaper and/or insulation, this ultra-verstile packing material has found many more uses over the years. Not only is Bubble Wrap used as a play toy or stress reliever, it has been used to make clothing, intruder alarms, curtains and has even been known to be used inside a few boxes from time to time!

Here's a new one I just came across - building a kite made of Bubble Wrap. Gives the kids a way to get involved with Bubble Wrap other than just popping it.

Build your kite today and go out tomorrow and celebrate
Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day on Monday!

Bubble Wrap Kite Instructions

MATERIALS: Bubble Wrap; thin, light weight wood; duct tape; string; scissors.

STEP 1: For a diamond-shaped kite, fold a piece of Bubble Wrap in half. Starting from the fold, make diagonal cuts. The sides on the bottom portion of the kite should be longer than the sides on the top half. Unfold.

STEP 2: Cut two pieces of wood to fit the length and width of the kite. Lay the pieces in a cross shape.

STEP 3: Cut two thin strips of duct tape and wrap them around the wood pieces where they cross each other.

STEP 4: Cut four more strips of duct tape. Lay one piece at each of the four corners and press firmly.

STEP 5: Cut a large piece of string with which to fly the kite. Tie it to the kite in the center of the cross.

Source: Liggett-Stashower

A new twist for "The Real Thing"

2005-01-20T20:48:00.000-05:00
Alternative uses for Coke

You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.Scary thought!

In many states, the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl, let the “real thing” sit for an hour and then flush clean.Yes, this does really work!

To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coke over the terminals to bubble away corrosion.This does work, but a better idea would be some baking soda mixed in water. Put some on the terminals and let it sit for a while. Once most of the fizzing stops, spread some over the top of the battery and this will stop/reduce the power loss experienced by having the "crud" build-up on top of the battery.

To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coke for several minutes.Trust me, this does work if nothing else is available! If I don't have any Break-Free or Liquid Wrench handy, a splash of coke will help loosen the rust.

To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.Coke will make the bumper look better - just keep it off the paint job!!!

New Things At Pac-n-Seal ...

Pac-n-Seal now accepts checks and money orders for all packing & shipping supplies. We have always taken them, but now the option to pay by check or money order is in the shopping cart. At checkout, just select check/money order, print your order and mail it to us. We will get a copy at the time you order and will have it ready to go when your payment arrives.

Discover Card now accepted for all packing , shipping and moving supply orders. Pac-n-Seal can now process Discover credit cards for all orders placed online and on the phone.

New products Coming Soon!

Pac-n-Seal will soon have Hand Held Clam Shell Sealers for sealing clam shell packaging and doing spot sealing on material up to 100 mil thick.

Mail Theft

2005-01-17T08:55:00.000-05:00
There's been an increase in mail theft reports lately, many coming from the western half of the US.

The following are tips to minimize the chances of your mail being the next "victim" of these recent attacks.

Postal customers should always use proper mail theft prevention steps and report any incidents and suspicious activities immediately.

"In the past couple of weeks, we have had several incidents of mail theft/vandalism in our community," said a Postal spokesperson. "The Postal Service takes the theft or destruction of mail very seriously. Postal inspectors hope to catch those responsible for these criminal acts - and to take appropriate legal action."

Postal customers should use the following mail theft prevention steps:

• Pick up your delivered mail from your mailbox as soon as possible.

• Do not leave any mail, especially outgoing letters with checks or payments, in your mailbox overnight.

• Deposit your outgoing mail in a blue collection box before the last pickup time; or give it directly to your letter carrier. (Pickup times are noted on all collection boxes.) Or, if you can, take your outgoing mail directly to the post office and drop it off there.

• Do not drop letters in blue collection boxes at night for pickup the next day, or in an overstuffed box.

• Have the post office hold your mail, or have a relative or neighbor retrieve your mail daily if you, or members of your household, will be away.

• Arrange for checks mailed to you on a regular basis to be deposited directly into your bank or credit union account. If an expected check or other valuable letter is past due, contact the sending agency immediately.

• When you move, fill out a change of address form immediately.

• Report suspicious activity or mail theft immediately to your local post office, local law enforcement agency, and to postal inspectors.

Theft of the mail, or any act having to do with the willful or unlawful possession or destruction of mail is a felony, subject to a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five years imprisonment.

The Postal Inspection Service will pay a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the prosecution and conviction of mail theft.

NEW PRODUCTS AT PAC-N-SEAL -

The AIE-250 Table Press Impulse Sealer - sits on a table or can be hung on the wall. Stainless steel body so it won't rust. Unusual design allows operator to hold bag with 2 hands and simply push the work table to activate unit.

Bulk Packs Of Impulse Sealer Element Wires. 20 packs of impulse sealer element wires so you never get caught short. An excellent alternative to buying element kits and ending up with too many leftover parts you really don't need.

2005-01-15T10:53:00.000-05:00

This doesn't have to do with packing or shipping, but it does invlove the post office and was just too good to resist posting!

Naked woman tells post office patrons to repent

Associated Press
Jan. 14, 2005 08:20 AM

OREM, Utah - A Utah woman attracted plenty of attention when she went to check her mail.

She walked into an Orem post office wearing nothing but boots and her glasses. People in the post office say the naked woman told them to repent.

Police pulled her over as she was driving away and officers say she repeated her message of repentance. The 49-year-old woman was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation.

Holiday Shipping Deadlines Coming Up Fast

2004-12-03T09:20:00.000-05:00
The recommended shipping dates from the post office are coming up quickly - especially the dates for getting packages to our troops overseas.

The Postal Service says if you're planning to send Christmas packages to military personnel, first-class letters and priority mail to APO-FPO addresses with ZIP codes beginning with "093" should be sent by Dec. 6. The deadline for other military ZIP codes is Dec. 11.

Make sure all your packages are done properly using the appropiate materials for the job. Use boxes that have enough room for the item being shipped AND leave enough room for bubble wrap, packing peanuts, crumpled paper or whatever else will privide adequate protection for the journey.

If your shipping a heavier item by Priority Mail, check out the new flat rate boxes that ship anywhere regardless of weight or zone for $7.70. These are good for heavier items going a long distance.

Latest news from Pac-n-Seal ...

New Products ...

Blank Newsprint - Excellent for void filling boxes as well as using for coloring and drawing paper for the kids. Find it here - Blank Newsprint

Cardboard Boxes - We now have a nice selection of boxes for moving and shipping. Check them out here Corrugated Cardboard Boxes

The BIG News ...

We've secured a manufacturer for our poly bags and other plastic products such as poly tubing, zip lock bags, T-Shirt and merchandise bags, vacuum bags and more. They are now available and ready to ship! Find what you need by visiting our homepage located HERE and scrolling through the menu on the left side of every page.

Happy Holidays
From Everyone At
Pac-n-Seal!

Welcome!

2004-11-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time
to check out my latest endeavor!

My name is Steve and I own Pac-n-Seal.com, a packing and shipping supplies company that supplies small individual sellers right up to large corporations with the packaging materials they need to stay in business.

Pac-n-Seal is part of Horizon Trading Company(the parent company) and has been in business since 1999. We are a small family owned business that believes in providing the very best in customer service and being there to answer any questions our customers may have. Every day we receive phone calls and emails from customers and non-customers alike who have various packing & shipping questions and we try to answer all of them as best as we can.

That's what gave me the idea to try this venue as a way of being able to provide assistance to more people by regularly posting different ideas, tips and "how-to" type articles based on questions we receive, new ways of doing things and new products coming to the marketplace.

We encourage readers here to also send us their questions as well. We're experienced in both USPS and UPS shipping as well as using online postage printing.

Email us at blogger@pacnseal.com

Thanks & Happy Selling!

Steve
Pac-n-Seal.com