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Box dimensions are always inside dimensions -- unless
otherwise noted.
Box dimensions are given in a specific order. If you accidently
give the dimensions in a different order, you'll get a different
box. The size is always given in the
order ....... ( Length x Width x Height )
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The first dimension is the length.
Length is always the longer dimension of
the opening of the box.
The second dimension is the width. Width
is always the shorter dimension of the opening of
the box.
The third dimension is the height. Height
is always the vertical height of the box as you
look down into the open box.
(We never use the word "depth" because that word
has several meanings.)
Notice how nicely the naming process clears up a
potentially confusing situation. |
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| Strength of a Box |
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Don't overload your boxes. If you do, the
boxes will get broken easily and the stuff inside
tends to get broken.
Most boxes will tell you their weight capacity.
On the bottom of most boxes is a round, official
looking design called a "box makers seal." One of the lines in the seal (in
this case, the bottom line inside the circle) will
say "Gross Wt Lt" meaning "Gross Weight Limit" |
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| A standard box is rated to hold 65
pounds in ordinary shipping by "common carrier"
-- ie it has a "gross weight" rating of 65 pounds.
Box ratings as low as 35 pounds and as high
as 120 pounds are common. Boxes loaded above the
"Gross Wt LT" will tend to get damaged very easily.
Legally, a shipper can refuse to pay a damage
claim if a damaged box was loaded beyond it's capacity. |
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UPS is trying to introduce a name for
the kind of environment they subject boxes to.
They call it "parcel service". In "parcel
service" boxes are handled singly and sorted several
times as they are routed to individual addresses.
This is a much tougher environment than ordinary
freight where boxes sit quietly stacked on a pallet
for an entire trip.
On its website UPS presents formal (and pretty
much unreadable) tables for maximum box loads.
The bottom line is, boxes used in "parcel service"
should be loaded to less than 50% of their rated
weight capacity. We should add that, in eleven years
of handling parcels, we too have seen the need to
reduce the load in boxes. The UPS recommended levels
seem to us to be about right.
Our experience (in dry San Diego) has been that,
in the process of moving, it is safe to load moving
boxes right up to their printed load limits.
But do not exceed that limit! |
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| You
can correct overloading by either: |
| Getting
a stronger box: |
This
may require purchase of expensive, custom
boxes.
You will still have the problem of lifting
a large, heavy box.
Second, if you are packing fragile items,
the weight resting on the bottom item may
be excessive. |
| Dividing
the load into several smaller boxes: |
This usually
requires less expensive boxes if the load
can, indeed, be subdivided.
On the other hand, shipping multiple boxes
via a parcel service may cost more. |
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| We sell a few sizes of heavy duty boxes. |
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| Construction Material |
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It's important to be specific about the construction
of any box you buy. Saying "paper box" or
"cardboard box" doesn't tell the seller enough.
Shipping boxes are made of a paper material called
"corrugated" or "corrugated paper". A cross
section of some corrugated is shown. |
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| The material pictured at the top of
the drawing is called "single wall corrugated".
The vast majority of all boxes are made of
single wall corrugated. The lower sketch
shows a material called "doublewall corrugated"
which is usually much stronger than the "singlewall"
material described first. |
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Strength of single wall corrugated
(or double wall) varies a lot depending on the materials
used in construction. It's a bit more detail than
needed on a web page, but we can go over this sort
of stuff at our store in San Diego. There also exists
"triplewall corrugated". This material is
frequently designed to meet military specs.
It is usually treated for extreme strength and moisture
resistance. This makes it incredibly strong
-- and incredibly expensive. If you feel
you need triple wall strength, it might be easier
to purchase crates, instead.
Many store display boxes are made of a material
called "chipboard". These are called "display boxes"
or "chipboard boxes". The construction material
is simply a thick single layer of paper -- typically,
1/32 inch thick. Chipboard makes a good box
for in-store use, but it is not strong at all.
Never ship anything more fragile than a shirt in
a chipboard box. We do not sell chip board
boxes. If you need a fancy display box, try
an internet search under "display packaging" or
"gift boxes" instead of "shipping boxes". |