Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap: And the PackWrap Award Goes To…

In addition to cardboard boxes, packing paper and bubble wrap are the packing supplies that are key to making sure your prized possessions arrive intact in your new home.

One thing is clear – no packing job is possible without the protective qualities of those three major packing materials.

To understand better how important they are for the task of packing your things for moving, here’s a head-to-head contest between packing paper and bubble wrap, competing for the BEST PACKING MATERIAL prize.

Packing paper vs Bubble wrap!!!

Want to take a wild guess at which packing, wrapping and padding material will take home that unique packing award? Read on to find out.

Packing paper: Advantages of using packing paper

There’s a reason why packing paper is considered possibly the best packing material for moving. As you’ll see below, there are multiple reasons for that distinction, so you should never doubt the great protective power of white clean wrapping paper.

In reality, the supremacy of packing paper as the ultimate wrapping and padding material can only be rivaled by bubble wrap – the polyethylene film with inflated air-filled bubbles inside that is primarily used for protecting extra-fragile and breakable items by forming a soft airy cushion around those delicate things.

• Soft. Packing paper is soft which basically means that it is gentle on the surfaces that it gets into contact with. In fact, soft packing paper is the recommended packing material for the most delicate belongings in your home such as glass items, fine china, delicate artwork pieces, and even sensitive electronics. High-quality packing paper will not scratch delicate surfaces, or harm them in any other way, so it’s perfectly safe to use as an initial layer of protection.
• Wraps tightly. One great quality of packing paper is that it wraps tightly around items, thus keeping them protected from dust, dirt, scratching and even moisture. In other words, wrapping paper is known to create nice bundles that offer maximum protection for your possessions.
• Takes less space.One of the great advantages of packing paper is that it takes much less space than other bulkier packing supplies such as bubble wrap, towels and various pieces of clothing. This fact alone will enable you to save space in boxes, thus fitting more packed-up items in a single container.

Strong. A single sheet of packing paper looks thin and not very durable, but when a few sheets are used together to make a firm bundle around a fragile item, then the overall strength of the protection is easily multiplied to offer extreme resilience.

• Clean. High-quality packing paper is acid-free and ink-free which basically mean that it will not smudge or stain the surfaces of your more delicate items. Newspapers, on the other hand, can easily leave nasty ink stains on your prized possessions, so make a mental note to use newsprint only on outer layers or as a cushioning and space filling material.
• Eco-friendly. Clean and white packing paper can be easily recycled. Also, it is biodegradable which makes it very environmentally friendly.
• Affordable. One thing that gives an advantage of packing paper over bubble wrap is its affordability. The price of one big pack of clean, white, acid-free and ink-free wrapping paper (200 sheets) is around

As you can see, packing paper has a number of great advantages that cannot be disputed. However, paper cannot compete with the heavy-duty protection of its closest rival – bubble wrap.

Sometimes packing paper can be torn away when it comes to contact with another object with sharper edges. Also, the cushioning effect created by the air-filed bubbles of the plastic wrap remains unmatched as far as raw protection is concerned.