Both suspension along with air cushioning are two forms of packaging that are good if you don’t want to use packing peanuts or other materials. 

But which one is better? What’s the ideal option if you’re looking to use this, and why should one or the other be used? 

Here, we’ll give you some information, and also give you some cool tips to really get the best out of the packaging that you use. 

Suspension Packaging 

This is where you put items within inserts, and they’re suspended. Usually, a film is put around this item, so it stays in one place. The combination of both suspension and retention are great for protecting items from this damage, and also offers space between these items and the packaging edges. 

This is very popular for ecommerce markets, especially when products are usually more fragile. There are also a lot of benefits that come with this, rather than just safety. 

Suspension packaging odes offer the following benefits: 

• They’re simple, so you can pretty much put anything in there, and it’s the ideal solution for all packaging 
• They are great because you don’t need to buy a whole bunch of machinery just to make this work. It doesn’t require as much expense, or training either. 
• They’re affordable, and usually don’t require a whole lot of expensive foam to do this. it’s also very easy to store the items 
• It’s cleaner too, so you’re not having to worry about getting stuff everywhere. That means less of a mess, and customers will be far less upset when they are able to easily get their items out. 
• Finally, cardboard is more sustainable, and it does give it the edge.  It also uses far less materials, which does amplify this 

Air Pillows 

Air pillows are becoming a lot more common as a replacement when you compare this to packaging peanuts. 

They’re essentially little rolls of plastic that’s flat, with little pockets within. You inflate this, and air is there. it then is sealed, cushioning these items so that it doesn’t jostle about when it’s there. 

The very common in ecommerce because it’s good for holding those more delicate items that are out there, giving it a stuck palace to sit while being transported. 

It also is much cheaper than other types of packaging options that come with this, and there are a lot of great options for your to enjoy.  If you’re someone looking to save money, then you’ll want to look at this. 

The benefits of air pillows are as follows: 

• They’re lightweight, so if you’re shipping stuff that has a bit of extra weight, you can reduce your expenses this way, making this far more affordable for the business, and for the customers that are getting the items as well. 
• They’re affordable, and usually are much cheaper than even foam packaging, or packaging peanuts as well. 
• They’re compact, so along with saving money on this shipping, it also saves a lot of warehouse space.  This is something that starts out initially as a plastic roll, so it takes up far less space. 
• They also are good as well for eco friendliness. Foam peanuts along the like are usually not.  Not only that, but this is also pretty clean too, and air pillows are less obtrusive. 

Both of these packaging types are great, but when to use them is dependent on the needs. 

In general, use suspension packaging when you want to minimize damage risk. Air pillows are good for products that are lightweight, and also don’t take up a ton of packaging space either.