RETURNS GUIDE
A return mailer is judged on two trips, not one. The outbound parcel has to travel, and the same bag has to come back, be opened and close again — or be re-packed on the returns bench. This walks through the format and the parameters that decide whether it works on your line: gusset depth, strip position, paper construction, printing and closure.
Before choosing a format, record what actually comes back. In apparel a returned item is often not the same volume as the item that went out: a garment comes back folded differently, inside a poly bag, or together with several items in one return. The outbound parcel and the return parcel are two different size problems.
So the first decision is not the bag, it is the range. If returns are mostly single garments, a flatter format is usually enough. If returns arrive as several items at once, the expandable volume is what gets reviewed.
An expandable mailer carries an extra fold or side gusset that opens when the parcel is filled. The parameter to settle is depth: how far the bag has to open for the return item, and how flat it stays when it is nearly empty.
Depth is judged against the returns, not the outbound item. Measure a typical returned parcel — the folded garment plus any inner bag — and treat that as the working volume.
A dual-strip mailer carries two closure lines. The first seals the outbound parcel; the second is used on the way back, once the first line has been opened.
Worth settling with any supplier: the position of the second strip against the flap, whether a release liner covers it, and how it behaves after the parcel has been through the postal or courier network. These are sample-stage questions, not paperwork questions.
Two closure lines change what happens at both ends of the trip. On the outbound bench the operator seals once; on the returns bench the parcel is opened along the first line and closed on the second.
Where returns are handled in volume, the sequence matters: whether the parcel is opened by hand, whether the item is checked before the second seal, and whether a clear area is left for a return address label.
The constructions used for this format are paper-based: a kraft outer with the closure strips on the flap, and for padded formats a paper cushioning layer inside. These papers go into the paper recycling stream.
If the format carries a coating, treat the coating as an option to be confirmed rather than a default. Ask which parts of the mailer are paper and which are not, and record the answer before ordering.
These are the points that decide whether the format runs on your line. None of them can be read off a catalogue page — they follow from the parcel you send and the parcel you get back.
Send the outbound item, a typical returned parcel, the sizes you work with, the printing requirement, the closure method, the quantity and the destination. We will review the format against your actual parcels and confirm the specification against a sample; specifications and commercial terms are confirmed for each inquiry.
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Send the dimensions of the outbound item and of a typical returned parcel, the sizes you work with, the printing and closure requirements, the quantity and the destination. We will review the format against your own packing and returns process.