Competetive Quotes Guaranteed For All Your Packaging & Automotive Consumables

After a long two and a half weeks two members of the Alpha team have returned back from a factory sourcing trip to China. Visiting over 10 possible new and some existing suppliers we can now offer you an even more competitive quote for all your packaging and automotive consumables including;

Polythene carrier bags including patch handle, punch handle, drawstring, t-shirt/vest bags, flexiloop and much more, paper carrier and general bags, gift bags, cardboard boxes, grip seal bags, cat litter tray bags, postal bags and packaging, refuse sacks/bin liners, tapes, nylon seat covers, polythene disposable seat covers, paper floor mats, masking film and much more.

Call 01235 511500 or email info@alphapackaging.co.uk for a quote today.

We will be uploading pictures from our recent trip to our facebook page soon, keep checking our blog for details.

Hong Kong here we come......

Two members of the team here at Alpha are sacrificing their much needed bank holidays for a trip to the bright lights of China to visit our factories, it's a hard life!

As well as visiting factories we will also be researching new products for our range at the Hong Kong Gift & Packaging Fair 2011. If you would like us to look out for anything in particular for you including; carrier bags, refuse sacks, compostable bags, seat covers, floor mats etc. feel free to drop us an email at info@alphapackaging.co.uk with a description of the product and quantities so we can create a quote for you on our return. Well.... it saves you a trip!

First destination will be Hong Kong for 5 days, then Qingdao for 2 nights and finally 5 days in Shanghai.

If I don't hear from you before then I look forward to updating you after our trip!



Printed Gift/Mail Bags in stock from only 69p each

Now in stock our gift bow and rose printed gift/mail bags from only 69p each available by the box (100) from our website or in packs of 10 from our ebay shop;

Gift/Mails Bags available on ebay in packs of 10

Gift/Mail Bags available from alpha-store in boxes of 100

Ebay Store

Check out our new look ebay shop created by our in house design team, contact design@alphapackaging.co.uk for brochures, logo, graphic design and any other design work

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Alpha-Packaging

Sainsburys Flamenco Dress

I came across this gorgeous dress on my travels and thought I would share it with you all. Designed by designer Adnan Bayyat by crocheting Sainsbury's carrier bags together to encourage the re-use of carrier bags. This creation took Adnan over a month to make, which is pretty good going, and I hope you'd agree with me when I say not only is it beautifully hand crafted but also stylishly worn by a Sainsbury's employee.

Printed AroFOL & flexiPAK Mail Bags.... LIMITED STOCK AVAILABLE

We have a delivery of Gift Bow and Rose Printed AroFOL & flexiPAK mail bags due in April.

WE ARE TAKING BACK ORDERS FOR THIS PRODUCT NOW, HURRY ONLY LIMITED STOCK AVAILABLE from our website http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/

Ideal for shipping bulky deliveries such as clothing and gifts. Printed with a gift bow or roses makes this the ideal product for sending Birthday, Christmas, Christening, Anniversary and presents for all occasions and ensures safe arrival of your gifts.

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?ID=181

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?ID=183

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?ID=182

25% OFF ALL PACKAGING PRODUCTS THROUGHOUT MARCH!

Take advanatge of our MAD MARCH OFFER and save 25% on all packaging throughout March

Email info@alphapackaging.co.uk for your voucher code today!

This offer applies only to orders made online, orders made using other methods such as via telephone, fax or email will remain at our usual price.

easyFairs® ECOPACK 2011

This years easyFairs® ECOPACK at the Birmingham NEC was well worth a visit. Two members of the Alpha team enjoyed a thoroughly great day out meeting new suppliers, contacts and being inspired by new and innovative products.

We here at Alpha enjoy events like this as it helps broaden our already wide product knowledge and keeps us ahead of the game when it comes new products, especially sustainable products. As a results of this visit we hope to be including many new products within our range, some of which include; interesting mail bag/wrapping paper alternatives, improved compostable bag sizes, a wide range of cardboard boxes including wine and removal boxes, gift packaging, wooden wine boxes, recycled shred fill, printed 'Sale' paper and polythene carrier bags, re-usable/canvas bags and much more, watch this space!    

Printed Tape Promotion

Email info@alphapackaging.co.uk with your logo/artwork to place an order or call 01235 511500.

Plain tapes available to buy online using our website:

www.alphapackaging.co.uk

*All prices exclude VAT (20%).

Price applies to a one colour print white vinyl tape, order quantity as specified.

A £40 one off origination cost will also apply.

Trade Tolerance on quantity +/- 10%. All prices are those ruling on date of despatch and subject to raw material being available and subject to conditions of sale, available of request.

Delivery is FREE to all orders over £100 (otherwise charged at £9.99)

Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas & New Year!

Board Grades For Cardboard Boxes ... explained

Please see below a guide when considering the grade of board required for your cardboard boxes, be it for a moving box, wine box, transporter carton .....

For B or C Flute Single Wall Boxes:

125 KT = 5 KG
150 KT = 10 KG
200 KT = 15 KG
200K/300T = 20 KG

For BC or EB Flute Double Wall Boxes:

125 KT = 15 KG
150 KT = 20 KG
200 KT = 30 KG
200K/300T = 35 KG

For more information or if you would prefer us to work out the best box for you please contact us direct using our online form: http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/design.aspx or email us info@alphapackaging.co.uk alternatively give us a call on 01235 511500

Cardboard Box Fluting .... important information when ordering boxes online

Fluting is the corruagted cardboard that has been sandwiched between the two outer layers of cardboard. There are various different types of fluting and all determine the compression, crush, strength, printability and storage space required of your box. See below for different Flutes:

E Flute - The board thickness is usually 1.2mm giving excellent crush resistance and printability.

B Flute - The board thickness is usually 3mm this is the most commonly used flute as it gives all round compression strength, compactness, printability and cost effectiveness.

C Flute - The board thickness is usually 4mm and is a larger flute than B but can be more easily crushed.

BC Flute (double wall) - The board thickness is usually 7mm and is a combination of flutes B and C giving good compression and stacking strength.

EB Flute (double wall) - The board thickness is usually 4.2mm giving good strength and printability but taking up less storage space than BC.

Cardboard Boxes Explained

There are so many factors that need to be considered when quoting for a box. It's suprising isn't it, most people think a box is just a box but there are many things that make up the perfect box to suit a particular product. To make life a little easier we have written a brief guide to help you create the perfect box, enjoy!

1. Decide on the colour of your board, the most common colour box is the plain brown cardboard box.
2. Decide if you want your boxes to be printed or plain. Printed boxes incurr additional costs for the stereos/printing plates but this is usually a one off charge and if you carry on using the same supplier these can be used again and again. It also helps to have your design ready and know how many sides of the box you would like it printed on.
3. Know the three internal dimensions of your box. Cardboard boxes are measured in length, width and height (also called depth).
4. You then need to decide on your board type, there are two types of board types to consider these are corrugated or solid board. The thickness of the solid board is measured by microns, ie. 1000 microns = 1mm thickness. Corrugated boards are a bit more complicated please see below:
5. Corrugated boards have a layer of fluting which resist crushing under compression and gives cushioning protection to the box's contents, therefore making it a stronger and thicker box. These type of boxes come in Single Wall or Double Wall, the Double Wall being thicker as it has an additional layer of Fluting.
6. The Fluting refers to the type of corrugation that has been sandwiched between the two outer layers of the cardboard. There are many different types of flutes the main types being: E, B, C, BC and EB - for definition of these please see our next blog article.
7. The next and final decision is to decide on the Board Grade. When deciding on your board grade this really just comes down to the weight of the product your box needs to support. This is measured in grams and can be a content mix of new and recyled wood fibre Kraft paper ('K') or Test paper ('T'). Kraft paper being of a better quality than Test paper. Please see our next blog article for Grades best suited to different Content Weights.

To order your removal boxes, wine boxes or any type of boxes online please see our website http://www.alphapackaging.co.uk/ or contact us direct for a quote using our bespoke order form http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/design.aspx

Eco-Friendly Packaging - do you really know the difference?

So many people ask us if our bags are degradable which of course the majority of them are, even our printed bags! 'But'.... we wonder 'is everyone truly aware of the many different eco-friendly packaging solutions available and what they all mean?'. Therefore please see below a brief description to explain in more detail;

Degradable plastics are not compostable. Most of the products using the label Degradable plastic, degrade as result of physical and chemical impact (fracture into smaller pieces of plastic). They are oil based products with special additives that assist their 'fragmentation'. Biological activity is not a significant part of the degradation of these products, or the process is too slow to earn the classification Biodegradable or Compostable (the biological degradation will typically take many years).

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=52

Compostable means the degradation must meet certain specified criteria such as rate biodegradation, maximum residue of material left at a specific point in time and a requirement for the material to have no harmful impact on the final compost or the composting process. All compostable plastic is therefore also biodegradable.

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=51

Recycled means that the bags can be recycled at certain 'plastic bag' recycling collection points (often found at supermarkets), and then be sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing.

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=54

Re-Usable often refers to fabric based products/bags such as hemp, jute, canvas, hessian etc. These products last almost a life time but can be re-used more than your average polythene carrier bag.

http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=50

(Sources include South Devon District Council)

Great carrier bag design link!

Check out this link for great carrier bag design ideas! - if you want something similar contact our design team today design@alphapackaging.co.uk
http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/04/01/clever-and-creative-shopping-bag-designs/

Packaging Products from cardboard boxes, paper and polythene carrier bags and much more .... order online today www.alphapackaging.co.uk

After months of hard work by Alpha's design team and web company Blue Buffalo our new website is now finally live! Check us out at www.alphapackaging.co.uk email info@alphapackaging.co.uk with any feedback or for any further information.

We sell a wide range of packaging and automotive products to Industry, Automotive and Retail and have done since 1978 therefore we have a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the packaging industry to assist you. Our product list includes; cardboard boxes, removal boxes, wine boxes, paper and carrier bags, postal/mail bags, a wide selection of tapes, bio-degradable, compostable and recycled products, protective packaging such as bubble wrap, refuse sacks to car seat covers, floor mats etc. Check us out online for more products!