Custom Literature Mailer
Printed material is expensive to produce and almost worthless once it is bent. A catalog with a creased cover, a brochure with dog eared corners, a sales pack that arrived looking secondhand. All of that undermines the money spent on printing it in the first place. We produce a lot of literature mailer work at ZEE Packaging and keeping flat material flat is the entire brief.
Flat Material Fails Predictably
A literature mailer has to prevent a specific set of problems.
- Corner bending, which is by far the most common damage
- Creasing across the middle where a parcel flexes in transit
- Cover scuffing when printed sheets slide against board
- Moisture, which ripples paper permanently
- Curling when a stack sits without proper support
- Puncture through a thin single wall panel
Most damage we see in a literature mailer is caused by flexing rather than crushing.
Rigidity Beats Padding
This is the point most people get backwards.
- A stiff mailer that cannot bend protects better than a padded one
- Padding still allows the contents to flex inside
- A wrap around format folds to the exact thickness with no void
- Void space is what lets material shift and crease
- A rigid backing board stops the whole parcel bowing
- Snug beats soft in almost every case here
- Wrap around style the most efficient literature mailer
- Stiffened flat envelope for thinner documents
- Corrugated flat box for heavier catalogs and multiple copies
- Peel and seal format no tape needed at the bench
- Presentation folder mailer sales packs and proposals
- Book wrap with a tear strip easy opening for the recipient
Sizes We Print Regular
Every literature mailer is built to your printed material, though these run often:
- 9" x 12" for A4 documents and catalogs
- 8.5" x 11" for US letter format
- 6" x 9" for smaller booklets
- 12" x 15" for oversized brochures
- 9" x 12" x 1.5" for a thicker sales pack
- 11" x 14" for presentation folders
Measure the full stack rather than a single item, since covers and inserts add more thickness than people expect.
Board And Print
- E flute corrugated for a rigid single copy format
- B flute where multiple copies ship together
- 24pt card stock for thinner stiffened envelopes
- Kraft corrugated for a plain cost effective outer
- White corrugated where you want print on the mailer
- One color flexo, the cheapest branded route
Printing the outside is worth considering on a trade send. A branded literature mailer gets opened first when a buyer has a pile of post on the desk.
Materials Worth Selecting
- Recycled corrugated, standard across these grades
- FSC certified board, certificate available on request
- Soy based ink through the whole run
- Paper based peel and seal adhesive
- No plastic film, so the whole thing recycles curbside
- Wrap around formats, which use less material than a box plus filler
What Happens On Your Order
- 100 unit minimum, which suits a single mailing campaign
- Free 3D mockup and flat proof before anything prints
- Free dieline drawn by our own designer
- Physical sample on request to test with your actual literature
- Urgent turnaround at 5 to 8 business days
- Free shipping worldwide with nothing hidden
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a literature mailer?
Rough estimate is $0.35 to $0.90 per unit for a wrap around format, $0.55 to $1.40 for a stiffened flat box and $0.90 to $2.20 for larger sizes at moderate quantity. Size moves it. Shipping is included in our price. This is estimate only, so ask our team for a exact quote.
Wrap around or a flat box?
Wrap around for single items, since it folds to the exact thickness with no void. A flat box suits multiple copies better.
How do we stop corner damage?
Remove the void entirely. A snug fit protects far better than padding, which still lets material shift inside.
Do we need a backing board?
On anything A4 or larger, yes. It stops the parcel bowing across the middle, which is where creases begin.
Will it fit a letter rate?
That depends on your carrier's thickness limit. Send us the rate you are targeting and we build to stay inside it.
Can it be printed outside?
Yes, and for a trade mailing it helps. A branded mailer stands out in a stack of plain post.
Does peel and seal need tape?
No, which saves time at the bench. We can supply a paper based adhesive if plastic free matters to you.
