Honeycomb Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap: Benefits, Cost & Use Cases

Honeycomb Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap: Understanding Your Protective Packaging Options

Selecting appropriate protective packaging directly influences product safety, customer satisfaction, and operational costs. Two materials dominate the protective packaging landscape: honeycomb packing paper and bubble wrap. Each offers distinct advantages for specific applications, and understanding these differences enables businesses to optimise packaging strategies while controlling costs.

Honeycomb packing paper represents a paper-based solution that unfolds into a distinctive three-dimensional honeycomb structure. Bubble wrap delivers protection through air-filled plastic bubbles that absorb impacts and prevent surface damage. The choice between these materials affects environmental credentials, storage space requirements, and long-term packaging budgets.

What Is Honeycomb Packing Paper?

Honeycomb packing paper possesses a remarkably intricate pattern that emerges as the material unfolds, forming a distinctive honeycomb surface reminiscent of natural beehive structures. This geometric design creates three-dimensional cushioning through paper rather than plastic, delivering protective performance while maintaining complete recyclability.

The material's lightweight, flexible design adapts seamlessly to a wide range of shapes and sizes, making it incredibly easy to use for protection and void-fill applications. Unlike rigid materials, honeycomb paper moulds around products, filling irregular spaces and providing cushioning at multiple contact points simultaneously.

Honeycomb paper rolls are available in two primary widths: 380mm and 400mm. Roll lengths vary from compact 30M options suitable for smaller operations to substantial 250M rolls designed for high-volume fulfilment centres. The 400mm x 250M rolls expand to approximately 420M when fully extended, demonstrating the material's space-efficient compressed format.

Specialised honeycomb bottle packing sleeves provide targeted protection for cylindrical items. These expandable sleeves offer flexible yet sturdy protection for bottles, jars, and similar products, eliminating excess wrapping while ensuring secure transit.

The environmental credentials align with growing consumer expectations for sustainable packaging. Manufactured from paper, the material integrates seamlessly with standard recycling infrastructure, allowing recipients to dispose of packaging through regular household paper recycling collections.

What Is Bubble Wrap?

Bubble wrap consists of plastic film containing regularly spaced air-filled bubbles that provide cushioning through shock absorption. When impacts occur during transit, the air-filled bubbles compress, dissipating force and preventing damage to wrapped items.

Two primary bubble sizes address different protective requirements. Small bubble wrap features 10mm-diameter bubbles, suitable for everyday items and products requiring standard cushioning. Small bubble wrap is available in rolls ranging from 10M to 100M, with 100M being the most common for high-volume operations. It is available in seven width options: 300mm, 500mm, 600mm, 750mm, 1000mm, 1200mm, and 1500mm.

Large bubble wrap incorporates bubbles 20mm in diameter—double the size of small bubbles. This increased bubble size provides greater thickness and cushioning performance, ideal for furniture, televisions, and products that require substantial impact protection. Large bubble wrap typically comes in 50M rolls across the same width range.

Modern environmental concerns have driven innovation in bubble wrap formulations. Biodegradable bubble wrap manufactured from recycled, 100% recyclable Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) delivers equivalent cushioning performance while offering improved end-of-life disposal options. Available in 75M rolls in 400mm or 500mm widths, these variants are clearly labelled to communicate environmental credentials.

Paper bubble wrap represents an alternative approach, combining paper construction with protective performance comparable to traditional bubble wrap. Fully biodegradable and compostable, paper bubble wrap is available in rolls of 10M or 70M length in 500mm and 750mm widths.

Key Benefits Comparison

Environmental Impact

Honeycomb packing paper delivers superior environmental performance through its paper-based composition and complete recyclability. Recipients dispose of honeycomb paper through standard household paper recycling, and the material biodegrades naturally without leaving persistent plastic pollution.

Traditional bubble wrap poses environmental challenges due to its plastic composition, though modern biodegradable variants significantly improve sustainability. Biodegradable bubble wrap maintains protective performance while offering recyclability through plastic film collection points. Paper bubble wrap alternatives eliminate plastic entirely, providing bubble-like protection through a biodegradable, compostable paper construction.

Protection Performance

Both materials provide effective cushioning through different mechanisms. Bubble wrap excels at absorbing direct impacts through its air-filled chambers, distributing force across the wrapped surface. This makes bubble wrap particularly effective for fragile items susceptible to point-pressure damage, such as electronics, glassware, or items with protruding components.

Honeycomb paper delivers protection through its three-dimensional geometric structure, which compresses under pressure while maintaining integrity. For moderately fragile items, general merchandise, and applications that require void fill alongside surface protection, honeycomb paper performs admirably while offering environmental benefits.

Storage & Handling

Honeycomb paper's compressed format delivers substantial storage efficiency advantages. The material ships and stores flat, expanding only during use. This space-efficient characteristic reduces warehouse storage requirements and inbound shipping costs compared to pre-formed bubble wrap rolls.

Bubble wrap requires storage space proportional to its protective capacity, as the air-filled bubbles occupy volume even before use. However, the material's lightweight nature simplifies handling, and the familiar format requires minimal training for packing staff.

Cost Analysis: Honeycomb Paper vs Bubble Wrap

Protective packaging costs include the purchase price of materials, storage expenses, handling labour, and disposal considerations. Understanding these factors enables an accurate comparison of total costs.

Honeycomb paper pricing is based on roll length and quantity ordered. Smaller 30M rolls suit businesses with modest packaging volumes or those testing the material. Standard 250M rolls deliver better per-metre value for established operations, with bulk purchases of multiple rolls (2, 5, 10, 20, or 50) providing incremental savings through volume-based pricing.

Bubble wrap pricing varies by bubble size, roll width, and length. Small bubble wrap's 100M standard length delivers approximately twice the linear coverage of large bubble wrap's 50M rolls at comparable pricing. Width selection impacts both coverage efficiency and waste—selecting appropriate widths reduces offcut waste and improves material utilisation.

Long-term value considerations extend beyond unit pricing. Honeycomb paper's storage efficiency reduces warehouse costs for space-constrained facilities. Bubble wrap's established infrastructure and proven protective performance reduce operational risks, minimising damage-related costs through returns and refunds.

Best Use Cases for Honeycomb Packing Paper

Honeycomb packing paper excels in applications where environmental credentials, flexibility, and void fill capabilities align with business requirements.

Bottle and glassware protection represents a primary application, particularly through specialised expandable sleeves. These sleeves provide flexible yet sturdy protection for cylindrical products, conforming to bottle contours while cushioning against impacts. Wine retailers, beverage companies, and businesses shipping jars benefit from this targeted protection format.

Eco-conscious brands prioritising sustainability find honeycomb paper's environmental credentials valuable for brand alignment. The paper-based material's recyclability and biodegradability support marketing messages about environmental responsibility, while its distinctive kraft aesthetic reinforces a natural or organic positioning during unboxing.

Void-fill applications leverage honeycomb paper's ability to fill irregular spaces within packaging while providing cushioning. The material's flexibility allows it to conform to available space, preventing product movement without requiring precision cutting. Mixed-item shipments particularly benefit from honeycomb paper's adaptable void fill properties.

Best Use Cases for Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrap remains the optimal choice for applications demanding maximum impact absorption and proven protective performance.

High-impact protection needs such as electronics, cameras, precision instruments, or products with delicate components benefit from bubble wrap's superior shock absorption. The air-filled bubbles distribute impact forces effectively, protecting items from drops, compressions, and rough handling common in logistics networks.

Electronics and fragile items with screens, circuit boards, glass components, or sensitive mechanisms require the proven protective performance of bubble wrap. Large bubble wrap suits heavier electronics or items requiring substantial cushioning thickness.

Different bubble sizes address varying protection requirements. Small bubble wrap provides adequate cushioning for lightweight, fragile items, jewellery, small electronics, and ornaments. Large bubble wrap delivers enhanced protection for furniture, large appliances, artwork, mirrors, and items where bubble thickness contributes meaningfully to impact resistance.

Side-by-Side Comparison: Honeycomb Paper vs Bubble Wrap

Stock Your Business with Quality Protective Packaging from Globe Packaging

Globe Packaging maintains a comprehensive stock across all major protective packaging categories, positioning us as one of the UK's leading distributors of bubble wrap while offering extensive honeycomb paper options. This dual expertise ensures businesses have access to appropriate materials for diverse protective requirements without compromising on quality, availability, or service responsiveness.

Our bubble wrap inventory spans both small-bubble (10mm diameter) and large-bubble (20mm diameter) formats, with seven widths ranging from 300mm to 1500mm. Small bubble wrap is available in 10M, 20M, 50M, and 100M roll lengths, with 100M being the most common for high-volume operations, while large bubble wrap comes in 50M rolls. 

We also stock biodegradable bubble wrap (75M rolls in 400mm or 500mm widths) and paper bubble wrap (10M or 70M rolls in 500mm and 750mm widths) for environmentally conscious operations.

Honeycomb paper is available in both 380mm and 400mm widths, with lengths from 30M through to 250M, and in bulk quantities as multi-roll packs (2, 5, 10, 20, or 50 rolls) for high-volume users. Specialised honeycomb bottle sleeves provide targeted protection for cylindrical items in different sizes.

Our same-day dispatch service applies to all orders placed by 4 pm, with next-day delivery available across mainland UK. This responsive fulfilment supports tight packing schedules, enabling businesses to maintain optimal stock levels without dedicating excessive warehouse space to protective packaging inventory.

Beyond product supply, our packaging specialists provide expert guidance on material selection, helping businesses identify the most appropriate protective solutions for specific products, operational constraints, and budget parameters.

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*Note: Prices shown are approximate and subject to change. Contact Globe Packaging for the latest information.