Materials

The following is a compendium of materials commonly used to wrap, pack and protect art and artifacts. Click on a list item below to visit a detailed article on each material. Ultimately these articles will mature to include photos, typical material applications, case studies, vendor links, and more.

Our goal is to provide you with information on how the materials can be used and how they react, both positive and negatively. Although there may be times when you may have to use a material because it is the only one available to get the job done, and which may not be the most correct option, you need to know the limits of that material.

Within each material article, add comments to help increase our collective knowledge of the benefits and/or problems with the material. You can also visit the Packing Materials and Techniques forum topic to view and participate in discussions on materials.

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The List

Abaca Tissue

Acid-Free Tissue - Unbuffered

Backer Rod

Batting

Blueboard

Brown Paper (Kraft Paper, Butcher Paper)

Bubble Wrap®

Cardboard

Cellulose Wadding

Corrugated Plastic (Coroplast®, Corulite)

Dartek®

Ethafoam™ Polyethylene Foam

Felt

Foam Board, Fomecor®

Gator Foam® and Gator Board®

Glassine

Hollytex

Loose Fill (Extruded Polystyrene Chips, Peanuts, or Pelspan®)

Marvelseal®

Muslin (Cotton fabric)

Nomex®

Packing Blanket

Poly Sheeting - High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

Poly Sheeting - Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

Polyethylene Foams

PolyPlank® Polyethylene Foam

Polypropylene (Propafoam®)

Polypropylene Foam Wrap (Astro-Foam®, Micro-Foam®)

Polypropylene Wrap

Polystyrene, Extruded (XPS)

Polyurethane Foams

Polyurethane Ester Foam

Polyurethane Ether Foam

Quilted Paper (Jiffy Wrap, Custom Wrap)

Stretch Wrap - LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene)

Silicone Release Paper/Mylar

Soft Tyvek®

Teflon® (PTFE - Polytetrafluorethylene)

Tyvek®

Volara® Crosslinked Polyethylene Foam

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