Comments on: No more bubble envelopes

By: Christophe Horguelin

Christophe Horguelin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:49:28 +0000

Can anyone name a few brands of strong-paper or cardboard envelopes available in eastern Canada? I cannot find any at regular outlets in Montreal. I work for a publisher — please help make a difference.

By: Zachariah Wells

Zachariah Wells — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:14:03 +0000

I really don’t think we should adopt practices that might lead to increased cultivation of corn.

By: Alex Good

Alex Good — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:55:07 +0000

Mary,

Tribbles are furry and cute, but they multiply like coat hangers on viagra and before you know it they’re everywhere, spilling out of closets, covering table-tops, etc. Like all of these bubbly envelopes.

By: Rob in Victoria

Rob in Victoria — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:51:53 +0000

Hey, if you’re gonna go off on a quixotic quest, the windmills might as well be padded…

By: Mary Soderstrom

Mary Soderstrom — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:18:18 +0000

Enlighten me, please. What’s a tribble envelope? Tribbles, Wikipedia tells me, were little furry creatures on Star Trek. But padding envelopes?

Actually the neatest packing materiial (not to be used for book though) is the unbuttered popcorn that my sister used to use to stuff Christmas parcels with. Pretty stale by the time the box made its way from Vancouver to Montreal, but the dog throught it was great.

Mary

By: Dummy Blogger

Dummy Blogger — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:45:30 +0000

Computer: Is there any chance that tribbles will be recyclable in the near future? I’ve always wondered why they can’t make the list.

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:07:45 +0000

My tribble envelopes come from page proofs rather than review copies – even less likely to break when being couriered. A simple paper envelope would suffice, but I have mounds of unrecyclable bubble envelopes instead.

The funny thing is, over half of them have been recycled by the publisher and passed on to me. Since, in many cases, I don’t have to send back page proofs (oh, lovely PDF technology!), I am where the bubble envelope stops.

I wonder if there’s any way to make cat toys or origami art out of them…? Hm.

By: Zachariah Wells

Zachariah Wells — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:08:03 +0000

I only re-use the Tribbles from my never-shrinking pile when I send out books. I also use them as padding for truly breakable things when I move.

One thing that Canada Post should do is revise their weight/volume charging so that it is actually cheaper to send two things in one envelope instead of two. There’s actually a significant financial penalty to the sender when you put two books in a single envelope. How does that make any sense?

By: patricia

patricia — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:00:46 +0000

When I send books out, I only ever use a good quality cardboard envelope. I’ve never had any complaints!

Love the Tribble reference…

By: Ami McKay

Ami McKay — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:24:44 +0000

“And so we�re asking � pleading, really � that publishers switch to using strong paper or cardboard envelopes for review and sample copies. Most warehouses do this already. It�s the most sensible, economic, and eco-friendly thing to do.”

I have my own bubble-envelope/tribble pile in my studio. I reuse them occasionally, but they add up over time – and the problem with where they will eventually find their end is a big concern. I switched to heavy paper and cardboard envelopes a couple of years ago and no one has ever complained about books, manuscripts etc. being damaged.

Add my voice to the chorus…
No more bubble envelopes!
A.