Short answer: bubble wrap is usually the stronger choice for heavy, very fragile or awkwardly shaped items, for parcels that may get damp, and when you want a single material that both wraps and fills space. Honeycomb paper suits lighter fragile items such as bottles, jars, cosmetics, candles and gifts, especially when you want a paper-based look, a neat unboxing and a wrap your customers can put in paper or card recycling depending on local arrangements. Many businesses use both: honeycomb paper for presentation and light items, bubble wrap for heavier or higher-risk orders.
The rest of this guide explains how each material works, compares them on the factors that matter to a packing bench, covers cost per item, packing speed and storage, and gives a simple way to decide product by product. Product details refer to the honeycomb paper and bubble wrap Pack Solution currently stocks.
Contents
- How each material protects
- Comparison table
- When honeycomb paper is the better choice
- When bubble wrap is the better choice
- How to use each one well
- Comparing cost per item wrapped
- Packing speed, training and storage
- Switching from one wrap to the other
- Disposal and recycling in the UK
- A simple decision process
- Questions buyers ask
How each material protects
Bubble wrap
Bubble wrap is plastic film with trapped air bubbles. When the parcel is knocked, the bubbles compress and spread the force, which reduces the shock that reaches the item. The film also resists moisture and does not tear easily. Bubble size matters:
- Small bubbles wrap closely around small and curved items. Our small bubble wrap has 10mm bubbles, on 100m rolls in 300mm and 500mm widths. We also stock Jiffy Mono Bubbles, a branded 10mm bubble wrap in the same two widths.
- Large bubbles give more cushioning and fill space around bulky or heavy items. Our large bubble wrap has 25mm bubbles, on 50m rolls in 300mm and 500mm widths.
Honeycomb paper
Honeycomb paper is slit paper that opens into a three-dimensional honeycomb pattern when it is stretched. The open cells give it thickness and some cushioning, and the cells interlock when the paper is wrapped around itself, so it often holds in place without much tape. Our honeycomb paper is 80gsm paper on 250m rolls, in 395mm and 500mm widths. The product needs to be stretched fully as you wrap so the cells open; unstretched, it is just flat paper.
Paper weight (gsm, grams per square metre) describes how heavy the paper is. It is one specification, not a direct measure of how much protection the wrap gives. Protection depends on how many layers you use, how fully the cells are opened, and how well the box is filled.
Honeycomb paper vs bubble wrap: comparison table
The table compares general characteristics. Results depend heavily on the item, the number of layers and the rest of the packing.
| Factor | Honeycomb paper | Bubble wrap |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Paper | Plastic film |
| Cushioning for heavy items | Moderate; better for light to medium items | Good, especially with large bubbles |
| Wrapping small curved items | Good; conforms well when stretched | Good with small bubbles |
| Moisture | Paper weakens when wet | Water-resistant film |
| Fills empty space | Limited; best as a wrap | Large bubbles help fill space |
| Tape needed to close wrap | Often less; the cells grip each other | Usually a strip of tape |
| Look and feel on unboxing | Paper appearance many brands prefer | Functional appearance |
| Reuse by the customer | Sometimes, if not torn | Often reused |
| Disposal | Paper or card streams, depending on paper type and local rules | Plastic film collection points, kerbside film collection in England from 31 March 2027 |
When honeycomb paper is the better choice
- Light to medium fragile items. Glass bottles, cosmetic jars, perfume, candles, small ceramics and gift items wrap neatly in a few layers of honeycomb paper.
- Brand presentation. If your packaging is otherwise paper and cardboard, honeycomb paper keeps the look consistent. Customers who prefer paper inside parcels often notice.
- All-paper parcels. Combined with a cardboard box and paper tape such as our kraft paper tape, honeycomb paper lets you send a parcel without plastic packaging inside.
- Bottle-shaped products. The narrower 395mm roll suits bottles and jars, and the wrap holds its shape around a cylinder.
- Quick wrapping without tape. Because the cells interlock, you can often finish a wrap by tucking the end in.
Limitations of honeycomb paper
- It is less suited to heavy items, where the paper cells may crush before the shock is absorbed. Use more layers, combine it with other cushioning, or choose bubble wrap.
- It weakens if it gets wet. Keep rolls dry in storage and avoid it for parcels likely to be exposed to damp.
- It does not fill large voids on its own. You will still need void fill such as kraft paper or packing peanuts.
- It must be stretched properly. Staff need a few minutes of practice to open the cells consistently.
When bubble wrap is the better choice
- Heavy fragile items. Cast iron, heavy glass, stoneware and electronics with weight benefit from the cushioning of air bubbles, particularly 25mm bubbles.
- Very fragile or high-value items. Where a breakage is costly, bubble wrap's consistent cushioning gives more margin.
- Awkward shapes. Items with protrusions, legs or sharp corners can be padded with extra layers or wads of bubble wrap.
- Damp conditions. House moves, storage in garages or parcels that may sit outside benefit from a water-resistant wrap.
- Wrapping and filling in one. Large-bubble wrap can both wrap an item and fill gaps in the box.
Limitations of bubble wrap
- It is plastic, which some customers prefer to avoid, and its disposal routes are more limited than paper's at present (see below).
- It takes more storage space per roll for its length, especially large-bubble rolls.
- Its appearance is functional rather than decorative, which may matter for premium unboxing.
How to use each one well
Using honeycomb paper
- Pull a length off the roll and stretch it so the honeycomb cells open fully. Stretch it evenly along the whole length.
- Start wrapping with the item at one end and roll it along, so the paper layers build up.
- Use enough layers to cover the item completely, with extra around rims, corners and other weak points.
- Tuck or twist the ends. The interlocking cells usually hold, and a short strip of paper tape secures it if needed.
- Place the wrapped item in a box with cushioning under, around and above it, and fill any gaps so it cannot move.
Using bubble wrap
- Cut a length that wraps the item two or three times with overlap at the ends. Adjust for the item's weight and fragility.
- Wrap weak points such as handles and spouts first with a small separate piece.
- Wrap the whole item, covering the top and bottom, with the bubbles facing the item.
- Tape the wrap closed so it cannot unroll.
- Pack in a box with a cushioning layer in the base and on top, and fill the remaining space.
Whichever wrap you choose, the box still matters. Choose a box that leaves space for cushioning on all sides, and for heavier fragile items use double wall boxes. Our guide to packing ceramics and glassware covers the full method.
A worked example: one product, two setups
This example is illustrative and uses assumed sizes; test with your own products.
A small skincare brand posts a 100ml glass bottle in a small single wall box. It tries two setups:
- Setup A, honeycomb paper: the bottle is wrapped in several layers of stretched honeycomb paper from the 395mm roll, placed in the box with crumpled kraft paper below and above, and the box is sealed with paper tape. The parcel contains no plastic packaging, which suits the brand's customers.
- Setup B, bubble wrap: the bottle is wrapped in two turns of 10mm bubble wrap, taped, and packed the same way.
Both setups pass the shake test, with nothing moving. The brand sends test parcels and both arrive intact. It chooses Setup A for single bottles because of the presentation and customer preference, and Setup B for multi-bottle orders, where the extra weight in the box makes it want the more consistent cushioning of bubble wrap between bottles.
The point is not that one material always wins, but that the decision should be made per product and order type, and checked with a test parcel.
Comparing cost per item wrapped
Price per roll is misleading when rolls differ in length and width. Compare the cost of wrapping one typical item instead.
Cost per metre = price per roll (ex VAT) / roll length in metres
Cost per item = cost per metre x metres used per item
The roll lengths matter here: our honeycomb paper rolls are 250m, our small bubble wrap rolls are 100m, and our large bubble wrap rolls are 50m. A longer roll at a higher price can work out cheaper per metre, and a material that needs fewer metres per item can be cheaper per order even if it costs more per metre.
To find "metres used per item", wrap five typical items the way you would for a customer, measure the total length used and divide by five. Honeycomb paper is measured before stretching, because that is how the roll length is stated; check whether your wrapping method uses the paper stretched along its length, which changes how far a roll goes. Bubble wrap is measured as cut.
Illustrative example using assumed figures, not our prices: if a roll costs £30 for 250m, the cost per metre is £30 / 250 = £0.12. If a different roll costs £14 for 100m, the cost per metre is £14 / 100 = £0.14. If the first material needs 0.8m per item and the second 0.5m, the cost per item is £0.096 and £0.07 respectively. On those assumptions, the material with the cheaper metre is the dearer per item. Your own figures may point the other way, which is why it is worth measuring.
Do not forget the cost of a breakage. A wrap that saves a penny per item but lets one extra item in a few hundred break may cost more overall.
Packing speed, training and storage
Speed
Bubble wrap is quick to cut and wrap, but most items need a strip of tape to keep it closed. Honeycomb paper takes a moment to stretch, but often needs no tape because the cells grip each other. On a busy bench, the difference per item is small; the bigger time saving comes from having the right width on a holder within reach and pre-cutting lengths for your most common products.
Training
Bubble wrap is intuitive. Honeycomb paper needs a short demonstration: stretch evenly, open the cells fully, and wrap enough layers. Under-stretched honeycomb paper gives much less protection, so if several people pack, show everyone the same method and check a few parcels in the first week.
Storage
Store both materials somewhere clean and dry, off the floor. Paper is the more sensitive of the two to damp, so do not keep honeycomb rolls next to an outside door or in an unheated outbuilding. Bubble wrap rolls, especially large-bubble rolls, are bulky for their length, so they take more shelf space per metre. If space is tight, the narrower 300mm rolls of either type are easier to fit on a bench.
Combining with void fill
Neither wrap replaces void fill in a box with a lot of empty space. A common combination is honeycomb paper or small-bubble wrap around the item, with crumpled kraft paper or packing peanuts filling the rest of the box. Using the right box size first keeps the amount of void fill, and its cost, down.
Switching from one wrap to the other
If you are thinking of moving from bubble wrap to honeycomb paper, or the other way round, change one product at a time rather than the whole range at once. That way, if damage rates change, you know which product and which wrap caused it.
- Pick a low-risk product first. Start with a light, robust-ish item where a breakage would be inexpensive.
- Match the protection. Wrap with enough of the new material that the item feels as well cushioned as before, then do the shake test.
- Send a few test parcels. Post some to yourself or colleagues before using the new setup for customers.
- Watch damage reports for a few weeks. Compare with the previous period for the same product.
- Tell customers what has changed. If the switch is to paper because customers asked for it, a short note on your website or packing slip explains the change and how to dispose of the packaging.
Keep some of your old material in stock while you test, so you can switch back quickly for a product that does not travel well in the new wrap.
Disposal and recycling in the UK
Environmental claims about packaging are easy to overstate, so here is what official guidance actually says at the time of writing.
Bubble wrap
Recycle Now's guidance on plastic bags and wrapping lists bubble wrap among the films that selected stores of major supermarkets accept at their plastic bag and wrapping collection points, and asks for films to be clean. In England, GOV.UK's Simpler Recycling guidance says plastic film packaging and plastic bags will need to be collected with household plastic recycling from 31 March 2027. Until then, kerbside collection of film depends on the council. Reuse is also common; many customers keep bubble wrap for their own parcels.
Honeycomb paper
Paper packaging is widely recycled, but the details matter. Recycle Now's paper guidance says brown paper should be recycled with card rather than paper, and that sticky papers such as paper tape should not go in with paper. So if your honeycomb paper is brown, customers should generally put it with their cardboard, following their council's instructions. Paper that is wet, dirty or contaminated may not be accepted.
Neither material is automatically "eco-friendly" in every situation. The more useful questions are whether the packaging protects the product well enough to avoid a breakage and a second shipment, and whether your customers can dispose of it easily where they live.
A simple decision process
- How heavy and fragile is the item? Heavy or very fragile: start with bubble wrap. Light to medium: either can work.
- Will the parcel be exposed to damp? If yes, prefer bubble wrap.
- Do presentation and a paper-only parcel matter to your customers? If yes, test honeycomb paper.
- Compare cost per item wrapped, not cost per roll.
- Test it. Pack a sample, do the shake test, and send a test parcel.
- Write down the setup per product, so every order is packed the same way.
Questions buyers ask
Is honeycomb paper as protective as bubble wrap?
For light to medium items, used in enough layers and properly stretched, it can protect well. For heavy or very fragile items, bubble wrap generally gives more consistent cushioning. Test with your own products rather than relying on general claims.
Do I need a dispenser for honeycomb paper?
Our product page does not require one; the paper needs to be stretched fully as you wrap so the cells open. Some packing benches use a dispenser to make stretching quicker and more consistent, but it is a convenience rather than a requirement.
Which width of honeycomb paper should I buy?
Our listing suggests the 395mm width for bottles, jars and cosmetics, and the 500mm width for gifts, homeware and wider items, or when you want more wrap per turn.
Which bubble size should I use?
Use 10mm bubbles for small, delicate and curved items that need close wrapping. Use 25mm bubbles for bulky or heavy items and to fill space in larger boxes.
Can bubble wrap go in household recycling?
Not everywhere yet. Recycle Now lists bubble wrap among films accepted at selected larger supermarket collection points. In England, plastic film is due to be collected with household plastic recycling from 31 March 2027, according to GOV.UK guidance.
Can I combine the two?
Yes. A common approach is honeycomb paper as the visible wrap and a bubble wrap layer or bubble wrap padding where extra protection is needed, such as between heavy items.
Is honeycomb paper suitable for posting electronics?
Light electronics in their own retail boxes can be wrapped in honeycomb paper, provided the box is well filled. For heavier or unboxed electronics, bubble wrap or a combination gives a bigger margin. Either way, keep the item away from the box walls.
Summary
Choose bubble wrap for heavy, very fragile or damp-exposed items and when you need to wrap and fill at once. Choose honeycomb paper for light to medium fragile items, paper-based presentation and all-paper parcels. Whichever you use, compare cost per item rather than per roll, wrap with enough layers, fill the box so nothing moves, test a sample parcel, and tell customers how to dispose of the packaging where they live.
