3X36 Mailing Tubes
3x36 inch mailing tubes for posters and prints.
A 3x36 tube is the standard for shipping a rolled poster or blueprint without a crease. The thick wall resists crushing; the caps seal the ends.
- 3 inch diameter, 36 inch length
- Thick crush-resistant wall
- Snug end caps
- Kraft or printed
Print the tube or label it; keep it kraft to cut cost.
“Low minimums were the whole reason we tried them. 250 pouches to test a flavor, then 5,000 when it took off — same bag, same print, no drama.”
“Our cakes travel 40 minutes across town and arrive looking like they left the counter. The window boxes sell them before anyone opens the lid.”
The size that fits almost every poster
A 3 inch diameter by 36 inch tube is the workhorse of shipped art, and the dimensions are not arbitrary. Rolled to a 3 inch core, a poster holds a curl loose enough to flatten back out within a day; the 36 inch length swallows the long edge of a 24 x 36 poster, the most common large-print size, plus standard blueprints and banners with room for end padding.
If the diameter drops much below 3 inches, heavy poster stock takes a set and never quite flattens. That is why cheap narrow tubes generate complaints that the print "arrived curly."
Wall thickness is the protection
The tube is spiral-wound kraft board. Standard walls run about 3-ply, which survives normal courier handling; heavier prints and international shipping justify a thicker wall, which resists the end-crush that happens when a tube is stood on in a van. Plastic end caps seal both ends; we supply them fitted to the tube's inner diameter so they need a deliberate pull to remove, not a bump.
Pack the print rolled in tissue or butter paper, slightly narrower than the tube, so it cannot telescope against the caps.
Kraft, labeled or printed
Plain kraft with a shipping label is the standard and the cheapest. A printed wrap turns the tube into branded packaging, which art sellers and print shops use because the tube arrives looking like part of the purchase. Between the two, a large branded sticker over plain kraft covers most needs at almost no cost.
What fits in a 3x36?
Posters to 24 x 36, architectural drawings, maps, banners, fabric rolls and vinyl. For prints on stiffer stock, or valuable editions, consider our rigid mailers if the piece is better shipped flat.
