3.2 - How to Make Your Own Air Pillows for Packing

Air Pillows are those little plastic pouches inflated with air that are put into packages to protect the contents. Why should you want to use them in your own packages?

Save Money

That's the Number One reason. They help you to save money on postage costs. Especially if you're shipping a Priority Mail box and the weight is 15 ounces or more. Add some scrunched paper or packing peanuts and you're most likely going over that one pound mark - and adding alot more to your postage cost. If you add one or two air filled pillows, you're most likely going to stay under the one pound mark.

If you're like me, you hang onto any packing supplies that come to you with incoming shipments. But if you start shipping quite a bit you'll quickly run out of your own supply of recycled materials and need to find more. I decided for myself that I wanted to use Air Pillows as often as possible, but once I started shopping around to buy them new, I was shocked at the prices. I kept saying "These are basically just air!" and I wanted to find them cheap! I also wanted to be able to decide if I needed fully inflated ones, small ones, large ones. If I bought a whole batch of tiny ones and then had a really large void to fill in a box, I'd just be filling that box with a LOT of little air pillows.

I researched on the web and saw lots of very expensive machines that churn out air pillows quickly. Way out of my price range. I decided to make my own.

Here's what you need to make them my way:

- Impulse Sealer - (previously mentioned under the post 'Impulse Sealer, Bags and Bflute'). If you don't have one, at the bottom of this post is information on how to make them without an impulse sealer.
- Plastic - Either bags (clear poly bags) pre-sealed on one end, or a roll of 2, 3, or 4 mil plastic. The smaller numbers are thinner and cheaper and make good air pillows.
- Pair of scissors
- Small hand pump for balloons (these are very cheap and found in party stores or maybe even Walmart and cost less than $5. I bought mine for a prank I did on my Director of IT at my former job when I filled her office with balloons for her birthday. Really filled it - approx waist high. Took me and two helpers many hours.... late into the night... but it was really worth it! Ah but I digress.)




1 - Seal both ends.

For this size I'm using up some small clear poly bags that I bought by mistake. They're too small to put anything in for shipping, and I never thought I'd use them. Turns out they make nice air pillows. One end was sealed when I bought them. I just sealed the other end here.








2 - Snip off one corner.

Just like that - take a sharp pair of scissors and snip off the corner making a small opening.











3 - Inflate with balloon pump. (this size air pillow only takes one full pump or a couple small ones)











4 - Seal the corner. You'll lose a tiny bit of air as you let go of the fingers holding the corner closed and move it onto the impulse sealer and seal - but it works and you can seal it easily and still have a firm air pillow.







That's it! Finished air pillow that's ready for packing!

I set my first couple of experimental air pillows under a heavy book and left it overnight to see if the seal was good. Next morning they were fine and still inflated!

How to Make Air Pillows Without an Impulse Sealer
I found this handy dandy kit at www.airfil.com You can buy pre-sealed plastic pouches with a small circle cut out in them. You use the included pump to inflate the pouch, then put a label over the hold to seal. There is an instructional card to download on the site - here's what it looks like:





This is helpful in learning the process, but if you have an impulse sealer you'll realize quickly that you can do it yourself at a greatly reduced cost.