Package cushioning is used to protect items during shipment. Vibration and impact shock during shipment and loading/unloading are controlled by cushioning to reduce the chance of product damage. Cushioning is usually inside a shipping container such as a corrugated box. It is designed to absorb shock by crushing and deforming, and to dampen vibration, rather than transmitting the shock and vibration to the protected item. Depending on the specific situation, package cushioning is often between thick. Internal packaging materials are also used for functions other than cushioning, such as to immobilize the products in the box and lock them in place, or to fill a void. Design factors When designing packaging the choice of cushioning depends on many factors, including but not limited to: effective protection of product from shock and vibration resilience (whether it performs for multiple impacts) resistance to creep – cushion deformation under static load material costs labor costs and productivity effects of temperature, humidity, and air pressure on cushioning cleanliness of cushioning (dust, insects, etc.) effect on size of external shipping container environmental and recycling issues sensitivity of product to static electricity Common types of cushioning Loose fill – Some cushion products are flowable and are packed loosely around the items in the box. The box is closed to tighten the pack. This includes expanded polystyrene foam pieces (foam peanuts), similar pieces made of starch-based foams, and common popcorn. The amount of loose fill material required and the transmitted shock levels vary with the specific type of material. Paper – Paper can be manually or mechanically wadded up and used as a cushioning material. Heavier grades of paper provide more weight-bearing ability than old newspapers. Creped cellulose wadding is also available. Movers often wrap objects with several layers of kraft paper or embossed pulp before putting them into boxes. Corrugated fiberboard pads – Multi-layer or cut-and-folded shapes of corrugated board can be used as cushions. These structures are designed to crush and deform under shock stress and provide some degree of cushioning. Paperboard composite honeycomb structures are also used for cushioning. Foam structures – Several types of polymeric foams are used for cushioning, the most common being expanded polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyurethane. These can be molded engineered shapes or sheets which are cut and glued into cushion structures. Convoluted (or finger) foams are sometimes used. Some degradable foams are also available. Foam-in-place is another method