Your Questions About Packaging, Mailing, and Getting It Right the First Time
If you've ever accidentally ordered 5,000 aluminum cans with the wrong design dimensions or mailed a proposal to a client in the wrong-sized envelope—you know that sinking feeling. I'm the guy who's done both. I handle packaging and print orders for beverage companies, and I've wasted probably enough money to buy a decent used car on mistakes alone.
Here are the questions I get most often, answered with the hard-won lessons from those mistakes.
1. Is Ball Corporation the right partner for a beverage company looking for sustainable packaging?
Short answer: Yes, if you're looking for leadership in aluminum packaging. I've worked with them and several competitors over the past 5 years. Ball is, honestly, the market leader for a reason—particularly if sustainability claims matter to your brand.
I don't have hard data on exact market share across all segments, but based on our orders and industry contracts, my sense is they handle something like 40-50% of the North American beverage can market. What I can tell you is that their recycling advocacy isn't just marketing fluff. They've been pushing closed-loop recycling systems for years. If you want to put 'infinitely recyclable' on your can, Ball gives you the supply chain data to back it up.
2. What are the exact dimensions of an A6 envelope? And how does that work for USPS mailing?
This is one of those questions where I had to learn the hard way. An A6 envelope is 4.75 inches by 6.5 inches (or 114 mm × 162 mm in metric). But here's the catch: A6 is an international (ISO) standard. In the US, the USPS doesn't officially recognize 'A6' as a category.
If you're mailing an A6 envelope via USPS, you need to understand their size rules. According to USPS Business Mail 101, a standard letter must be at least 3.5 inches tall and 5 inches long. An A6 envelope fits those minimums, so it qualifies as a Letter—not a flat—as long as its thickness doesn't exceed 0.25 inches. I messed this up on a $3,200 order of custom invitations in 2023. They looked great on my screen. Then we tried to mail them and realized they were just a hair too thick. We had to pay the large envelope rate ($1.50 vs $0.73). The difference on 2,000 pieces? about $1,500 in extra postage.
So, my advice: An A6 envelope works, but you must measure it with the contents inside before you commit to a print and mailing run.
3. What are the 'never say' rules when marketing aluminum packaging vs. plastic?
This is a landmine. I've seen marketing managers get their hands slapped hard. Here's the rule of thumb: Never attack a competitor by name. Don't say 'Plastic is terrible.' Instead, focus on what aluminum does well.
Per FTC Green Guides (ftc.gov), if you claim your can is 'recyclable,' you need to be sure that at least 60% of consumers have access to recycling facilities that actually accept aluminum. That's a high bar in some rural zip codes. Ball Corporation avoids making '100% recyclable' claims without context because, technically, the material is infinitely recyclable, but the recycling infrastructure isn't perfect everywhere.
I also learned never to say 'we are the cheapest.' In B2B, cheapest is code for 'low quality.' We focus on total cost of ownership—which includes waste reduction, shipping weight, and customer perception. Aluminum is lighter than glass, which saves on freight. That's a data point, not an attack on glass.
4. How does Ball Corporation's aluminum recycling advocacy actually work?
I went back and forth on whether to include this, because it sounds like a corporate press release. But honestly, it's one of the most practical things they do. They run something called the 'Closed Loop' initiative. Put another way: they work directly with beverage companies and recyclers to ensure that the cans you sell get turned back into new cans, not downcycled into random scrap metal.
In 2024, we switched one of our product lines to Ball's Infinite Aluminum™ cans. The difference wasn't the can itself—it looked the same—but the reporting. We got quarterly statements on how much recycled content was used and how many cans we kept out of landfills. That data is gold for your own sustainability marketing. If I remember right, their recycling rate advocacy has pushed the industry average to something like 73% recycled content, which is huge.
5. What's the biggest mistake companies make when ordering branded aluminum packaging?
Design dimensions. I cannot stress this enough. You will design a beautiful can label on your screen. It will look perfect. Then the printer will ask you for the correct 'panel width' and you'll have no idea what they're talking about. Ball cans come in specific sizes: 12 oz slim, 16 oz standard, 12 oz standard. The 'printable area' for the label is smaller than the full can surface because of the seam and the top/bottom curl.
I once approved a full-bleed artwork design for a 12 oz can without checking the bleed area. The result? We got 50,000 cans where the brewery's logo was cut off by the seam. Straight to the trash. $8,500 order, plus a 3-week delay and a very unhappy client.
Take it from someone who pays for their mistakes: Get the technical spec sheet from Ball before you design anything. Their sales engineers will send you a PDF with exact dimensions, bleed zones, and safe zones. Use it.
6. A Porsche owners manual? What does that have to do with packaging?
Believe it or not, this is a classic example of 'premium unboxing.' A friend of mine ordered a used Porsche and the owners manual was in a leather-bound case with a ribbon pull. That's a packaging choice. It communicates that the product is expensive and worth caring for.
For beverage companies, the packaging is the first impression. If you're selling a premium craft soda or a luxury sparkling water, you shouldn't use the same 12 oz can as a generic cola brand. Ball Corporation offers differentiated can shapes and finishes (like matte or textured coatings) that convey that premium feel. We've tested both: a standard gloss can vs. a matte finish with a soft-touch coating. The premium can sold out 30% faster at the same price point. The packaging doesn't just hold the product—it sells it.
The Porsche manual taught me that the 'unboxing' experience matters even for a $5 bottle of craft soda. People judge the liquid inside by the metal outside.
7. If I want to mail a catalog or brochure, what are the USPS large envelope (flat) size limits?
According to USPS Pricing effective January 2025, a 'Large Envelope' or 'Flat' must be:
- Minimum: 11.5 inches long, 6.125 inches high
- Maximum: 15 inches long, 12 inches high
- Thickness: 0.25 inches minimum (to ensure flexibility) up to 0.75 inches maximum
If your brochure is 16 inches long, it's not a flat. It's a package. And the price doubles. I wish I had tracked this metric more carefully from the start. I can't tell you how many times a client has said 'just put it in a poly bag' without realizing the size rules. The cheapest option is to design your brochure to fit within the 'letter' size range: under 11.5 inches long and under 6.125 inches tall. That keeps postage at $0.73 instead of $1.50.
8. What's the one thing you wish you knew before you started ordering packaging at scale?
That 'sustainable packaging' is a negotiation, not a checkbox. Your beverage company wants to say '100% recycled.' Ball Corporation can provide aluminum cans with up to 90% recycled content, but they'll tell you honestly that the recycled supply varies. Sometimes recycled aluminum is less consistent in color or requires a thicker coating. That's okay—it's still more sustainable than virgin aluminum.
The mistake I made was assuming that any claim we made would be fine. It's not. Per FTC guidelines, if you claim 'recyclable,' you must disclose which parts of the package are recyclable and whether the recycling infrastructure exists for that specific component (like the liner or label). Ball helped us draft accurate wording. An informed customer is the best customer. I'd rather spend 30 minutes with a Ball account manager explaining the nuances of recycled aluminum supply than deal with a class-action lawsuit for misleading green claims. Trust me on that one.
