Packing and shipping lamps so they arrive intact

A lamp is loaded and unloaded several times between factory and shop. How boxes, cartons, pallets and inspection on receipt cut down on losses.

A lamp leaves the factory's test bench in working order, but it still has a long way to go before reaching the customer: warehouse, lorry, distributor's store, shop shelf. Along the way it is lifted, set down and shaken many times. Glass bulbs can break, and plastic ones can suffer internal damage that is not visible. Good packaging is designed with that journey in mind and treats losses as seriously as the product itself.

A box for every lamp

The first layer of protection is the individual box, and its job is more than carrying printed information:

• holding the lamp still, because a loose lamp hits the walls of the box every time it is jolted;
• supporting the cap and cover separately; in some boxes a cardboard insert grips the cap while the glass sits free;
• giving short-term protection against moisture;
• withstanding boxes being stacked on top of each other.

Internal support matters most for glass filament and candle lamps, where the joint between the thin glass and the base is the weakest point under impact.

Plastic-domed bulbs rarely shatter when dropped, and that makes people careless. After a hard knock, a lamp that looks perfectly intact may have a large driver component with a broken lead or a hairline crack in a solder joint. It lights at first, then starts to flicker or fails some time later. Lamps from a carton that has fallen from a height should therefore be checked separately.

Cartons and dividers

Individual boxes are packed into corrugated cartons. Dividers inside the carton stop boxes from shifting and spread the force of a knock. Cartons are also sized with weight in mind: a very heavy carton gets dropped more often when carried by hand, while a large, light one can be crushed by the load placed on top.

The symbols on a carton, such as "this way up", "fragile", "keep dry" and the stacking limit, are simple but effective instructions for handlers. When they are missing or badly printed, handling damage goes up.

Pallets and loading

For bulk shipments, cartons are stacked on pallets, following a few rules:

1. Cartons should not overhang the edge of the pallet, since a protruding corner takes the first hit.

2. Cartons are stacked in an interlocking, brick-like pattern so the block holds together.

3. The stack is secured with stretch film, with cardboard edge protectors on the corners.

4. Pallet height is limited by how much the bottom layer of cartons can bear.

5. Any gaps between pallets in the vehicle are filled or closed off with straps.

Damp, cold and condensation

Cardboard loses much of its strength when it absorbs moisture. Cartons unloaded in the rain or stored in a damp warehouse start to sag. In winter, cartons brought from a cold truck into a warm warehouse can also collect condensation inside, which is not good for a lamp's metal cap or electronics. It is better to leave a shipment from the cold unopened at room temperature for a while before unpacking it. In storage, cartons should sit on pallets or shelving, not directly on concrete.

Summer brings the opposite risk. The inside of a closed vehicle left standing in the sun for hours gets very hot, which puts extra strain on the lamps' plastic parts, the cover adhesive and the cardboard, so it is better not to leave loads standing in an open yard.

What to check when a shipment arrives

A retailer or a contractor buying for a project can avoid later disputes by spending a few minutes at delivery:

• the outer condition of the stretch film and cartons: crushed corners, torn or wet board;
• whether the number of cartons matches the delivery note;
• opening any doubtful carton on the spot;
• listening for a rattle when a box is shaken gently, which may mean broken glass;
• switching on a few lamps picked at random;
• photographing any damage and noting it on the delivery paperwork.

If damage is only found after the goods have been put away, it becomes much harder to prove where it happened.

In the shop and at home

Packaging still has a role on the shop shelf. Displaying lamps loose or in open boxes increases the risk of both knocks and dust. For the buyer, the advice is simple: carry the lamp home in its box, keep it boxed until you install it, and hold on to the box for the batch information.

Zəfər İşığı is produced by Zaferoğlu Elektrik, a manufacturer based in Ganja. Details of bulk shipment volumes and packing formats can be agreed directly with the company.