Best Mailing Tubes for Shipping Posters and Prints

Quick picks

Price bands are rough guides from the Amazon listings on October 29, 2026.

Packhorse Supply 3x18: best for a first order

Packhorse’s listing says the tubes are made in the USA from spiral-wound kraft cardboard and are 19 inches long overall. Each cap takes 1/2 inch of depth, which leaves 18 inches of interior space, and the inside diameter is 3 inches. The listing names rolled sizes that fit: 8x10, 8.5x11, 11x17, 12x16, 12x18, 16x20, 18x22 and 18x24. It describes thick plastic caps with triple threading and a pull slot.

Trade-offs: a pack holds only two tubes, so it suits testing a product, and 18 inches is too short for a 24x36 poster. The listing does not state the wall thickness. Packhorse sells this one itself.

Packhorse Supply 2.5x24: best for 24x36 posters

The listing’s title gives 24 inches of usable length in a 25-inch tube with a 2.5-inch inside diameter, and the text names 16x20, 18x24 and 24x36 as sizes that fit when rolled. The wording and caps are the same as the 3x18 (made in the USA, spiral-wound kraft, threaded plastic caps with a pull slot). It comes four to a pack, and the listing gives the pack weight as 1.69 pounds.

Trade-offs: the listing text says there is 25 inches of interior space once capped, while the title says 24 usable, so treat 24 as the safe figure. A 24-inch sheet edge leaves no slack. The listing does not state the wall thickness, and a thick roll may not fit a 2.5-inch bore.

BOX USA BP3025K: best for steady volume

BOX USA’s listing describes 3 x 25 inch kraft tubes with 3-ply spiral wound construction and snap-in white end caps. A seller’s closure claim does not establish that caps cannot come off in transit. It also says sizes are usable space and actual tube lengths are longer. Amazon.com sells it, and the same maker lists the other lengths (BP3018K, BP3020K, BP3030K) as separate 24-packs.

Trade-offs: 24 tubes take storage space a small shop may not have, and the listing gives no wall thickness or overall length, so measure one capped tube before you assume it stays under 30 inches.

Paclord 3x36: for occasional 36-inch rolls

Paclord lists two 3 x 36 inch tubes with four white plastic twist-off caps, made of 3-ply spiral kraft paper 0.08 inch thick and made in the USA. The listing says USPS, UPS and FedEx “approve and accept” the tubes, “though they are often treated as ‘irregular’ or ’nonstandard’ packages.”

Trade-offs: at 36 inches the parcel is in the over-30-inch fee tier in the next section, so buy it only for items that need that length. The listing does not say whether 36 inches is usable or overall length. Its 0.08 inch kraft thickness is a different measure from the USPS strength equivalent for tubes over 32 inches, so obtain the required strength data before treating it as compliant, even for a light roll.

What USPS says about tubes and what they cost

• Strength: USPS’s packaging standard for fiberboard tubes says sidewall strength must equal solid fiberboard at least 1/16 inch thick for tubes under 18 inches, at least 3/32 inch for 18 to 32 inches, and at least 5/32 inch for tubes over 32 inches (DMM 601.4.3). That is a strength equivalent, not a wall thickness, and few listings give it.
• Caps: the same standard says to reinforce friction slide end caps by taping around all seams, and that crimped or taped ends are acceptable only for lightweight rolled items such as posters or charts.
• Length: a tube’s length must not exceed 10 times its girth. Measure the capped tube’s outside circumference; the listing’s inside diameter is not the girth used for this check.
• Fees: USPS counts “cylindrical tubes or rolls” as a nonstandard characteristic (DMM 201.7.6.2). Its price list (Notice 123) adds the same nonstandard fee for a tube as for a parcel 22 to 30 inches long on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage Retail, and a larger fee for a parcel over 30 inches long. So the Packhorse tubes (19 and 25 inches overall) carry the tube fee, and a 36-inch tube carries the higher one. Priority Mail cubic prices exclude rolls and tubes (DMM 223.1.3.1). Amounts change, so check the current price list.

How to choose

1. Measure the protected roll. Account for permissible rolling direction, sheet width, wrapping and end clearance. Do not assume a matching nominal length leaves room for protection.
2. Pick the diameter for the roll. Check the artwork or paper supplier’s permitted bend radius first. The tube must accept that roll without forcing a tighter curl, with suitable protective wrapping.
3. Check usable versus overall length. Packhorse and BOX USA state their sizes as usable space, so the capped tube is longer. Add the caps before you compare against 30 inches.
4. Tape the caps. Run tape around each seam as USPS advises.
5. Skip tubes for anything that should not be rolled. A stiff board or a framed print belongs in a box. See best shipping boxes for small online sellers .

Related: dimensional weight and how to measure the packed box , USPS box sizes chart and fees and best shipping tape for heavy boxes .

Sources

• USPS DMM 601, Mailability , section 4.3 Fiberboard Tubes and Similar Long Containers: length not over 10 times girth, taped friction slide caps, sidewall strength by tube length.
• USPS DMM 201, Physical Standards for Machinable Parcels , section 7.6.2: cylindrical tubes or rolls are nonstandard.
• USPS DMM 223, Priority Mail , section 1.3.1: no cubic prices for rolls and tubes; and DMM 133, USPS Ground Advantage Retail , section 1.8: nonstandard fee tiers.
• USPS Notice 123, Price List : nonstandard fee tiers for tubes and for parcels 22 to 30 and over 30 inches long.
• Amazon listings for the four tubes (titles, features, sellers, stock and price bands), checked through Amazon’s Creators API on October 29, 2026. Listing wording is the seller’s own claims.