Safe document transport - how?

April 25, 2008 12:22 PM

How can I transport a sixty page document while keeping it in relatively pristine condition?

In order to graduate in a few weeks, I need to submit my thesis to my school's honors office by 4 PM on Wednesday. The thesis then gets sent along to be bound in a hardcover book. As such, I can't staple or otherwise put holes in it, and it needs to stay as crease/blemish free as possible, so using a binder clip won't work well either. Keeping in mind that I have a twenty minute commute to school, and then have to walk from the parking lot to the honors office (not far, but this is still a factor), what can I do to ensure that all sixty pages stay in just-out-of-the-printer shape? Thanks in advance.

posted by phaded to grab bag (15 comments total)

How about a tight-fitting clasp envelope, then put that into a waterproof outer envelope?
posted by rdn at 12:24 PM on April 25, 2008

Go to Macy's and get a shirt box. if you're really paranoid you can put some stiff cardboard on the top and bottom of the manuscript, and then put it in the box.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:25 PM on April 25, 2008

I would bet that your school bookstore sells boxes for this very purpose.
posted by dersins at 12:27 PM on April 25, 2008

Been there! 1 Gallon heavy duty ziploc bag inside a mailer (like the kind Fedex gives away for free).
posted by OlderThanTOS at 12:28 PM on April 25, 2008

Yup. Manuscript box.
posted by rtha at 12:33 PM on April 25, 2008

The same idea as the shirt box is the box that Kinkos and other copy stores use to hand over large amounts of paper to customers after a copy job. They come in various sizes as well. If I were you, I'd actually make a copy of the printout -- I've always felt that copied pages are freer of defects than recently printed pages, especially when I printed on a laserprinter that had a habit of rolling the pages. And spring for nifty paper, too.
posted by incessant at 12:39 PM on April 25, 2008

Print two and keep them in two different containers, just in case.
posted by smackfu at 12:40 PM on April 25, 2008

Manuscript boxes exist for just this reason.
posted by jamaro at 12:43 PM on April 25, 2008

Office Depot is your friend. They have 20 different things you can use. They exist for a reason.
posted by jeffamaphone at 12:49 PM on April 25, 2008

I've done this. I also had a limited budget. Get a ream of paper from your supply (or your school/dept/work/etc).

1.Open the ream VERY carefully on the top side, where it is folded and glued.
2.Take out the ream, and remove about 60-70 sheets of paper.
3.Put in your 60-70 sheets of paper in the MIDDLE.
4.Put the ream back in the packaging.
5.Close it back up.
6.Tape it.
7.Using a sharpier or other marker, mark it on ALL sides "DO NOT USE". Krap like that. whatevs.
8. Put the ream ANYWHERE. Seriously, your thesis will not get damaged if its in the middle of the ream and the package is sealed.

I've done this NUMEROUS times, and it always works awesome. Just make sure to doublecheck when handing the paper over that you're not leaving ANY sheets in the middle of the ream.

Good luck!
posted by hal_c_on at 1:05 PM on April 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you don't want to take a shopping trip, and just want to do something quickly, you must have some sturdy cardboard (as in sides of boxes, etc.) and heavy-duty packing tape. Cut out two pieces of cardboard that are 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch wider and longer than your 8.5X11 paper sheets. Put several heavy sheets of 8.5X11 paper (as protection) at both top and bottom of your typescript stack. THen place the whole thing between the two boards and strap it up tight.
posted by yazi at 1:12 PM on April 25, 2008

Honestly? Somehow, all across the country, scores of would-be graduates -- some with theses that clock in at a blistering 89 pages! -- make do every spring with good old-fashioned manila envelopes.
posted by thejoshu at 1:38 PM on April 25, 2008

Isn't that what Redwelds are for?
posted by The World Famous at 2:05 PM on April 25, 2008

I assumed something like a manuscript box existed, but I had never heard of them before some of you mentioned it here. I need to get a new black ink cartridge, so I'll take a look in Staples or wherever when I'm there. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!
posted by phaded at 4:44 PM on April 25, 2008

to add to hal_c_on -- before you remove the sheets, draw a stripe on one of the sides in highlighter/sharpie/whatever so that you can quickly find the start and end of your manuscript. It will be the sheets without the markings.
posted by toomuchpete at 5:13 PM on April 25, 2008