Methods for packaging items and preparing packaging materials

A method of packaging items, comprising:

• unspooling a mesh from a roll of paper mesh material, the mesh having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of perforations that extend from the top surface to the bottom surface and define within the mesh a plurality of legs interconnecting a plurality of nodes;
• unspooling a first liner layer from a first roll of liner material;
• unspooling a second liner layer from a second roll of liner material;
• conveying the mesh against a rigid edge in a manner causing, at substantially each perforation, a first portion of the mesh on a leading side of the perforation to have an average elevation lower than an average elevation of a second portion of the mesh on a trailing side of the perforation;
• stretching the mesh along a direction of conveyance, comprising:
• expanding the plurality of perforations along the direction of conveyance into a plurality of hexagonal cells separated from one another by the pluralities of legs and nodes;
• and
• reorienting top and bottom surfaces of the pluralities of legs and nodes from an initial orientation substantially parallel with the direction of conveyance to an expanded orientation oblique to the direction of conveyance, wherein, in the expanded orientation, the top surfaces of substantially all of the nodes are substantially parallel;
• attaching the first liner layer to the bottom surface of the mesh and attaching the second liner layer to the top surface of the mesh so as to form a belt of cushioned packaging material;
• conveying the belt to an induction zone;
• lowering a bucket onto the belt in the induction zone so that the belt conforms substantially around a periphery of the bucket so as to define a package segment of the belt;
• conveying containers carrying items to the induction zone;
• inducting a subset of the items into the bucket;
• opening a bottom of the bucket;
• retracting the bucket so that the subset of items is disposed within the package segment;
• and
• sealing at least two edges of the package segment so as to define a package at least partially enclosing the subset of items therein.