How Custom Packaging Helps Protect Your Products

Protect your products! Custom packaging is designed to fit your product perfectly – on the outside of the box protecting your brand and the inside protecting your product. Externally, custom packaging can be designed to promote your logo, company name, and brand colors. A product box can be custom printed and used to share a variety of information with your consumers, such as ingredients, instructions for use, and how your product differs from the competition. These are just a few of the benefits you won’t find with standardized, premade packaging. But let’s look closer at the protective factors available with custom-designed packaging.

Lamination

lamination provides the best protection from moisture. Long-run projects also typically prefer to use lamination due to its longevity and dust resistance. It’s ideal when products are stored because they may not be used instantly. Lamination is also more tear-resistant. It is a better option to protect the packaging during shipping than without lamination. It also provides your box with the ultimate protection of your artwork and creative design.

UV & AQ Semi-Gloss Finishing

UV coating is a popular finishing for packages. It’s commonly used with food packaging to prevent degradation and to protect the food contained from harmful UV light. The most commonly used UV coating styles are high-gloss and matte, which provides a premium feel to your product packaging. UV coating can be applied to the whole product, one side or even in a singular area which is known as spot UV coating.

Aqueous coating (AQ) for printing and packaging is a semi-gloss, water-based coating. It is a popular choice because it is a cost-effective process with unique advantages. It’s commonly used for food products, household products, and fast-moving products. It is ideal for products that will be handled a lot as it helps the package design stay new and fresh looking despite being handled.  There are several different types of aqueous coating including gloss, matte, satin, soft-touch coating, pencil receptive, dry erase, and primer.

Corrugated (Shipping & E-Commerce)

Corrugated is a box material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is often used for standard shipping boxes or subscription mailers as they provide more cushion than a paperboard box. Corrugated packaging is also often used as the core for higher-end packaging as well. It is good for shipping and e-commerce packaging because of its thicker and sturdier material. The thickness of the corrugated material is enough to protect the products inside and additional coating may not be needed.

Rigid Box Styles

Rigid box material is used for luxury packaging boxes, those high-end custom boxes to protect your product. It is made of strong paperboard overlaid with printed paper, leather, or fabric wraps. Rigid boxes offer an ideal mix of product protection and perceived luxury.  This box style is made with excellent structural integrity and is tear and damage-resistant. Protective inserts are used to help valuable products remain safe.

Right-Sized Packaging

Custom boxes can be sized to perfectly fit the product it carries which means products won’t shift around during shifting. Right-sized packaging is designed to minimize empty space while protecting the product. This type of packaging is also considered sustainable packaging because it reduces (or eliminates) the need for plastics and foam, uses the minimum effective amount of materials, and ultimately reduces waste.

Conclusion

In the long run, custom packaging is a cost-effective business decision. Protecting your products is just one of the many hidden, cost-saving benefits of custom packaging. Recent research shows that poor packaging that results in product damage or breakage accounts for 20 to 30% of product returns. While it is possible to find standard packaging that is incredibly durable, it is sometimes easier to do so with custom options. Durable packaging is essential, as you want the item’s container to be bright and vibrant but also keep the product safe before, during, and after the shipping process. Damaged products won’t sell and durable packaging prevents damage from occurring in the first place.

Need help deciding on the right packaging for your products? Talk to one of our packaging specialists today!