6 Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Custom Packaging
- By Cory Levins
- 17 may 2019
Creating custom packaging is a great decision for many businesses. If designed correctly, it can save you a considerable amount of money, and you can create a box that meets your unique needs and looks great. At Air Sea Containers, we’ve seen over and over again how our custom shipping boxes benefit businesses and their customers.
However, if you’re not careful, there are some factors that can trip you up, and you’ll need to account for them during your design process. We like to help our customers make the best decisions possible, especially with something as important as creating custom packaging—so make sure you’re keeping these six common mistakes in mind and taking steps to avoid them.
Choosing the right materials is a vital part of creating effective packaging, so make sure you know that the type of corrugated board you choose meets your needs. It’s particularly important to know the difference between single and double-walled cardboard, as well as between the burst/Mullen test and ECT. You can learn more about these differences on our blog before ordering your boxes. If you’re not sure which you need, consult your logistics department to get a better picture of what forces the boxes will need to withstand.
Air Sea offers numerous different types of custom corrugated shipping boxes, so take the time to ensure that you’re choosing the right model. In particular, make sure that if you need UN hazmat-rated boxes, you use our custom hazmat boxes option. Also, take some time to examine each box design and find the one that best suits your needs. If you’re shipping hazardous materials, make sure to check all applicable regulations including the DOT hazmat tables—there may be regulations that stipulate which kind of box you need to use.
This one might seem obvious, but it’s a surprisingly common error. Before you place an order, make sure to double-check the specifications you’re using to make sure that they’re correct and will meet your needs. That also includes making sure that you upload a high-definition image if you want graphics printed on your box—nothing looks more unprofessional than a grainy, pixelated image. Making a mockup in a computer design program can be especially helpful for seeing your box as a whole.
Air Sea offers faster lead times than many of our competitors, but it’s still important to build lead times into your scheduling. Failure to do so can mean falling behind schedule. Also, please note that Air Sea may take up to 24 hours to respond to your custom box query—we frequently experience high demand due to the popularity of our custom shipping boxes.
Making the customer happy is still the ultimate goal, so try to ensure that your design process includes the perspective of the end user, whether that’s a consumer or another business. Failing to account for the customer’s preferences could simply mean that your design is aesthetically unappealing, or it could mean a problem that seriously impacts the customer’s ability to use and enjoy the product. For packaging designs that will be implemented on a very large scale, you might even want to employ focus group testing to make sure that your target demographics find your packaging useful and easy to use.
Nobody likes having to go back to the drawing board, but it’s far worse to ship out packaging that doesn’t protect your products or that has another obvious issue. Once you have your boxes, you’ll want to test it for a few key factors:
If you want to do a test run first, keep in mind that Air Sea can produce runs of non-hazmat boxes as small as 50 units.
Custom corrugated boxes can be a great assist for your business, and you can make sure you get the most out of them by following some simple best practices to avoid common pitfalls. If you need help with questions about custom box design, we’d be glad to assist! Just call our shipping and packaging experts at (866) 596-9448 or contact us online. We’re looking forward to helping you create the best custom boxes you’ve ever seen!
However, if you’re not careful, there are some factors that can trip you up, and you’ll need to account for them during your design process. We like to help our customers make the best decisions possible, especially with something as important as creating custom packaging—so make sure you’re keeping these six common mistakes in mind and taking steps to avoid them.
1. Not using the right kind of corrugated board.
Choosing the right materials is a vital part of creating effective packaging, so make sure you know that the type of corrugated board you choose meets your needs. It’s particularly important to know the difference between single and double-walled cardboard, as well as between the burst/Mullen test and ECT. You can learn more about these differences on our blog before ordering your boxes. If you’re not sure which you need, consult your logistics department to get a better picture of what forces the boxes will need to withstand.
2. Not choosing the right type of box.
Air Sea offers numerous different types of custom corrugated shipping boxes, so take the time to ensure that you’re choosing the right model. In particular, make sure that if you need UN hazmat-rated boxes, you use our custom hazmat boxes option. Also, take some time to examine each box design and find the one that best suits your needs. If you’re shipping hazardous materials, make sure to check all applicable regulations including the DOT hazmat tables—there may be regulations that stipulate which kind of box you need to use.
3. Not double-checking your specs.
This one might seem obvious, but it’s a surprisingly common error. Before you place an order, make sure to double-check the specifications you’re using to make sure that they’re correct and will meet your needs. That also includes making sure that you upload a high-definition image if you want graphics printed on your box—nothing looks more unprofessional than a grainy, pixelated image. Making a mockup in a computer design program can be especially helpful for seeing your box as a whole.
4. Not accounting for lead time.
Air Sea offers faster lead times than many of our competitors, but it’s still important to build lead times into your scheduling. Failure to do so can mean falling behind schedule. Also, please note that Air Sea may take up to 24 hours to respond to your custom box query—we frequently experience high demand due to the popularity of our custom shipping boxes.
5. Not keeping the customer in mind during the design process.
Making the customer happy is still the ultimate goal, so try to ensure that your design process includes the perspective of the end user, whether that’s a consumer or another business. Failing to account for the customer’s preferences could simply mean that your design is aesthetically unappealing, or it could mean a problem that seriously impacts the customer’s ability to use and enjoy the product. For packaging designs that will be implemented on a very large scale, you might even want to employ focus group testing to make sure that your target demographics find your packaging useful and easy to use.
6. Not testing your packaging before shipping.
Nobody likes having to go back to the drawing board, but it’s far worse to ship out packaging that doesn’t protect your products or that has another obvious issue. Once you have your boxes, you’ll want to test it for a few key factors:
- Does the product fit correctly in the packaging?
- Does the packaging protect the product sufficiently from hazards it will encounter?
- Will the packaging present difficulties when shipping using your chosen method?
- Will the product need additional shipping materials such as bubble wrap or loose fill packaging to keep it safe?
If you want to do a test run first, keep in mind that Air Sea can produce runs of non-hazmat boxes as small as 50 units.
Custom corrugated boxes can be a great assist for your business, and you can make sure you get the most out of them by following some simple best practices to avoid common pitfalls. If you need help with questions about custom box design, we’d be glad to assist! Just call our shipping and packaging experts at (866) 596-9448 or contact us online. We’re looking forward to helping you create the best custom boxes you’ve ever seen!
