Shipping boxes are so much more than just vessels used to safely transport your products and deliver them to your customers. Custom-printed e-commerce packaging or subscription boxes are statement pieces in and of themselves. They provide infinite possibilities and advertising opportunities to show off your organization’s playful, elegant, and creative side. Whatever brand messaging you want to convey to the outside world, the right images, patterns, and text can effectively get it done for you.
Half the battle is choosing the appropriate materials and patterns to represent your brand and each specific product. The other half is coming up with a practical design prototype that’s sturdy enough to hold the product inside.
Important Factors to Consider When Designing Custom-Printed E-Commerce or Subscription Boxes
The first thing your customers see before your product is your packaging. If you know you have a great product, then the packaging it comes in needs to reflect that. The packaging also needs to aptly represent your brand as a whole. An important question to ask yourself throughout the packaging design process is “what message am I trying to convey?”
Custom-printed e-commerce shipping boxes should have a unique flair that makes your product and your business stand out. Putting your stamp on your product packaging is a great way to reach out to more customers and advertise your business. The company logo and branding should be clear, visible, and easy to read so people can easily identify your product.
Taking all of that into consideration, here are some crucial factors that should be top of mind where you’re designing custom-printed packaging for your e-commerce products.
Product Dimensions
The size and shape of your product will ultimately be one of the main determining factors of the packaging design. If the packaging is too large and doesn’t have internal features to secure the product in place, then this can cause expensive damages, not to mention the fact that you’ll probably have to recall and reorder the packaging, which is also costly.
Packaging that’s too small also poses monetary issues. Since the packaging is essentially unusable, you’ll either have to get creative and repurpose it to save some time and money or you’ll have to cut your losses with it and go back to square one of the design stage. Basically product dimensions need to be precise to prevent future logistical and financial headaches.
The following features have to be just right to guarantee that your product’s packaging requirements are met:
- Inner and outer dimensions: The overall size and shape of the packaging should accommodate the product itself to ensure safe and secure transport from one location to another. Some products may require additional padding or various compartments inside the packaging to hold separate pieces in place.
- Structural integrity: Custom-designed and printed packaging should be able to withhold the weight of your product and be sturdy enough to endure all kinds of shipping conditions including processing, handling, and storage.
- Product weight: Material choice and availability depends largely on the dimensions and weight of the product. Certain materials such as corrugated cardboard are sturdy and can tolerate the weight of heavy items, while other materials might require additional reinforcements to maintain their shape.
Type of Product
Whether it’s takeout food, clothing, jewellery, fragile items, baked goods, or handmade pieces, the type of product you’re selling makes a big difference in terms of the packaging style, design, and material that’s warranted.
Fragile items such as glassware fares better in corrugated cardboard than it does in paperboard. Corrugated cardboard is a thick material that can withstand all kinds of rough conditions throughout the transportation process. It can be used to transport large, heavy products such as tools, shipping cartons, and subscription packages containing multiple components of varying sizes.
Paperboard, on the other hand, is a much more lightweight material that’s perfect for clothing and some baked goods. The type of material you need essentially depends on the dimensions and weight of the product itself.
Since takeout food containers tend to leak during transport, it’s a good idea to use corrugated cardboard as this will maintain a strong structural integrity. Dry pre-packaged food items like nuts, crackers, or chips can be shipped in custom-designed paperboard packaging. A major perk that paperboard has over corrugated cardboard is that it’s a lot easier to print on. Since it’s also lightweight, paperboard won’t increase your shipping costs too much.
Paperboard is also ideal for small items such as medications, hardware, and cosmetics.
E-Commerce Subscription Boxes and Style
As mentioned, product weight factors heavily (pun intended) on the design and overall aesthetic of the custom-printed packaging you choose.
Heavier items require more packaging, which means that the shipping fees will inevitable be higher as well. Custom-printed shipping e-commerce boxes certainly contribute to a higher weight class for the package on the whole. Depending on what you’re shipping, this isn’t always avoidable.
To protect products and secure them in place until they’re delivered, there are a few types of e-commerce shipping boxes available:
- Handle boxes
- Reverse tuck end mailers
- Roll end lock front mailers
- Roll end tuck top
- Regular slotted containers
- Straight tuck end mailers
Magenta Depot is at the forefront of the Canadian custom-printed packaging industry. Located in Markham, Ontario, all of our custom packaging is printed and assembled right here in Canada before being shipped all over the world to our happy customers.
For your convenience, our online custom ordering platform is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on our website, allowing you to bring your vision to life whenever inspiration strikes. We also have a simplified design process using customized die lines to suit your style. Our two-week turnaround rate, low minimums, and lack of setup fees mean that our customers save both time and money when it comes to receiving their custom-printed packaging.
Contact us to learn more about our products and services. You can also browse our online catalogue to look through a selection of pre-made templates for your custom-designed packaging.
