What You Need to Know About Custom Printed Corrugated Boxes
Custom printed corrugated boxes might sound like an extravagance, but competition is fierce in many industries, and standing out among all the brown boxes may provide a competitive advantage. Whether you need e-commerce packaging, produce boxes, or industrial shipping boxes, printing the box creates a professional appearance and increases brand equity.
Benefits of Custom Printed Corrugated Boxes
You may be in a situation where the consumer never sees your shipping boxes – a retailer removes your product from the box and places it on the shelf. However, don’t discount custom printing just yet. Custom printing is still valuable in this situation. Many retailers stock shelves during the day while shoppers are in the store, so there is a chance that consumers will see your boxes before the product is put on the shelf.
Custom printing with something as simple as your logo and tagline will create brand recognition and may lead to impulse buying. For retails and distributors, it helps them identify your products quickly. If you carry many products, a printed coding system will help employees quickly identify what is in the box.
The stakes are higher for instances where the consumer will definitely see and interact with the box, such as e-commerce packaging, unassembled furniture boxes, large appliance cartons, produce boxes, or retail ready packaging for club or warehouse stores. Custom printing your corrugated boxes in this situation brings several benefits in addition to the brand recognition mentioned earlier:
- Creates an immediate connection with your customer – Packaging customized to appeal to your target customer can lead to a more loyal customer. For e-commerce shipping, this is the first interaction the customer has with your brand and first impressions matter.
- Stand out from the competition – In a sea of brown boxes, customized printing gives you an opportunity to be different and catch a potential customer’s eye.
- Provides flexibility – You are not limited to your logo and fancy designs. Warnings, instructions, and part lists can be printed on the box instead of a separate slip of paper that might not get added to the box or might get lost. For example, your customer will know exactly what parts are included and what tools might be needed for assembly before opening the box.
Tips for Custom Printed Boxes
To ensure your corrugated boxes turn out as expected and the printing process runs smoothly, there are a few things to consider:
- Graphic design – As part of your design, consider adding your website and messaging that resonates with your target market, such as an eco-message. In addition, consider where the shipping label will go so that important information doesn’t get covered. Also, if you are designing your artwork on a transparent or white background but are placing it on a brown corrugated box, the colors may appear darker when printed.
- Files – Make sure you provide your artwork in the file type and resolution requested by your box manufacturer. The artwork must be high enough resolution and size to print without looking pixilated. Vector files are best for logos and drawings and can be scaled without losing resolution.
- Colors – Your box manufacturer will want to know if the colors in your artwork are spot colors, CMYK, or both. Spot colors, also called Pantone or PMS, provide color consistency when a specific brand color is needed. Sometimes, spot colors can be recreated using CMYK, depending on the printing method, but for critical colors, it is best to supply a spot color.
- Fonts – if you have any text included in your artwork, don’t forget to supply any unique fonts to the manufacturer if they are not embedded into the files.
- Consult with the manufacturer – Before submitting your art file, consult with the manufacturer and get specifications for the project. When they do preflighting, they will ensure everything is where it needs to be to print properly.
Custom Printed Corrugated Boxes From Axis Corrugated Container
At Axis, we produce high precision flexographic printing, the most common corrugated printing method. It not only provides beautiful print and exact color registration, but it is also one of the most versatile and economical printing processes. In addition to providing custom printing, we strive to deliver cost savings through streamlined job workflow, shorter lead times, and just-in-time delivery. Contact us to create your custom printed corrugated boxes.