Custom printing your packaging is a great way to boost your customers’ overall brand experience. Custom packaging instills trust and adds value to your service. But what are the costs involved?
We’re going to take a deep dive into the factors you need to consider when calculating the costs of customized printed boxes.
What you’ll need to consider
The cost of packaging consists of not just the cardboard boxes but all of the materials involved including tape, packing peanuts, stretch film and whatever else is used. There’s also the cost of artwork design if needed.
There isn’t a set price for custom printed boxes; there are various factors that affect the cost. You can use our box calculator to get an accurate cost for the plain boxes.
Running a successful e-commerce business can be tricky to begin with. If you have a loyal following and regular orders, but haven’t yet invested in custom printed packaging, it’s about time that you do! The cost for your packaging will go up slightly, but the benefits of printed packaging far outweigh the rise in cost. Plus, custom printed cardboard boxes aren’t as costly as you may think.
So, the factors that affect printed box costs. Before you can calculate the required budget, you need to answer the following questions:
The volume of your packaging will determine the method of printing that you use. You may like the speed that Flexo printing gives you, but due to the cost of setup, small runs will have a very high cost.
There is much to consider when designing the print for your boxes. One of the main things to consider is whether you’re using an image-based logo or your brand name in a standard font, and how many colours you have incorporated.
As with the first point, the type of design that you use will impact the type of printing process that you choose. You don’t want to waste money on a method of printing that costs more, if your packaging design can be easily completed with a method that’s cheaper. Sometimes a single colour printed logo on packaging can be more effective.
The flexographic printing process uses rubber printing plates to stamp the ink over the printing surface. For big batch printing on different surfaces such as laminate and foil, flexographic printing might work out cheaper.
The digital printing process prints a digital image on surfaces using a toner. Some surfaces may complicate the process, but for custom printed boxes in short runs, digital printing will certainly keep your costs down.
The type of packaging that you use should reflect the item that is in the box. If you’re selling high-quality items such as jewellery, you’ll want to invest in durable boxes for shipping.
Not only does high-quality packaging instill trust in the brand, it also protects the items in the box; further improving the customers’ experience as it shows them that you care.
What you need your branded boxes for will inform what kind of cardboard boxes you require.
Corrugated cardboard is the most common type of material used for when creating custom packaging. This type of cardboard is supplied in two forms – single wall and double wall cardboard boxes.
Double wall is best for heavier or fragile product packaging and for storage use. Single wall cardboard is great for a wide variety of custom packaging solutions, from retail packaging to e-commerce.
Single wall has the benefit of being the most cost effective solution – the lighter materials used mean shipping costs will be less.
Product packaging will vary from single wall where rigid boxes are required to paperboard for uses such as cereal box packaging.
Two of the most popular types of cardboard boxes are the regular slotted container (RSC) and the die cut box – which you choose will have an effect on your custom boxes cost. The RSC is the most common form of box with flaps on both sides of the box that fold inwards to join in the middle. Perfect for shipping or storage.
Die cut boxes are cut from a single sheet of cardboard using a die cutting machine and can be self-closing as they have tabs that slot together. This kind of box can be cut into the exact size you need for your product and will need less additional packaging accessories such as tape. There will be a one-off cost for producing the “die” that is used to cut out the custom box.
As a company Boxtopia is very much focussed on meeting the needs of small business when it comes to cost optimization and affordable prices. We can offer the highest quality premium packaging in short runs with no minimum order. We’re faster than most when it comes to delivery and with the ability to create exactly quantity you need, you can keep custom printed boxes cost down.
Printing your brand onto your packaging is a sure-fire way to secure repeat custom. When purchasing products online, your customers have very little interaction with your company. To them, it’s just a website. Their first form of contact from your company is usually the parcel arriving at their door. This is why it’s important to invest in the best branded packaging that you can, and custom printed boxes at a cost effective way of doing that.
Aside from the positive impression, branded packaging also gives your company advertising potential and brand recognition. This is vital to the growth of your business. If you have your customer journey nailed down, the next step is to grow your customer following; you need to get your brand out there. This is where the advertising potential of printed boxes comes in.
There are two ways that your printed packaging will improve brand recognition:
While custom printed cardboard boxes are a step up in costs compared to plain (boring!) boxes, there are many significant benefits.
For your branded packaging needs, take a look at our Printed Cardboard Boxes page.
