The Packaging is the selling point of any business. It’s the foremost thing with which a customer interacts. Well-Designed Packaging can make your product sell overnight, whereas dull ones can put it down the retail shelves.
However, designing a striking as well as cost-effective Packaging is the primary concern of every business. It can help you in increasing your profit margin when you cut down the cost, your revenue increases. That indulges the manufacturers in a constant struggle to find different cost-effective packaging ideas for their products. They have to work upon different variables to achieve this target.
The search starts with the choice of material to the manufacturing process, printing and finishing, etc. Once you become successful in creating a cost-effective packaging, it helps you in establishing a profitable business.
What are the four types of Packaging?
When it comes to Packaging, the manufacturers have a broad range of options. Different types of material are used industry-wide. Plastic, glass, metal and cardboard are the most common ones. But if you want to make a cost-effective packaging, cardboard is the most preferred choice of businesses. The main reason is its versatility and affordability. Cardboard is made by sandwiching a fluted layer of paper in between two straight liners. Such a structure gives it more strength. It exists in various forms like Kraft paper, paperboard, Bux board and corrugated cardboard.
Cardboard is used for making thousands of retail packaging types of products like boxes, cartons, paper bags and shipping containers. It is readily available and has less cost of production as compared to other packaging types. Its recyclable nature adds to its cost-effectiveness. By recycling 1 ton of paper products, you can save a large amount of power and natural resources.
How is Packaging made?
The process to make Packaging starts with the collection of material. To make cardboard packaging, first of all, the content is gathered from softwood trees like Spruce, Fir and Pine. They have long fibers which make the best paper for Packaging. These wood chips are then passed to either chemical or mechanical pulping process.
Mechanical pulping is more cost-effective than chemical pulping. It involves grinding, where wood is reduced to individual cellulose fibers. Rebarked logs are forced against the revolving stone to make the pulp. While chemical pulping involves cooking of wood chips to convert them to cellulose fibers.
In both processes, the flesh is cleaned and washed several times. This leads to the separation and reduction of lignin to produce a better quality paper. The pulp is then passed through large machines to create a thin sheet of brown Kraft paper. The leaves are rolled and send for Packaging and printing. According to the required template, the manufacturers design different types of packaging boxes.
As cardboard is 100% sustainable material so going for recycling can help you in reducing your cost of production and maximizing the profit margin.
How to Reduce Packaging Cost?
Below are some of the ways to create cheap Packaging for products:
- Choose packaging material carefully. Cardboard exists in various types depending upon its strength and thickness. Analyze the nature of your product and choose the required standard of content. For example, to pack a household product; use lightweight Kraft paper. In the case of machinery, thick corrugated cardboard is the preferred choice.
- Work on the size of the box as every product is unique so design perfect sized custom boxes according to the required dimensions. Keep a margin of only half to one an inch to insert filler packaging if needed. Smaller size boxes mean less use of material. They also reduce your transportation cost and dimensional weight shipping charges.
- To create a cost-effective packaging, always minimize the use of filler material. However, if required use Styrofoam, bubble wrap, and plastic air pillows, etc. They are less in weight, readily available and reusable.
- Get rid of unnecessary layering. Not all the products require several layers of Packaging. Therefore, analyze the nature of the product and decide the packaging layers accordingly.
- Choose eco-friendly materials like recycled paper, cardboard and biodegradable plastic. They not only benefit the environment but help you in making significant savings.
- Prevent transit damage as it is the hidden cost of your Packaging. If the items damage during transportation you have to compensate for it. Return, replace or “written off stock” can increase your cost.
- Reduce packaging time with automation. Different machines are available, which reduce not only the packing time but also the workforce requirement.
- Purchase raw material in bulk, especially if you have a medium or large scale business. It is one of the essential things which can lead to a profitable business.
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