How to Make Custom Packaging: Steps, Sustainability, Cost-Effective

Custom packaging is a multilayered approach that covers the brand image, product protection, and incredible customer experience. The process evolves with the packaging design and the selection of high-quality materials to create an impressive functionality. Sustainability minimizes the wastage of resources and focuses on using eco-friendly materials to make the product stand tall in the competitive market. Branding plays an important role in conveying the brand values and offering buyers an amazing unboxing experience.

The initial investment for custom packaging is relatively higher than the standard packaging as it holds the packaging production in specific dimensions with the key branding elements. To learn more about the importance, designing process, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of custom packaging, read the article below:

Why is Custom Packaging Required for Your Product?

Custom Packaging can benefit your product and the brand reputation in numerous ways. The use of unique shapes, artwork designs, and packaging styles makes the brand recognized in the competitive marketplace. The innovative packaging makes the product stand out by using eco-friendly materials to support sustainability and reduce the burden of wastage on the ecosystem. These are crafted using specific dimensions to design the perfect fit for the products. It ensures product protection during storage, handling, or shipping.

High-quality custom packaging creates a lasting impression on the target customers and offers them an amazing unboxing experience.

8 Steps to Design Your Custom Boxes

Custom Boxes are designed by following 8 significant steps:

Select the Custom Box Size

Selecting an appropriate box size is important for designing an effective packaging design. First, you have to measure the dimensions, i.e., length, width, and height of the product. This will also help you understand the need for packaging inserts like bubble wraps, foam inserts, or protective fillers. The right box size has a great impact on the overall aesthetic feel of the product packaging. This makes the box easy for customers to handle while enhancing the brand image.  

Select your custom packaging style

Choosing the right packaging style is critical to give buyers a memorable brand experience. To select the custom packaging style, determine the product type and function. Prefer a style that works well with sustainable packaging materials to showcase your brand as socially responsible. Before finalizing, also consider the target market preferences, age, interests, and buying behaviors. Go for a budget-friendly packaging style that proficiently fulfills your marketing goals.

Choose Quality Materials

Choosing quality packaging materials is essential for efficiently presenting and protecting the branded product in the competitive market. The selection of packaging materials depends upon the fragility of products, their size, weight, and shape. The brands should choose recyclable and biodegradable packaging materials like kraft, cardboard, and corrugated cardboard to attract eco-conscious customers. Never compromise on quality while being cost-effective to enhance customer engagement and sales volume.

Use Bold Eye-catching Colors

The use of bold eye-catching colors makes the product noticeable on retail store shelves and online platforms. They offer potential buyers a positive first impression and compel them to invest in your premium products. Colors convey great energy or playfulness to create an emotional connection with the target audience. They reinforce brand identity by making the important details easy to understand. The bold fonts make the packaging stand out and draw attention to specific elements or key product features.

Include Images & Artwork

Attractive Images & artwork are the first things that interact with the customers and help customers easily recognize the products. The artwork designs transmit a clear set of instructions or guidelines about the product use. They incredibly convey the list of ingredients or benefits. Images influence buying decisions and become a free social media campaign for brands aspiring to earn a competitive advantage.

Find the Right Packaging Designer

Finding the right designer is crucial to understanding the target market preferences and creating impressive product packaging. A professional designer helps the brand design consistent packaging, efficiently translating the brand values. They offer valuable insights into the artwork, materials, and production techniques to help you make informed decisions. The skilled packaging designer helps you recognize the importance of sustainable materials to reduce the environmental impact while minimizing the production cost.

Work with a Trusted Supplier

Selecting a reliable supplier is imperative to give your brand vision an attention-grabbing product packaging design. A trusted packaging manufacturer offers cost-effective solutions to ensure product protection and meet industry standards. They hold a wide range of artwork designs and dieline templates to make your product grab the perfect light. A trusted supplier prioritizes eco-friendly materials while being within budget constraints and delivers the product packaging in a fast turnaround time.

Finalize Your Custom Box for Production & Shipping

Once we finish the designing and material selection stage, it’s time to confirm that the custom boxes are ready for production & shipping. At this stage, ask for artwork designs in high-resolution formats like PDF. Carefully review the digital proofs for errors or discrepancies to ensure the packaging design, materials, and style meet your expectations. After the approval of the prototype, a green signal will be given for the production process to reduce the packaging cost. Keep a closer check on production and quality control to efficiently manage the inventory levels. Get the packaging delivered through reliable shipping forums like FedEx or DHL.

Best Materials for Custom Packaging

Create custom packaging using high-quality materials to ensure product protection and presentation. Choose the packaging materials considering the product type to reflect your brand values and impress the target audience. Look for sustainable alternatives to showcase your brand as socially responsible. Following is a comparison of some common packaging options available for custom packaging:

Sustainability in Custom Packaging

Sustainability has taken the shape of a necessity in the current world of eco-conscious consumers. To understand it further, let’s have a look at the following imperative elements:

Eco-Friendly Printing Methods

Choose eco-friendly printing methods for custom packaging to minimize the environmental impact.

• Go for water-based inks that hold low toxicity for the ecosystem. Such type of printing reduces carbon emissions and efficiently improves air quality.
• UV-curable inks have a fast-drying process on exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
• The digital printing method uses a digital device to print directly on the product packaging with reduced waste and fast turnaround time.

Use Recyclable and Biodegradable Materials

The use of recyclable and biodegradable materials is not just beneficial for the environment but also plays a great role in enhancing the sustainable packaging.

• Recycled cardboard is a versatile and cost-effective packaging option. This can be personalized using custom product dimensions, various printing methods, and finishes.
• Kraft Paper gives a natural appearance to the product packaging. It holds an organic brown color with limited printing options.
• Biodegradable Plastics are an impressive replacement of the traditional plastic packaging without causing any harm to the environment. This is quite durable.
  

Reduce Packaging Waste

Eco-friendly packaging reduces material wastage with some effective strategies. Custom packaging is crafted in perfect product dimensions to design accurate fits and minimize material consumption. This efficiently reduces the need for custom packaging inserts. The accurate box design focuses on product protection and presentation to highlight the special features.

Encourage Reusability

Recyclability and reusability promote the manufacturing of storage containers or gift packaging that can be repurposed by worthy customers. To achieve this purpose, durable packaging materials are prioritized. The packaging conveys the reusable features and lets the customers know about its benefits. This eventually raises awareness among potential buyers and contributes to a sustainable environment.

4 Cost-Effective Custom Packaging Solutions

Following are 4 cost-effective custom packaging solutions:

Minimalistic Packaging Designs

Focus on product protection and presentation instead of intricate designs. This minimizes the need for complex color contrasts and printing methods.

Recyclable and Sustainable Materials

Use recycled cardboard, kraft paper, or corrugated to minimize material wastage and promote sustainability.

Efficient Production Methods

Design compact boxes to efficiently utilize the space. Go for flat shipping to minimize the storage and shipping costs. Order in bulk to reduce the overall production cost.

Digital Printing

Allow unique and intricate designing for small order quantities. Eliminate the need for dieline templates and deliver in a fast turnaround time.

How to Ensure Custom Packaging Meets Requirements?

To ensure the custom packaging meets the requirements, check the following elements:

• Determine the level of protection required to keep the products safe during transit.
• Focus on the functionality of packaging.
• Craft the packaging design reflecting your brand values.
• Survey legal and regulatory compliance to fulfill the labeling and safety standards.
• Select appropriate materials to fulfill the product needs within the budget constraint.
• Create attractive packaging design to meet the product requirements.
• Develop samples to test the design, material quality, and functionality.
• Implement strict quality measures to confirm that the final product meets the specifications.
• Choose a reliable shipping forum for the safe delivery of product packaging.

What is the difference between custom and standard packaging?

Custom and standard packaging are quite different from each other. To perfectly understand the variations, have a look at the table below:

How can small businesses afford custom packaging?

Small businesses can easily afford custom packaging to enhance their brand image and the customer experience. Minimalistic packaging designs are currently trending for being innovative yet impactful. The addition of textures and patterns using modern printing methods makes the packaging eye-catching for potential buyers. Small-scale brands should go for sustainable materials to be cost-effective and attractive to eco-conscious consumers. Choose flat packaging to reduce the shipping cost with the required order quantities.

What software can I use to design custom packaging?

There are various software options available for designing custom packaging, but here are a few popular ones:

Adobe Illustrator: A powerful tool for creating elaborated design elements, precise shapes, and color gradients.

CorelDRAW: A versatile tool for creating complex packaging designs including illustrations & layouts.

ArtiosCAD: A specialized software for creating dielines and 3D packaging models.

Need custom packaging for your brand? Contact us today!

Do you need custom packaging for your brand? If yes, contact Box Agency today as we are a leading packaging manufacturer focusing on the provision of high-quality packaging at competitive prices. Our skilled team of designers and packaging professionals holds no compromise on fulfilling the product requirements. We focus on utilizing eco-friendly materials to support sustainable practices. We offer cost-effective minimum order quantities with delivery through shipping forums like FedEx or DHL. So, what are you waiting for? Order us and enjoy being the best in the competitive market.