Everything You Need to Know About Custom Printed Boxes

Custom printed boxes may be more expensive, as they are more complicated to produce, but when you choose to ship in a unique, high-quality box emblazoned with stunning, multi-color graphics, your customers will certainly notice the difference. If you’re still not sure whether a custom box with high-end, multi-color printing is a better choice than a plain, brown, cardboard box, there are a few things you should consider. In a nutshell, here’s everything you need to know about custom printed boxes to help you make up your mind.

Why Companies Choose Custom Boxes w/Logos
First of all, it’s important to understand some of the reasons why retailers prefer custom packaging and box logos to the plain, brown options. Aside from the obvious, here are some of the most common reasons retailers decide to spend the extra dollars on branding a box for their products:

  • You make it easy for consumers to visually differentiate your products from your competition.
  • You can easily and efficiently display technical information on the outside of the box, which could be a determining factor in a shopper choosing your product over that of a competitor’s.
  • You can display re-order or supplemental information on the outside of box, making it easier for your buyer to know exactly what to expect from your product.
  • You make it easier for retailers to stock shelves in a consistent manner.
  • You are essentially promoting your brand image every time someone sees your box.

Custom Printing Techniques
If you go with custom printing on high-quality boxes, you have several printing techniques to choose from. Depending on your needs and goals, one of these options may be more appropriate for you:

  • Digital Printing: A cost-effective custom printing option, consisting of full color prints directly applied to a corrugated box.
  • Flexographic Printing: A more basic form of custom box printing, consisting of 1-3 colors on shipping boxes. Ideal for simple graphics, images or logos.
  • Litho Laminating: The most high-quality of custom printing options, consisting of high-resolution and photorealistic graphics applied directly to the paper which is then mounted to the box.

Considering the Costs and Time Frame
If you’re simply adding one-color printing directly to a corrugated box, it may only increase the cost by 10%, although this cost will go up incrementally for each additional color added. While a high-end box with litho-laminated printing will be the most expensive, consider the fact that it only adds pennies to the dollar. This should put the cost in perspective.

As far as time frame goes, you may be surprised to learn that it’s not uncommon for custom printing orders to be completed in less than five business days. Extremely complicated orders may take longer, but you should never have to wait weeks upon weeks for a custom printed box shipment. In-fact, the most time-consuming task might be designing the logo or artwork on your end. The rest is really quite simple.

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