Product packaging today serves more than just a box or a bag. It’s a powerful tool that protects your product, helps you sell more, attracts customers, and builds your brand.
Imagine your customer unboxing your product in packaging with a sleek design, a secure fit, and branding elements — all of which contribute to their overall experience. This applies especially to rigid boxes, which are famous for their durability and luxurious feel.
If you’re a business owner seeking successful product packaging, this ultimate guide is for you. Let’s get started!
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Custom Packaging for Business
Creating the successful custom product packaging for your business is a huge journey. So, let’s break it down into easy-to-understand steps.
Preparation
Before you even think about the product packaging design, colors, images, and fonts, you need to lay the groundwork first. Also, ensure you select the appropriate material for your box. Rigid stock is an ideal option, as it features a high-end, smooth surface and structural integrity.
Focus on the Purpose of the Packaging
What do you want your product packaging boxes to achieve? Is it for securely shipping your product? Or do you need it to highlight your product on a retail shelf? Alternatively, perhaps you need to send your products in subscription boxes?
Understanding the purpose of your packaging can help in your design choices.
- Consider How Your Product is Sold
Will you sell your product online or in a retail setting?
If you’re selling your products online, you will need boxes that secure your products and enhance the unboxing experience. On the other hand, for a retail setting, you should make sure that customers recognize your brand; embossed boxes are ideal for this purpose.
- Check Out the Competition’s Packaging
See what your competitors are doing with their product packaging. Learn from them and find the possibilities to enhance your packaging design.
- Be Consistent
Remember, product packaging in marketing acts as a powerful tool. Whether you need custom packaging for a small business or an e-commerce site, maintaining consistency in your branding is essential. This includes your brand-oriented colors, your business logo, and all the branding elements. By doing this, customers will easily recognize your products and brand.
Define Your Packaging Needs
The next step is to define your packaging needs.
- Type of Product
Consider the size, weight, and fragility of your product. After all, no products are alike. For example, fragile products like perfume bottles require sturdy perfume boxes. On the other hand, you can use lighter packaging for food or bakery items.
- Volume
Decide the number of products you will pack, as this will determine the box type, dimensions, and add-ons you need.
- Your Budget
Be realistic about the budget you can spend. However, remember that high-quality packaging is a long-term investment for your business.
Do the Precise Measuring
When it comes to creating successful product packaging, accuracy is the main key. Your box dimensions will impact the packaging cost, the material usage, and, of course, the shipping cost. Therefore, take a precise measure of your product before designing your custom packaging.
Choose Your Box Type
There are various types of product packaging, each with its own layout and characteristics. Choosing the right box type is essential, as your box needs to be a perfect fit that stylishly presents your product and brand.
Below are some popular product packaging examples you should consider.
- Two Piece Boxes: A box with two parts, consisting of a lid that fits over the base.
- Magnetic Flip-Top Boxes: Feature a hinged lid with a magnetic closure; these boxes provide a luxurious touch.
- Collapsible Boxes: These space-saving boxes can be flattened for easy storage and shipping.
- Drawer Boxes: These boxes feature a drawer opening, combined with a sliding mechanism that enables smooth opening.
- Rigid Boxes with Inserts: Custom inserts protect sensitive products, such as cosmetics or electronics, in a secure and organized manner.
Select the Printing Options
The look of your product packaging design will impact the overall look of your product and its perceived value. This is why selecting the right printing option is essential. Below are popular printing techniques to choose from.
- Digital Printing
Featuring vibrant color lines and perfect for smaller runs, digital printing is often the best option. Better yet, the method offers fast turnaround times and makes small runs affordable, with no setup fees.
- Offset Printing
Offset printing provides high-quality and consistent results, making it an ideal choice for large orders. However, this method can be expensive if you only need a low-volume project because it requires printing plates and some setup fees.
- Flexography Printing
Flexography printing is the most cost-effective option for large-volume projects. The only drawback is that the colors on your packaging will not be as vibrant as the two printing options above.
Understand the Color Models
Applying the right color to your custom packaging can make a huge difference in how customers perceive your product.
- CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black)
This color model can create a wide range of colors by combining its four main colors, with proper accuracy.
- PMS (Pantone Matching System)
The PMS color model offers consistent colors, making it perfect for maintaining brand color accuracy across various materials.
Choose the Right Coating
Coating not only adds a layer of protection to your product but also enhances its appearance. Furthermore, the right coating can improve the visual appeal of your packaging.
- Matte & Glossy: Matte coating offers a smooth, understated look, while a glossy finish creates a vibrant, shiny appearance.
- UV coating: This coating adds a protective layer that enhances color vibrancy and resists scratches.
- Soft-touch coating: It provides a luxurious, velvety feel, enhancing the sensory experience when customers open the package.
Select the Finishing Options
Next, the finishing touch. Whether you realize it or not, the finishing touch adds a more impactful look and feel to your packaging.
Here are some finishing options you should consider.
- Hot Foil Stamping: The technique adds metallic or colored foil accents for a premium look.
- Spot UV: It can highlight specific areas with a glossy, raised finish, creating a stunning contrast.
- Embossing: Embossing creates a raised texture that adds depth to your packaging, making it perfect for showcasing your business logo.
- Debossing: The opposite of embossing, debossing creates a depressed texture that also adds depth to your product packaging.
- Die-Cut Window: The die-cut window patching allows customers to see your product in real-life conditions.
Design Your Packaging
Certainly, product packaging design templates, product packaging design courses, and even product packaging design AI tools are available. However, when you work with the experts at Custom Rigid Boxes, you can get professional packaging design guidelines and bring your visions to life.
- Preparing Dielines
The first thing to do when designing your packaging is to prepare a dieline. A dieline is the outline that guides the cutting and folding of your box.
- Create Your Artwork
Now it’s time to design all the visual elements, such as your business logo, images, and text, that will be printed on your packaging. Here, you need to ensure that your packaging design aligns with your brand and conveys your message.
- Prototyping
The prototyping stage is where you get a physical sample of your packaging. This allows you to see how your artwork translates to the material. At this stage, you can test the durability and ease of opening of your product packaging. You can also test the packaging to ensure it withstands handling and transit.
Production and Shipping
Once you’re happy with the prototype, it’s time to manufacture your custom packaging boxes. Simply sit back, relax, and wait for the arrival of your packaging.
The shipment depends on your requested timeline, customization requirements, package size, and your chosen delivery method.
Wrapping Up
No doubt, product packaging today serves as a powerful tool that protects your product, helps you sell more, attracts customers, and builds your brand. Creating the perfect custom product packaging for your business is a huge journey. Hopefully, our ultimate guide above will help you create successful product packaging for your business.
Have a nice day ahead!
FAQs
Which type of packaging do I need to sell online products?
If you’re selling your products online, you will need durable and appealing boxes to enhance the unboxing experience.
Why do we need precise measuring when creating product packaging?
The box measurements will impact the packaging cost, the material usage, and, of course, the shipping cost.
What printing technique is best for a small project?
For a small project, consider digital printing, which offers fast turnaround times and makes small runs affordable, with no setup fees.
What is prototyping?
The prototyping stage is where you will get a physical sample of your packaging. This allows you to see how your artwork translates to the material. At this stage, you can test its durability and ease of opening. You can also test the package to ensure it withstands handling and transit, and get feedback on the design.
