Exposing the Myths about Custom Printed Shipping Boxes

Printed Shipping Boxes Make a Great Impression

Every once in a while I still run into a good potential printed box customer who repeats a myth or misconception about printing on boxes. Before we get into the myths, let’s talk about what type of company might be a “good” prospect for printed corrugated shipping boxes.

• A company that has worked to develop an upscale image and wants to stand out in a crowded field.
• Someone who does not use twenty or thirty different size boxes. The ideal prospect usually utilizes 4 to 6 different size boxes.
• Someone who currently buys custom size or custom grade boxes

What are the most common misconceptions about printed shipping boxes?

1. The minimums for custom printed boxes are huge. Not true at all. Our minimums for custom printing most die cut mailer and RSC boxes is 1,000 and on some larger (>12” x 12” x 12”) RSC boxes we are able to run as few as 500 as long as the board minimum is met.
2.  The lead time is too long. We usually deliver custom printed orders in a week, after customer’s artwork is approved and they sign off on the print card proof.
3. The cost is way too high. The price of custom boxes rises as the purchase quantities decrease but printing has minimal impact on box cost on any order size.
4. Plate and artwork charges make it cost prohibitive. As long as the copy can be delivered crisp and clear, a PDF or JPEG is fine and no artwork fee is ever required. Plates are a onetime expense, can be re-used indefinitely and remain the property of the customer.

A Perfect Example

One of our favorite new customers is Linda Stein of Zosimos Botanicals. Linda understands the value of branding and wants her packaging to make a great impression, especially on the very first order.

She had some of the above concerns and was also worried her horizontal logo image might be too long and not look right on her small 5” cube boxes. She was also concerned about how her unique purple logo color would look on brown corrugated.

We helped Linda with the logo lay out, provided color samples for her to approve as well as a print card proof so she could see exactly what the box would look like. Soon after her final approval, we delivered the first of her boxes and you can see the results are impressive: to us, to Linda, but most importantly to Linda’s customers.

Let us know how we can help you break out of the brown box rut!