Many companies order custom boxes to house information and
announcements about new products, to package software,
CD/DVD's and other electronic media, or to have an option
over brochures, pocket folders and binders. This article
will help you understand your vast options when requesting
custom boxes.
Some typical types of boxes include:
- Corrugated
- Plastic
- Turned edge,
- set up boxes
- Aluminum
- SBS
- wood
Most people are familiar with shipping cartons made out of
thick brown (or kraft) C-flute corrugated board. Inspecting
a side cut of C-flute corrugated, you notice it is very
wide and thick; good for shipping things but not good for
accepting the kind of graphics required to market a product.
E-flute corrugation is only 1/16th " thick, much thinner
than the C-flute mentioned above. On some requirements,
F-flute or B-flute corrugated may be used. F-flute is very
thin (even thinner than E-flute) and is used for very small
boxes or boxes that require intricate die cutting.
Surprisingly, B-flute is thinner than C-flute but thicker
than E-flute. B-flute is about 1/8th" thick and is used for
heavier weight projects.
Corrugated board is usually stocked by the mill and is
defined by colors. Brown, Oyster White, White.
White is the most expensive board and most sought after for
graphic usage.
Combinations are available, by special order. Oyster over
Kraft or Bleached over Kraft are common. Normally the wavy
part of the corrugated board is Kraft.
Decoration of Corrugated
Litho lam: Many customers prefer their corrugated boxes
have the graphics printed on 80# litho paper, which can be
film, laminated and mounted to the corrugated. (we call
this labeling). Film lamination seals the printing and
enables the box hinges to be bent without cracking. The
label is attached to the corrugated board before die
cutting. The film lamination can be either glossy or matte
(also called de-lustered). A label can be applied to the
outside or the inside of the box (also called the liner) or
both. The label usually covers the entire box.
Flexo printing: Imagine a big rubber stamp and you now have
a good idea of flexo printing. If complex 4 color process
graphics is not required then flexo printing may be an
alternative to consider. Because flexo printing is not
sophisticated, you can only expect the quality of a 65 line
screen. This differs dramatically from the 150 line screen
quality common in litho printing (labeling). The most cost
efficient type of flexo printing is a flood coat (overall
coverage) of a color. Stock printing plates can be used to
put the color on the board. However, if graphics or type is
required to be reversed out of the solid field or you want
to have positive type or graphics, a custom printing plate
will have to be made. Flexo plates are priced per square
inch. The more graphics or type, the more expensive.
Silk screen: For quantities too low to create expensive
flexo plates, silk screening can be a cost effective
alternative. Modern technology has made silk-screening
almost as clear and sharp as offset printing. We start with
your artwork either on a computer disk or good black and
white copy. A film positive is made from the art and
mounted on to a screen that has been coated with an
emulsion. The screen and artwork (on a film positive) are
exposed to light for a few minutes. The black of the
artwork blocks the emulsion from hardening. The film
positive is removed from the screen and the screen is
washed with a high-speed water spray. The emulsion where
the artwork was is washed away leaving a stencil of the
artwork on the screen. The screen is mounted to a press and
a squeegee pushes special paints through the screen onto
the material for your box.
Silkscreen paints are hand mixed to come as close as
possible to a specified color but it is not an exact
science. We silk screen on many different color materials
and a hand mixed Pantone color match will look different
when put on colors other than white.
Turned edge boxes and set up boxes: Whereas corrugated
boxes have "raw edges" where you can see the corrugation,
turned edge differ because the board is covered by the
wrap. Instead of using corrugated board, we use different
weights of chip board. In small quantities, these boxes are
made by hand. In larger quantities, box making machines are
used. Turned edge boxes tend to cost more than corrugated
boxes but they have a more finished look. Because chip
board is used, these boxes tend to weigh more than the
equivalent corrugated box. Set up boxes are in the category
of turned edge boxes. These boxes are commonly referred to
as gift boxes and jewelry boxes. Both turned edge and set
up boxes can be wrapped in a variety of coverings, film
laminated printed paper, linen cloths, fancy paper stocks.
Plastic boxes:
Plastic boxes generally are available in either injection
molded plastics or die cut sheet plastics. Injection molded
boxes tend not to be used for custom purposes as tooling to
make custom sizes and shapes is expensive and they are
difficult to decorate. Most of our discussion will be on
converting sheets of plastic into boxes.
The most common sheet plastics used are polyethylene and
polypropylene. Both of these materials can be constructed
to form boxes with tuck tabs or can be sonic welded. Sonic
welded boxes ship to the customer already assembled. Tuck
tab boxes can be shipped flat and assembled by the
customer. Both materials come in a variety of thickness'
starting at 16 gauge and going up to as high as 75 gauge.
The most popular thickness' are 35 and 55 gauge for
polyethylene and 30 gauge and 55 gauge for polypropylene.
Polyethylene has been around longer than polypropylene and
comes in a wide variety of stock colors and natural (milky
clear). Polypropylene is sometimes preferred by customers
seeking clear boxes because it can be made crystal clear.
Polypropylene tends to be more expensive than polyethylene
and has a greater tendency to show scratches and marks with
use. For this reason, polypropylene is made on one or both
sides with a matte finish or lines to hide the scratches.
Clear polypropylene can also come with color tints.
As boxes made of plastic begin as flat sheets they are
relatively easy to decorate.
Decoration of plastic
Silk screening is the most popular technique used on
polyethylene and polypropylene. Both these materials have
very flat, non porous surfaces, ideal for silk screening.
With modern screening methods, a wide variety of half
tones, graduated screens and process printing can be
accomplished at a reasonable price. Small to moderate
quantities of product with complex printing, lend itself to
silk screening. See details of silk screening above.
Litho (offset) printing can be accomplished on lighter
gauges of material in larger quantities. In this case you
would ideally begin with a white substrate. Quality can be
as good as on coated paper stock.
Hot Stamp: This is the transfer of a color (usually
metallic silver or gold) mounted to a roll of plastic on to
the poly by use of a heated metallic die. The metal die is
made from your artwork and is mounted to a stamping press.
The colored foil on the roll is transferred to the material
in the shape of your art on the die. For pricing advise the
number of square inches of leaf to be used. Multiply width
by height of the imprint area for the square inches of
leaf. Frequently you may wish to combine several methods of
decoration, such as silk screening and stamping.
Aluminum boxes: A relatively new option are boxes made out
of Aluminum or a combination of Aluminum and Acrylic
panels. Boxes can be constructed in tote box style, two
piece set up box style or as CD/DVD boxes. Many customers
opt for silk screen decoration on their boxes but more
exciting options such as laser etching, anodizing and
powder coating are also available.
SBS or paper boxes:
Paper boxes options could fill a manual by themselves.
Sales Packaging has produced many options for customers.
Most frequently, we take 20 to 24 point SBS (single
bleached sulfite) white board, litho print and film lam
before die cutting into a variety of products. Popular
items are VHS sleeves and boxes, totes, product sample
boxes, CD and marketing mailers to name a few options.
Wood boxes: When a certain elegance is required, wood
boxes fit the bill. From highly lacquered cigar type boxes
to natural finished wood boxes.
Hopefully this has shed a little light on custom boxes for
promotional marketing. It can be a fairly complex process
but don't feel overwhelmed, there are organizations to help
you through.
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Paul Fleming represents Sales Packaging who have been
supplying custom boxes and other promotional marketing
material since 1988. Don't hesitate to contact us
(1-800.654.6660) if you need further clarification or
customization or visit http://www.salespack.com .
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