MAKING A BOX FROM 0 TO 1
Highly Recommend Saving this Guide while approaching any Packaging House
READY THE PRODUCT
+ Your Branding Material
This includes recognizing how your brand is going to market and sell the product. Is it going to be purely online or on retail shops as well ? Are you selling through a partner who will also use his own box or only on your own ?
These questions will ultimately help you seek the correct solution in the next step ->
DESIGNING A BOX 1
Design with a Budget
Box is an extension of your product and it is easy to sway - i.e. making a great box but realizing it is not economically feasible for your brand. Therefore ask the manufacturer how much a box ( that you like ) costs and its rough breakdown to have a good metric to judge your own budget by. This step must be followed if you have never procured packaging in a personal capacity and are unaware of the market prices.
After this provide your product alongside your budget to the designer who will understand the needs your box needs to fulfill. Here you can even look up designs online at Pinterest or Behance or any other design publication you feel inspired by.
DESIGNING A BOX 2
Rapid Prototyping
This process usually takes about a week or two depending upon the exact requirements asked of the box. For ex - We were successful in a Drop Test of 1.5 m for a Kg of Desi Ghee in a Glass Jar without fail - In a box designed for commercial use under a strict budget!
Don't be afraid to explore what you would like your product to achieve - Packaging should not be a barrier. After you have decided on the design it may be a good practice to have a meeting with your graphics team ( we can help on that front if need be ) to decide how your packaging can have the maximum impact while fulfilling necessary product declarations.
DESIGNING A BOX 3
Printing and Post Process Magic
The physical design of the box must complement the graphic design. In addition to high quality printing there are many added services which can highly enhance the visual and tactile quality of the box such as Foiling, Embossing, Metallic PET Treatment, UV Treatment and more. The stage of rapid prototyping can be revisited again to incorporate the visual effects into the physical design for maximum impact.
FINAL SAMPLE AND COST APPROVAL
Discussing the specifics
You should ask the manufacturer about the grade of paper, lamination, inks etc being used with the market rate for different qualities and more. This will help in reducing the cost per box in addition to you being aware of the materials used. The cost you save in one sphere can be reallocated to achieve a better overall quality in the box !
Post the costing and its approval you should be provided with a die cut, offset printed sample which will resemble the final outcome. Ideally there should be no/minimal development cost if the design goes into production !
WAITING AND DELIVERY
The Final Step
After our manufacturing team and unit takes care of the production we stack the ready to assemble boxes, shrink wrap for added protection and deliver it your warehouse/packing station for its assembly. As easy as saying Peach !
