Customized design is what we do best at Wisconsin Green. Corrugated box design is the process of matching design factors for corrugated fiberboard boxes with the functional physical, processing, and end-use requirements. Packaging engineers work to meet the performance requirements of a box while controlling total costs throughout the system.
In addition to the structural design discussed in this article, printed bar codes, labels, and graphic design are also vital.
Corrugated boxes are used frequently as shipping containers. Boxes need to contain the product from manufacturing through distribution to sale and sometimes end-use. Boxes provide some measure of product protection by themselves but often require inner components such as cushioning, bracing and blocking to help protect fragile contents. The shipping hazards depend largely upon the particular logistics system being employed. For example, boxes unitized into a unit load on a pallet do not encounter individual handling while boxes sorted and shipped through part of their distribution cycle as mixed loads or express carriers can receive severe shocks, kicks, and so forth.
Ordinary shipping containers require printing and labels to identify the contents, provide legal and regulatory information, and bar codes for routing. Boxes that are used for marketing, merchandising and point-of-sale often have high graphics to help communicate the contents. Some boxes are designed for the display of contents on the shelf known as "Retail Ready Packaging". Others are designed to help dispense the contents. Popular for their strength, durability, lightness, recyclability, and cost-effectiveness, corrugated boxes are used for the shipping of a variety of items. Due to the quality and safety of packaging items in corrugated boxes, they are used widely in the food industry. The boxes handle the pressure that comes with stacking, making them ideal for easy transporting.
Also, more elaborate, and innovative box designs have emerged due to several reasons. Unboxing is one emerging trend that has challenged designers to create cool new ways of opening boxes and lively product displays within those boxes. Another trend is the use of corrugated board for product displays. With the rigidity of corrugated board combined with the ability to print beautiful designs, corrugated board can be designed as aPoint of Purchase display or "POP" display to showcase products in a fully branded display rather than the standard retail shelf.
More than 95% of all products in the United States are shipped in corrugated boxes. Corrugated paperboard accounts for more than half of all the paper recycled in the US.