Useful Guide: Different Types of Packaging Materials

The packaging of your products is crucial for the well being of the merchandise, and also for the organization for where it will be saved for shipping.

Now there are various ways in which you can close your packaging for the product, depending the needs of the merchandise you are selling. But first lets resume why the way you save your product is so important.

Benefits of packaging

• Physical protection: Packaging provides physical protection from damage that can be caused by many circumstances, such as extreme temperatures, turbulence during transport and other kinds of impact, such as being crushed. In addition, it will prevent contamination by things like dust and humidity which can also harm food, clothes or electronics.
• Containment: It offers useful containment for small items and accessories that may be found in a shipment. For example, cookies usually need extra protection so that they do not crush each other.
• Defense: Gives your goods a line of defense against tampering in case anyone tries to get into them during transit and delivery.

Those are a few reasons for you to considerate carefully how to wrap your product. Also there's other reasons, marketing kind, for you to think about the packaging.

Have you ever came past a store and were tempted by the colors or how the product was placed or wrapped? Well that's because the packaging is also a marketing instrument.

Our brain remembers or captures images better than any other thing. We are pre-determinated so that when we see certain colors, images, things, it somehow relates to our emotions and triggers them. For example, the orange color looks like joy and energy. That’s the reason for having many soft drinks and beverages coming in orange packaging.

Also you need to think about the material of the wrapping for each product. Here are the different ways or materials for you to package your merchandise.

Plastic

The most used packaging material. It basically has universal shaping, you can shape it as you desire depending on your requirements. They are durable and resistant materials in general, each plastic has its characteristics, some of them are even recyclable.

Cotton

Very useful for brands that are in the environmental race and need a resistant material. Cotton is a natural product, it is eco-friendly because it comes from a plant. Usually used for furnishing, packaging things, or for storing too.

Jute

Is obtained from the Corchorus plant family, a very fibrous material. Quite normally used in the textile industry. It is eco-friendly and is used for bags, sacks, etc.

Rigid Box

This are the boxes in which usually the smartphones are packed, very solid and rigid, hard to break, clearly meant for the products protections. These are made from the paperboard but after a long procedure of condensing the material. Even though its a hard material, it can be shaped according to the packaging needs. It has a high cost to use as packaging that is why usually it is to save jewelry, electronic devices, etc.

Paperboard

Basically it is paper made just of wood, to give you the idea of how solid it can be, meaning it is 100% recyclable. Easy to cut, fold, or to design over them to make it more attractive. Fast food industries are more likely to use them.

Chipboard

Its a type of paperboard, because it was elaborated out of recycled paperboard. But later it is compressed very strongly to gain resistance, that's when it turns into a chipboard. You may find it in two colors, white or black. Easily to transport. The strongest example are the cereal boxes, this are packaged in chipboard.

Corrugated Cardboard

Pizza boxes are made of this, they are elaborated by putting one layer on top of the other and compressing them together. A layer of paper is the reason why it is called corrugated, having a wavy form that supports the whole structure and makes it stranger. A single face board has to have one simple paper layer and one corrugated layer.

Foil Sealed Bag

It is covered with an aluminum layer. Usually chosen to package chips, silicon and textile packaging.

Envelope/ Bubble Mailers

Paper made , usually have a line of bubble wrap in the inner layer. That bubble layer helps to ensure the packaging is closed enough to protect the product. You can generally see this while buying big technology or electronic devices such as computers, TVs, etc.

Each and every one of them has its specific characteristics, so it depends on how fragile the product is or how many precautions are needed, the kind of packaging that has to be chosen.