How Did Cardboard Boxes Become The Most Popular Packaging Solution?

The simple, versatile staple of the packaging industry, Cardboard boxes are one of the most widely used packaging materials in the world. They are loved by cats and humans alike. But what really are they? Do they have multiple layers, or are they basically thick paper cut and creased into a box shape? Let’s find out.

Cardboard is a term that is widely used and often mistaken. In layman terms, it is used interchangeably for many different types of packaging materials. Cardboard is just paper that is usually thicker than paper. It has a thickness of 10 points or 0.25 millimeters. Furthermore, it is made from the same material that the average paper is made from.

The journey of cardboard began in 1817 when M. Treverton and Son manufactured the first paperboard. It wasn’t long that cardboard boxes were made in Germany. One of the first brands to use cardboard packaging for their products was Kellogg’s. They needed a lightweight packaging material that could house their breakfast cereal. As their cereal became the go-to breakfast product, cardboard packaging became the go-to packaging material. 

The versatility of this packaging material allowed it to take on different shapes and sizes. Thus, brands began experimenting with various interesting designs and packaging styles. The main goal was to create packaging solutions that could stand apart and attract customers to their products. Furthermore, they needed packaging that could carry custom prints.

Custom Printed Cardboard Boxes And Their Power To Attract Customers

Printing techniques were taking off in that era, and brands realized that packaging itself could serve as space to showcase their marketing material. Thus, custom printed cardboard boxes began taking the limelight of retail packaging solutions. The flat surface proved to be a wonderful substrate for printing techniques. 

Custom printed cardboard boxes allowed brands to make their function as more than just housing for their products. It allowed brands to display other products in their catalog. Thus, custom cardboard boxes were becoming the staple of retail packaging. 

However, as the competition grew, brands started to create custom cardboard boxes with additional features. These features were add-ons and finishing coats. Cardboard boxes that were made for retail packaging had die-cuts that would be covered with plastic sheets. This feature, known as window patching, allowed brands to gain the customers’ trust by letting them see the state of the products before they committed to buying the products. 

However, this was just the start of the various customizations that would begin embellishing the custom cardboard boxes. The packaging manufacturers would soon feature embossed and debossed images that would add another dimension to the packaging. Furthermore, they would use attractive foils to cover specific parts of the packaging and highlight the letters and edges of the packaging. 

Furthermore, finishing coats were also becoming part of the cardboard boxes for the wholesale and retail market. Finishing coats allowed brands to add another layer of personalization to the packaging. However, that was not all. Finishing coats allowed the wholesale and retail market cardboard boxes to be sturdier due to the thin covering that somewhat protected the custom prints against environmental wear and tear.

Cardboard Shipping Boxes And Their Lack Of Adequate Strength

Cardboard shipping boxes were talking the limelight too. However, this packaging material was not suited to long-distance shipping and storage. The material was essentially paper. Thus, it offered no real protection against the transit pressures. Furthermore, it was found that this material was incredibly soft when exposed to water. Thus, environmental moisture had a big impact on the robustness of the packaging. This lack of structural integrity made cardboard shipping boxes packaged in secondary packaging, which was wooden crates. However, doing that would considerably increase the cost of shipping the products over long distances.

What Came After Custom Cardboard Boxes?

The failure of the cardboard boxes to serve long-distance shipping applications would pave the way for corrugated packaging material to come into the limelight. This new material was much more durable when it came to protecting products for shipping. Furthermore, the cutting and creasing techniques learned when creating custom cardboard boxes could also be applied to the corrugated packaging.

Moreover, they could carry custom prints just as well, if not better than cardboard boxes. Thus, the world saw the slow removal of cardboard packaging for overseas and long-distance shipping operations.

However, the versatility and cost-effectiveness of this packaging material still see it being used worldwide. The packaging material itself is used to make custom inserts in different types of packaging too. Thus, brands can use cardboard material to secure the products inside various other types of wholesale and retail packaging. 

Custom Cardboard Boxes Are Here To Stay

Cardboard boxes have been a staple of the packaging industry for hundreds of years. Furthermore, their flexible nature has been used in countless applications such as the moving industry, warehouse storage, retail industry, etc. 

Even though this material may lack the required security to protect the products as they are stored for long periods. It provides brands with a basic building block on which they can let their creative expressions run wild. By incorporating exciting packaging styles, eye-catching add-ons, fantastic finishing coats, and stellar custom prints, brands can choose to craft custom cardboard boxes that flabbergast the customers and make them hooked on the products.

The simple fact remains that this packaging is going nowhere for all its short-comings in terms of strength and durability.