Custom Inserts Boxes

Core function of custom insert boxes

Custom insert boxes help your business in many ways but the three major functional rules the play for your supply chain are as follows;

The packaging of a product is a critical brand touchpoint between the business and the customer because customers judge a business through how effective and attractive the packaging is. Bulky aur loose packaging not designed appropriately always leaves a disgusting and cheap impression on customers. Custom design insert boxes present items neatly and beautifully with perfectly aligned logos and unique prints that make the customer perceive the packed product is of high value and they feel they are spending their money on the right product.

A product experiences continuous shocks, compression and jerks during shipping and sometimes bounce against the walls which leads to product damage during distribution. Custom insert boxes save the product from shattering or getting damaged because they restrict the movement of the product against the walls and also the material is chosen according to the product's delicacy to ensure maximum protection.

These boxes also increase efficiency of packaging time because you will be no longer spending your precious time on filling the loose boxes with packaging peanuts or other wrapping stuff. You will just simply drop the products into pre-made cavities that will reduce your packaging time for unit.

Insert boxes material and their costs

Choosing the right material is the only way to get best protection for your product, lower shipping costs, improve aesthetics and reach your sustainability targets;

Let's take a deep dive into material engineering to find the right one!

Corrugated dividers and inserts

These boxes are the cheapest to ship bulky items like beer cans, olive oil bottles, and candle Jars because they have special inter-locking strips of corrugated board that join to form a grid matrix that provides a gold standard safety to your products. Partition on this material provides protection against side to side shifting and vertical drops which keeps the product in its position without any damage.

Die-cut Cardboard inserts

These are custom engineered flat sheets that are especially folded into raised platorms using precision-cut openings to ensure your products like cosmetics, skin care and other consumer electronics are well protected and are also given anesthetic advantage or all other products available in the retail store.

These boxes rely heavily on their unique structural geometry and the way the tension is created while creating the raised platforms. Since they do not rely on material density, they are best suited for lightweight items weighing between 1 to 1.5lbs. The consumer after taking a product can drop the box for curbside recycling.

Molded pulp/fiber

Paper, recycled newspaper, plant fibers like bamboo and corrugated cutoffs are slurred with water and then molded into a tray. These are eco-friendly, biodegradable packaging that uses geometry, wall thickness and properly built structural columns like cartons of eggs to absorb maximum shock during shipping and dropping. This material provides better protection than paper and cardboard platforms. 
Limitation: Molded pulp requires physical milling and weaving wire meshes. The setup and tooling are a bit on the higher side for start. It might not be a cost-effective option for first 50 boxes but is a cost saving option for 1000s of units.

EVA Foam (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) Inserts

EVA is a synthetic foam known for its dense smooth and firm structure. It does not absorb water, chemicals, oil and also does not shed any type of particles or dust due to its closed cell foam which makes it perfect for giving sleek and clean look to high end items like watches, electronics and gifts. You can get Eva foam in your required density. It is available in black charcoal and white colors, but custom pantone colors can be available for larger Orders and for providing amazing top layer unique finished to the products. To further elevate the high and feel laminations with velvet, suede or printed paperboard can be done on the top of the EVA to provide a premium unboxing experience.

PU (Polyurethane) Foam Inserts

PU is a flexible sponge like open-cell material. As we discussed above EVA foam holds the product tightly in its fixed position, but PU foam is amazing for absorbing any heavy Kinetic shocks to maximize the product's protection. This material can oxidize and change its color when exposed to UV light and can also shed Minor particles due to which it is often preferred for technical protection and industrial transit rather than offering as a luxury retail display. The high compression elasticity and ability to protect delicate optical instruments, sensitive products, heavy glass or laboratory equipment PU material is worth the cost.

Get the perfect structural fit

No matter how premium material you choose, if the custom packaging design is not correctly fitting the product, this small mistake as low as 1 mm can cause the product to drop out during transit which will make your entire effort of creating a premium product go into vain. Before ordering the box go through the listed below guidelines to ensure your product get a perfect and Right Fit.

Internal Vs external dimensions of box

The dimensions of your insert should always be according to the interior dimensions of your box rather than exterior measurements because sometimes the outer wall or heavy corrugated boxes leave substantial space to wall thickness. For example, a dimension of 8 inches will only have 7.85 inches of usable interior space so if you design your box according to 8 inches of external measurement your insert will not fit inside the box perfectly which will lead to the edges buckle towards upwards. 

Fitting foam inserts

Foam inserts like EVA and PU should always be cut smaller than the product because if they are according to the product dimensions it will let the product fall out in transit therefore cut them smaller so they can firmly grip the interference face. This shouldn't be a random guess as to how much smaller the product should be therefore contact us and we will provide you with details of how small your cavity should be after thoroughly looking at your foam density and the product shape. We usually reduce it by 0.5mm to 1.5m. Depending entirely on product scale and foam density.

Managing stack height to provide ample space for lid

The general rule of thumb is that the insert base and the product must be below the inner height of the box to provide a space for the laid otherwise the product will pop open during shipping which will be a hazard for its safety. If you have a product that must extend above the main insert because of raised buttons, toggles or any other item then you must inform us so we can design a recessed cavity. 

Perfect flute alignment

Limitation of a corrugated board is that it’s one direction. In simple words it means that the flutes provide amazing structural strength along the vertical axis but they can be easily bent and torn on the parallel side. While designing these partitions or dividers must ensure that the flute grain runs vertically to the direction of the box. If the grains are running horizontally it will crash and cause the cartons to collapse.

We follow structured workflow

From initial concept (prototype) to full-scale production we follow a perfectly structured work flow to prevent costly manufacturing mistakes.

Our packaging engineers used 3D Laser technology scanners and digital calipers to map your products’ exact measurement so they can generate a perfectly accurate structural die-cut line for the product.

Once the sample box will pass all of you test we will send the final blueprint for full production run after the real world drop test and confirming your order size.