The demand for cardboard packaging tends to grow increasingly in retail and e-commerce businesses because of its suitability, versatility, usability, and reliability. Cardboard boxes are cheaper to afford, easier to work with, custom custom-friendly, and sustainable packaging options to keep products safe and damage-free.
The most common type of cardboard packaging is corrugated cardboard which is used to protect delicate items such as cosmetics, CBD products, soap, candles, and gifts. Custom jewelry boxes are also an example of cardboard packaging.
Although corrugated cardboard offers a lot more benefits than any other type of cardboard out there, it also has some drawbacks you need to know. So, here in this blog post, we’ll discuss the possible disadvantages of corrugated cardboard that can put your product safety at risk and also learn how to mitigate the cardboard packaging to maximize its potential. So, let’s find out.
What Is Corrugated Cardboard?
Corrugated is a type of custom cardboard box which are made from renewable wood fibers and thick paper pulp through pressing and applying pressure at extreme conditions. Corrugated cardboard boxes are unique in their way because they have a well-thought-out structure, material composition, design, and strength that makes them the top choice of e-commerce businesses for shipping and storing bulk products. Custom jewelry boxes, CBD boxes, candle boxes, gift boxes, and soap boxes are some types of cardboard packaging we all interact with in our daily routine.
When it comes to the structure of corrugated cardboard, it’s made of thicker and stiffer paper layers bonded together to give rise to a sturdy structure ready to exceed the shipping requirements of the products. External layers of corrugated boxes are flat and thicker while the middle layer is fluted and thinner which creates air pockets inside the packaging. In combination, the whole packaging structure provides good material strength, insulation, and shock absorption properties to the packaged products inside the box.
However, difficulty occurs when it comes to customization which is a major element of product packaging nowadays. The thicker and sturdier composition of corrugated cardboard gives a hard time to printers in printing custom details and product promotions. It makes them unsuitable for personalization and design requirements which are necessary to win the trust of customers.
Disadvantages Of Corrugated Cardboard
Corrugated cardboard boxes are created for shipping and transporting products from one place to another and that’s why they are sturdy, durable, and resilient in nature. However, they are not good at presenting products where the outlook of the product matters a lot as custom jewelry boxes and cosmetic boxes do.
That’s where you can face trouble using corrugated cardboard. Here is a list of disadvantages of corrugated cardboard you need to know to make informed choices about the packaging material ahead.
Lack Of Weatherproofing
Although corrugated cardboard boxes are more protective than any other type of cardboard, they are unable to protect the products that are sensitive to moisture or humidity. As corrugated cardboard is made of thick paper layers, it begins to deform and lose rigidity as soon as comes in contact with moisture or rough handling. It can cause swelling, shrinking, or wrapping the box, affecting its ability to protect items from environmental impact. Similarly, humidity in the air can dissolve wood fibers in the corrugated box which ultimately weaken the strength of the packaging.
Not Reusable And Functional
As the primary objective of creating corrugated cardboard boxes is to meet the shipping and delivery needs, they are not designed to be reused. They are simply designed to accommodate bulk items to transport from one place to another without damaging them. Thereby, they also lack the added functionality that regular cardboard boxes have.
As a result, you can consider that corrugated boxes are not the right choice for making custom jewelry boxes as they require extra features, elegant packaging, and quality design that corrugated boxes can’t ensure at all.
Not Created To Ship Heavier Products
To deliver bulkier or heavier items from manufacturing plants to the doorstep of consumers, choose any other packaging material rather than corrugated cardboard. In fact, no type of cardboard packaging material can handle bulkier items during shipping as they are not as sturdier and resilient as other materials.
Moreover, rough shipping handling or long-distance travel can also damage their shape and structure which can harm the packaged products. Similarly, stacking corrugated boxes on each other and reducing their space can also deform their shape or size-fit dimensions which you will not want to make happen at all. So, if you want to go with a reliable and more resilient type of packaging material for shipping needs, corrugated cardboard is not a good fit for you unfortunately.
Conclusion
As you see corrugated cardboard is not the right choice to be used as jewelry packaging boxes for its compromised strength and susceptibility to moisture. However, it can be modified in many ways to enhance its durability such as considering cushioning layers, adding honeycomb cardboard layers, or laminating with water-resistant material. This way, corrugated boxes can meet all your packaging needs as custom jewelry boxes after reinforced additions for sure.
