Packing products in cardboard boxes may seem like an easy task, but, like almost everything in life, it has its technique and its tricks. Knowing well the fundamentals of a good packaging will give you the certainty of achieving the security, resistance and presentation that is sought in a good packaging.
Cardboard boxes and gummed paper seal
Cardboard boxes are the most used type of packaging in commerce and ecommerce, in general. Cardboard boxes are made from cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin from wood. Corrugated cardboard, made up of different layers of cardboard, provides a lot of consistency. The advantages of packing in cardboard boxes or corrugated cardboard have always been well known and range from the protection and resistance they provide, to their low manufacturing and environmental cost, to their recyclable and biodegradable nature.
The seal is the other fundamental component of the packaging. There are many different types of seal, but when we talk about cardboard boxes, the most suitable seal to achieve maximum security and resistance that a cardboard box can guarantee is, without a doubt, gummed paper tape. Made with Kraft paper and natural vegetal adhesive, it uses materials that are equally sustainable and perfectly homogeneous with the cardboard box: the gummed paper tape reacts to humidity by capillarity, and is fused to the cardboard, welding the box and providing it with its maximum capacity for safety, security and resistance.
6 recommendations for packaging with cardboard boxes and gummed paper tape
- Choose the appropriate box. As larger and heavier the object is, as larger the box should be but, be careful, overpacking is increasingly seen worse by the client because it harms the environment. Consider well the sizes and resistances; keep in mind the weights and the type of cardboard needed depending on its lightness. It also considers variables such as the shipping method, the risks of falls and bumps in the packaging, the pressures during stacking, the time it will be stored, the weather conditions… The criteria can be simple corrugated for light shipments; double for heavy products; triple for very heavy or fragile items.
- Place the cardboard box upside down, so that the bottom of the box is perfectly positioned in the right way to work comfortably and apply the seal easily. Now, seal the lower part with the gummed paper tape. The water activated tape dispensing machines accurately measure, moisten, and cut the strips of gummed paper tape that you will need for each seal.
- Place the products to be shipped properly and fill in the gaps. The greater the volume of occupation, the more secure the articles will be the more delicate the product, the more careful the filling of the empty holes in the box must be. Wrapping paper and scarps are save and sustainable stuffing options.
- Fold and correctly arrange the flaps of the box to close it completely. First, place de inner ones, located on the shorter sides of the box, to continue later with the longer or outer sides.
- Tape and seal the box with gummed paper tape. Extract the strip of gummed paper tape that you will need with the exact measurement and at its wetting point with the dispensing machines, manual, semi-automatic or electronic, according to the packaging needs of your company. Apply the water activated tape to close the openings between the flaps and the edges of the cardboard box. You already know that there are different patterns for sealing cardboard boxes with gummed paper tape, depending on the requirements of each shipment : you can made closures in U, L, H or forming various kinds of crosses, as we explain here.
- Carefully review all packaging. After completing the entire process, it is advisable to review everything, especially to verify that, after sealing with gummed paper tape, the box and seal have formed a single safe, resistant, and inviolable packaging body.
Remember that you can print the water activated tape with your brand’s logos and emblems, safety instructions, EAN codes, or campaign slogans or special messages to highlight your packaging so that your customer are pleasantly surprised and do not forget your brand.
And, remember that the use of corrugated cardboard together with gummed paper tape does not require separation of materials or more added expenses in its recycling process. This means your collaboration in moving towards cleaner supply chains and a more sustainable world.
