What Types of Protective Packaging Does My Product Need?

Packages often live hard lives. They are jostled about by machines and conveyor belts. People toss them on trucks or stack them to unreasonable heights without worrying about crushing what is inside.

If it is your precious product inside that package, you might have a big problem on your hands.

So, whose fault is it when a product arrives broken or damaged? Some responsibility lies in the transportation process, but most faults can be traced directly to poor product packaging -- meaning, it’s actually your fault.

Saving Money on Protective Packaging

Fortunately, there are a number of protective packaging products that can keep your fragile merchandise safe -- saving you from having to send the product again, wasting countless dollars (and hours) in the meantime.

Products that arrive in good condition make a great first impression, keep the customer happy, and avoid return problems. Best of all, custom shipping packaging can even be fine-tuned to meet your exact product shape and shipping requirements.

Types of Protective Packaging: Understanding Your Options

How do you know the best way to keep your product safe? We’ve outlined the best custom shipping packaging solutions to keep even the most uniquely shaped products from breaking.

Retention Inserts & Suspension Packaging

You've heard of the benefits of suspension bridges - they absorb a lot of weight and movement with minimum materials. Imagine if the same concept could be applied to protecting delicate electronic items like laptops and smartphones, or easily breakable items.

Instead of surrounding your product in an avalanche of eco-unfriendly "peanuts," it is gently suspended and secured between two pieces of high-quality protective film -- almost as though it is resting on air.  

Customers don't have to dig through packaging that wastes your money and makes a mess for them. When they open the box, their purchase is instantly displayed and easily accessible so they can experience immediate enjoyment.

If you customize your  retention inserts and suspension packaging, you can ensure they fit your product perfectly -- eliminating any risk of damage.

Let's say your product has a unique shape or a number of delicate parts that need to be separated and held securely. This shipping challenge calls for custom foam cushioning. An exact mold is made of your products and then transformed into a gentle foam cushion that safely envelops and displays each part.

The foam can be created from various materials and endlessly crafted to meet your exact product needs. Your end-user simply removes your product from its protective nest and gets right to work.

We've come a long way from using linens or paper to protect items during shipping. Now we can simply create a series of cost-effective air "pillows" that are joined together to create a shock barrier between your product and the outer corrugated packaging.  

Air cushioning is perfect for lightweight or delicate items, products like toner cartridges, or for products with a number of smaller parts or compartments such as tool kits or make-up collections.

Fragile items such as wine bottles or glassware need an extra level of protection that can only be provided by a custom-molded pulp tray. Although they are lightweight and cost-effective, they provide a high degree of protection for the most delicate of shipments.

Custom molded pulp trays are made from recyclable materials, stack easily in your warehouse, and are ready and waiting when you need them for larger shipments.  

Nothing is worse than opening a box only to find that the contents have collided with each other and broken. This common shipping challenge can easily be avoided with the use of custom box partitions -- which keep shipments from coming into contact with each other.

They can be corrugated or chipboard, and customized for size and thickness.

How to Know For Sure What’s Best For Your Product

Are you shipping a product that is so unique, you still don’t know the best way to protect it? Give us a call! We’re always happy to walk you through your protective packaging options and suggest this resource for more information to keep your product safe:

Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in August 2018 and was updated recently with current information.