How to choose the right material for your packaging design?

In this competitive e-commerce era, the packaging design of goods has become an important way for major brands to distinguish themselves and impress customers with their brands. Therefore, many brands are designing their merchandise packaging with great care. Still, I wonder if you have ever tried to create the perfect brand design and packaging inspiration after you have spent time and effort, only to be told by a custom packaging manufacturer that the packaging material you want to use is not suitable for your design. The original perfect design became imperfect all of a sudden, and I'm sure you don't want to encounter this situation. With this article, custom packaging manufacturer East Color will introduce you to the relationship between packaging materials and packaging design and how you can choose the suitable materials for your packaging design.

Choosing the right material

First, choose the packaging material that best suits your product in terms of size, weight, and aesthetics.

Here are two standard options

•Corrugated: Strong and flexible, corrugated materials are best for heavier products and work well for a variety of needs, including shipping, e-commerce items, and subscription kits.

•Cardboard: Lightweight and collapsible, cardboard is commonly used for packaging products such as cosmetics, retail products, and food products. 

Once you've determined which material option is best for your product type and brand, the next step is to consider the colors and look of the artwork you want when printing on that material.

At East Color, we use the latest digital technology to print our paper packaging products with the flexibility to create the look you want! Any effect you want, we can achieve for you.

More packaging material options

Kraft Corrugated

This material has a natural matte finish and is traditionally a natural brown color both inside and outside of the package. This material is usually best suited for darker colors, as the base color of the cardboard liner will alter the aesthetics of lighter colors (except the digital white ink). Our digital white ink printing method ensures vivid white printing and a bold look on vellum. In areas with branding and artwork, the ink is cured to create a durable and scratch-resistant finish - perfect for keeping logos and artwork looking clean and high quality.

Standard White Corrugated

While similar in feel to Kraft, the difference with Standard White is that the lining inside and outside the box is white. This means that all colors of the spectrum print well on this material and are essentially "true to tone." Although the ink is translucent, and spots on the liner (due to the natural paper fibers) can slightly alter some of the lighter colors, the artwork has a clear and vivid appearance. The printed areas on Standard White are cured to a satin finish - perfect for limiting potential wear or scratches on the package during shipping.

The difference between kraft and Standard White corrugated paper

When creating your artwork and selecting the best material for it, it is critical to consider how the same design will appear on different corrugated material types. On standard white corrugated, the lighter and brighter colors are more vibrant and closer to their natural hues, while on Kraft corrugated, the lighter and brighter colors typically appear as darker, muted tones. In general, we recommend choosing darker colors for Kraft corrugated because this material makes them more faithful to their natural pigmentation than lighter shades.

100% Recycled Corrugated Kraft Paper

In a global environment where environmental concepts are being promoted, recycled corrugated kraft is an ideal packaging material choice!

This material is made from 100% recycled and recyclable corrugated kraft paper. Although printing on this material is limited to black ink, the ability to use halftones helps produce gradient tonal details. East Color's print quality rivals the clarity of flexographic printing, ensuring great value for money and highlighting your brand's design.

Dreamcoat

In contrast to standard white or kraft paper, Dreamcoat (also known as Kemi) is a premium clay-coated corrugated material that is soft to the touch and features a smooth, pure white finish. With this material coating, your colors have a pure white base, ensuring a bolder print aesthetic and vibrant colors. Suppose you want to create a more vivid, high-resolution unboxing experience for your customers. In that case, Dreamcoat may be an excellent choice. Depending on your chosen preference, artwork printed on this material is cured to create a satin or high-gloss finish (using HDPrint).

East color's HDPrint method on Dreamcoat adds a wow factor to the presence of your package. With HDPrint, the quality of color used in your artwork adds an aesthetic design element to the package. Any darker or darker colors used will have an extra sheen, while lighter colors will give a more shiny or near-matte finish.

The benefits of HD print combines Dreamcoat

•More refined lines: If your artwork has fine detail or more refined lines, HDPrint is the right choice for you. Compared to standard digital printing on corrugated materials, this new technology uses smaller ink dots and precision to enhance your brand's art and design, ensuring a sharper print than you would typically receive on cardboard.

•High Quality Finishes: When used in combination with premium Dreamcoat materials, the result is an outstanding package design that illustrates volume and replicates the high gloss finishes of expensive printing methods (without the hefty price tag). Printed areas have a high gloss finish, while unprinted areas showcase the base white matte material.

•Design flexibility: update your artwork at any time - use as many colors, copy changes, and image additions as you like. HDPrint Gloss requires no printing plates or setup costs, which saves you time and allows you to change your artwork as often as you like without being locked into any particular design.

Paperboard

This material is smooth, with a clay-coated white top and an uncoated bottom. Digitally printed boxes are coated with a semi-gloss water-based coating to protect the box and prevent wear or scratches. Cardboard is an excellent choice for small text and detailed artwork; it is the preferred choice for primary packaging.

The printing process may vary from material to material, so when designing packaging for goods, it is helpful to find a professional packaging manufacturer to work with on the overall design process.