Do you know about the ongoing packaging trends in the pharmaceutical industry? No! don’t worry. In this article, we will discuss how you can develop trending pharma packaging boxes. This will bring various benefits to the producers of pharmaceutical products manufacturers.
The main benefit of adopting these solutions is that they keep the enclosed products safe and secure till they are consumed by the users. The second benefit of using them is that they make the presentation of products substantial. Therefore, adopting them is not a bad idea for modern-day pharmaceutical manufacturers. These innovative packaging solutions will provide them a way to achieve excellence in their work and impress their customers by delivering products in their actual shape and form.
Now the question arises how would you develop efficient and trending packaging boxes? What are the features they should possess to impress the customers? Let’s discuss them below. First, we talk about the emerging pharmaceutical packaging trends.
Need for Efficient Pharma Packaging Solutions:
You can present your product in different kinds of packaging solutions but making this presentation effective and efficient is the main case. Pharmaceutical products are very sensitive by nature. They can get contaminated easily and could wreak unrepairable damage to the users. This is why we are emphasizing an efficient packaging solution, not only a packaging solution.
What are the main features possessed by an efficient pharma packaging box?
Readability
Protection
Sustainability
These three features enhance the efficiency of any pharma packaging to a great extent. Therefore, designers need to concentrate on these three points while designing it.
How do these features impact the performance of the packaging solution? Let’s check it out.
Readability:
It is one of the most important features in the designing of any pharma packaging. This is related to the textual printed material on the packaging. It is the most important part of the printed artwork for any pharma product as it works as the main source of information for the users.
Whenever they buy any pharma product, they will check its packaging first to read the information printed on it. This check will tell them whether it is suitable for them or not. After that, they will make a buying decision. Therefore, this information must be correct and accurate by all means. Otherwise, it can cause huge harm to the end-users.
Normally, this information contains the following things.
Brand Name.
Manufacturing date.
Expiry Date.
Usage directions.
Information about salts and other ingredients used in its making.
Information about the dosage as per adult, child, and others.
Storage precautions.
Every drug label must possess this above-mentioned information. It helps the buyers in getting the right medicine for their problems. A slight mistake in this information could cause a huge loss.
Protection:
Drugs are highly sensitive products. They are directly linked to the health of humans. Therefore, drugs and everything should be designed and manufactured with immense care. Even their packaging has immense importance in their work. A slight mistake in its manufacturing could lead to a big disaster.
Every drug is quite sensitive to environmental factors. They need a packaging solution that protects them from those environmental factors like heat, moisture, and others. Otherwise, they get contaminated easily and will cause more damage than cure.
Normally, we see drugs packed in dual packaging solutions. First, they are packed in bottles or blister packaging solutions, and as secondary packaging cardboard or cardstock boxes are used. This keeps the drugs completely protected from getting contaminated.
Sustainability:
It is important to understand the importance of environmental sustainability. The use of non-biodegradable materials like plastic in the making of packaging can cause damage to the environment. This is why it has always been suggested to pharmaceutical manufacturers to use biodegradable materials such as cardboard, Kraft paper, and others for the making of packaging solutions.
The same policy goes with the glass bottle used for pharmaceutical products. Now, you might be thinking about how you can recycle these glass bottles. There are two ways of doing it. One, there are recycling centers available for this purpose. They collect the bottles and paperboard boxes to recycle them.
A study shows “Approximately 46 million tons of paper and paperboard were recycled in 2018 for a recycling rate of 68.2 percent, which was the highest compared to other materials in MSW. Paper containers and packaging, excluding corrugated boxes, had a recycling rate of 20.8 percent, while corrugated boxes had a recycling rate of 96.5 percent in 2018.”.
Second, some pharmaceutical companies have adopted policies to take back these bottles. They do the recycling of the bottles for themselves.
Trending Pharma Packaging Solutions:
Some packaging solutions are always in trend for pharmaceutical products.
Blister Packaging.
Glass Bottles with labels.
Medication Patches.
Foil and Paper packaging solution.
Their design and structure keep the drugs safe and secure as they move through the supply chain. The performance of these packaging solutions keeps them trending for a long time.
Blister Packaging:
This is a packaging solution that is mostly used to pack drugs in tablet form. It is made from a single plastic sheet. The back of this packaging is covered with printed foil paper. The printing of the foil paper contains all the information about the drug like ingredients, brand name, dosage information, and others. An important part of this information is the expiry and manufacturing dates of the product. The only drawback with this packaging is its non-biodegradable material. It is not an eco-friendly material.
Glass Bottles with labels:
Glass bottles are considered as highly efficient packaging solution in the pharma packaging companies. The glass bottle packaging remains incomplete without its medication labels. The labels pasted on the bottles contain important information about the product. This helps the customers in buying the right product according to their problem.
Medication Patches:
It is the new way to deliver drugs into the bloodstream through the skin. These medication patches come with printed labels on them. The ink used in these labels should be the right one approved by the regulatory authority. The use of incorrect inks may contaminate the drug and therefore, is not recommended to use for it.
Foil and Paper Packaging Solutions:
The paper packaging is getting approval from the manufacturers due to its eco-friendly nature. Paper material is a biodegradable material that helps maintain the sustainability of the environment. With that, foil covering in many packaging solutions also provides the same kind of results as paper packaging is providing.
Pharma Packaging with Customized Printing Solutions:
There are different types of printing methods available to the manufacturers to print their pharma packaging. Some of them are cost-effective while some are expensive. Therefore, manufacturers need to understand the difference between them before selecting them.
The most utilized printing technique for pharma packaging is flexography printing. There are different reasons behind its selection which are defined below.
Durability: flexography printing technique provides long-lasting and durable printing solutions on pharma packaging. They do not get dull and remain in their actual look after a long time of their printing.
Economical: Flexographyis an economical printing method to get custom printed pharma packaging in bulk quantities. It is less expensive than lithography and, in some cases, digital printing as well.
Quality: The printing quality you will get from flexography is far better than other printing methods. It allows you to print 1 to 3 colors of artwork on the packaging with ease. The cost of printing raises by almost 10% with the addition of the second color then a further 10% with the addition of the third color. Therefore, single-color printing is cheaper than 3-color printing material.
Speed: Another important factor that makes flexography the first option of many designers is the speed of printing you will get with this method. You will get bulk printing jobs done with this method in no time.
Productivity: The wastage of material during this printing method remains minimal. This enhances the efficiency of this printing method to a great extent. Less wastage means more productivity.
Emerging Pharma Packaging Trends:
With the development of stocks and printing technologies, the methods of designing product packaging have been revolutionized. Especially, the use of cardboard, Kraft paper, and cardstock material has changed the concept of packaging completely.
These materials are eco-friendly and 100% recyclable. Their biodegradable feature makes them a perfect choice to design any kind of packaging solution. The Pharma packaging companies are also getting benefits from these materials and developing unique and novel designs of drug packaging.
The flexibility and suppleness of these materials allow the designers to mold them into any desired shape and style easily. This helps in developing eye-catching packaging boxes. Most pharmaceutical products use cardboard or cardstock boxes as their secondary packaging solutions. Therefore, designing them with style improves their look to a great extent.
What do modern-day pharma manufacturers expect from their product packaging?
Convenient Production of packaging.
Environment-friendly packaging.
User-friendliness
All these qualities can be achieved with packaging boxes made from new-era building materials like cardboard, cardstock, or Kraft paper. This is why modern packaging trends are changing with time.
Final Thoughts:
Custom printed pharma packaging has great importance due to the nature of the product they are carrying. This is why it is always been designed with great care. It starts from the selection of an appropriate material, then comes its printing, and then it’s delivery to the customer.
A packaging solution is not worthy of appreciation if it is beautiful in look but not capable of delivering a product in its actual shape to the buyer. Therefore, it is necessary to produce packaging that provides safety and beauty both at the same time.
An efficient pharma packaging solution must protect the enclosed drug from getting contaminated during its supply chain. With that, the packaging must bring convenience to the customers in its usage. They should get the desired information about the product from its printed artwork on the packaging. All these features come together and produce an efficient packaging solution for products.
A traditional packaging box gives a boring and dull look to the buyers. What do manufacturers need to do to build their buyer’s interest in their products? Make their product presentation better. Use custom printed boxes for this reason. A packaging box with customized artwork printed on it refreshes its look and appearance a great deal.
Surprise your customers with your novel packaging styles. If you keep repeating the same old things then your customers may get disappointed by your brand. This will encourage them to move on to the next brand producing the same type and quality of products as you are but with better presentation.
Therefore, it is a game of playing with the minds of the buyers. Don’t let the buyers lose interest in your products. Keep producing something new and unique to surprise them now and then. This will keep customers engaged with your products and they will not bother about what other brands are producing.
Custom made printed boxes may cost a little more than traditional packaging boxes but they will improve your product’s worth extensively. Their eye-catching artwork must be noticed by the customers instantly. What else do you need to know about custom printed boxes?
Important Attributes of Custom Printed Boxes Artwork:
Some specific printing features need to be understood by the manufacturers before they start designing their product packaging. If they miss those attributes in their printed material, it will make the artwork completely pointless. Therefore, designing appropriate and effective artwork in an art. It needs to be done through experts or a person who understands the needs of printed boxes.
Custom Printed Boxes with Logo:
Every maker develops a unique brand identity in the market. Different factors are involved in developing this brand identity. One of them is product packaging. Every product packaging carries a brand identity with it.
“A survey reveals that it takes 5-7brand impressions before a person remembers your brand.”
Every brand has a unique brand logo and name. It becomes their identity in the market. When buyers see the product, most of them recognize it through its packaging style and design. Therefore, it is important to develop product packaging with care and caution to develop a powerful brand identity in the market.
Custom printed boxes with logos are one of the best ways to keep reminding the buyers about the brand identity. How will they work in educating customers? When customers see a product packed in a printed box. There are some specific attributes that they notice at first sight. The brand logo printed on the box is one of them.
It is the first thing that tells them they are buying the right product from the required brand. This satisfies them completely and they shop with confidence. This is why custom printed boxes with logos play an important role in the success of any product.
Using Product Images in Printed Artworks:
Another important attribute of the product packaging printed artwork is the addition of interactive and interesting product images in it. Most customers rely upon the product packaging to get maximum information about the product they are going to buy. Therefore, when they see product images printed on its box, they get an idea about its usage.
It is always recommended to use high-resolution and clear product images in the printed artwork. Try to get images of the product from different angles and dimensions to deliver an accurate idea to the buyers about the product. With that, print the product images in their actual colours. Do not fake the colours that will make the artwork doggy for the customers and do not leave a good impression on the customers’ minds.
Adding Textual Material in the Artwork:
The importance of textual material in the artworks cannot be neglected. Buyers do get a lot of knowledge about the enclosed product and its usage from the printed textual material on its packaging. Therefore, adding accurate, correct, and up-to-date text in the printed artwork of the packaging boxes is important.
The added text should be written in clear readable fonts. The font size should not be too small or too big. Adjust it according to the design of the artwork and make it convenient for the readers to read it easily. The colour of the text should be prominent which enhances the readability of the text.
Keep in mind while designing the artwork that this printed text on the product box is the first main source of information for the customers to know about your product. If they find anything doggy or incorrect in it, it negatively impacts their minds. In other words, they will lose their confidence in your brand name. In the future, they may not buy your brand products or remain very careful while buying them.
So, use your product packaging printed artwork to build your customer’s confidence rather than destroying it. Provide them with correct and accurate information through the printed artwork and win their confidence to keep them loyal to your brand.
Use Relevant Colour Combinations:
Custom printed boxes allow the makers to give their product packaging boxes a dream look. They can alter every feature of its printing according to their desires. One of the most important ones is selecting the right colour combination for their printing.
Some colours get associated with the brand image. People start recognizing their products by seeing the same colour combinations on their product packaging. Therefore, it is recommended that the brands stick with one colour combination. Use the same colour combination on their different product packaging to make them easily recognizable to their buyers.
“Loyola University Maryland study also stated that an identifiable brand can enhance its revenue by 10-20% in comparison to other unknown brands.”
It is not necessary to always use bold and sharp colours in designing the product packaging artwork. In some cases, soft and elegant colours also enhance the beauty of the product packaging. Therefore, select the colours according to the packaging needs and requirements. Do not overcook your design as it may get ruined. Keep things simple and straight. As there is a saying “Simplicity is the best beauty”. Implement this thing in your product packaging printed artwork designs and make them look highly impressive and attractive.
Develop Custom Printed Boxes on a Variety of Stocks:
The advancements in printing technologies have extended the options for manufacturers to create their product packaging boxes on a variety of stocks. They can print them with innovative artwork easily. This gives their packaging a remarkable look and appearance.
What are the available options?
Cardboard
Corrugated Cardboard
Cardstock paper
Kraft paperboard
The above-mentioned stocks are rated at top of the list to develop custom made printed boxes. These materials come with easy and convenient printing options. This provides the freedom to the designers to print their packaging with their desired artwork.
Cardboard and cardstock materials are highly efficient to print any kind of artwork. Different printing techniques can be utilised for this purpose like.
Digital Printing
Screen Printing
Flexography
Lithography
Digital Printing:
This printing method is ideal to use with bulk printing of boxes. Custom printed boxes wholesale production relies on the cost-effectiveness of this printing method. Digital printing brings full-colour prints directly on the surface of the stocks like on cardboard, cardstock paper, or any other.
Screen Printing:
This printing method is also used for bulk printing of boxes. In this method, the artwork is not directly printed on the surface of the boxes. First, a screen is prepared of the artwork and then through this screen, it is imprinted on the boxes.
Flexography:
It is a simpler form of printing option in comparison to digital or screen printing. It provides 1 to 3 colour printing solutions. Normally, this printing technique is used to print shipping boxes.
Lithography:
If you are looking to get high-quality printing on your product packaging boxes then lithography is the way to do it. In this method, the required artwork is printed on the paper first and then this paper is pasted on the surface of the box.
These printing methods can be utilised according to the printing needs and requirements. The selection of one printing method out of these is highly dependent on two main factors.
Time
Cost
The digital printing method saves time by printing a high number of boxes quickly. It is done directly on the surface of the stocks which saves time. Similarly, the cost of printing remains low if you use fewer colours in it. A single-colour printing solution costs you less in comparison to a 2 or 3-colour printing solution. The addition of a single colour may increase the printing cost by 10%.
Whereas, lithography provides you with high-quality printing results but it costs you more than other printing methods. This printing method takes more time to finish the printing job as it is completed in two phases. The first phase comprises printing the artwork on paper and in the second phase laminating it to the box. Therefore, this printing method takes longer than digital printing or flexography printing.
Requirements of Custom Printed Boxes for Different Industries:
The packaging needs vary from industry to industry. Therefore, it is important to understand those needs before starting designing the packaging boxes.
Food & Pharmaceutical Industries:
In the food and pharmaceutical industries, product packaging printing plays a vital role in convincing the buyer to buy a product. The textual part of the printed artwork is very important as it carries the essential information about the product.
For example, it carries information about the ingredients used in the production of a product, shows the manufacturing date and expiry dates of the product, and other important things. Therefore, the custom printed boxes used in these industries need to design the textual part of the printed artworks very carefully.
Cosmetics Industry:
The cosmetic industry is huge. It produces a lot of different kinds of products for different purposes. What makes their packaging solutions attractive to buyers? It is the use of product images in their printed artworks.
Women are the main target audience of this industry. It is women’s psychology that they get attracted to pictorial presentation quickly. Therefore, using product pictures in the printed material of cosmetic product packaging boxes increases the interaction of women.
Toys Industry:
Product packaging should always be designed by keeping in mind its target audience. Therefore, it is understood that toys are the favourite item of children. They should be kept in mind while designing toy boxes. In Particular, their printing should get the attention of the children at first sight.
How can you do this? It can be done by using bold and sharp colours in their printed artwork. Children do get attracted to products whose boxes are printed with flashy and glitzy colours. Printing toy boxes with artistic cartoon themes is another way to stimulate the emotions of the children. Custom printed boxes with artistic artworks are the need of the toy industry.
Final Remarks:
The importance of product packaging cannot be neglected by manufacturers. It plays a vital role in the success of their products. What do we understand from this article? The packaging needs vary from product to product. Therefore, you cannot use the same packaging box for all types of products.
The printing material of the boxes has always been designed specifically for a specific product. It will not provide the same results as other products. This is why the importance of custom printed boxes has increased over time.
Nowadays, manufacturers want to give their product packaging a new and fresh look through customised printed artwork to make them look stand out among the other products. This has raised the competition levels in the market as all makers try to adopt new technologies to print their product packaging innovatively.
Designing impactful artwork is not an easy task. It needs thorough research on the market, customer behaviours, and other aspects. After that designers become able to generate impactful artwork to be printed on the product packaging boxes. Once it has been achieved by the manufacturers, it will bring a lot of benefits for them. Their products get quick recognition in the market, and more customers will buy them, consequently increasing their profit margins.
How Kraft boxes are different from other packaging solutions and why modern-day manufacturers are adopting them? It is due to the increasing environmental issues. People are also getting aware of these issues and they show their serious concerns toward them. This has forced the makers to adopt eco-friendly packaging box solutions for their products. Therefore, Kraft box packaging is the need of the time.
The Kraft material is one of the best eco-friendly stocks available to the makers. It is extracted from the pulp of trees. It is a completely recyclable and biodegradable material that provides an opportunity for the makers to develop environment-friendly packaging boxes for their products.
How will it benefit them? Every company needs to establish a high-confidence relationship with its customers. A strong bonding between a customer and a brand is essential. This will help the business in steady growth. The Kraft boxes provide the brands an opportunity to satisfy their customers properly. Once they are satisfied with the brand’s performance, they will keep buying their products and they can sustain their market growth.
Some of the major benefits of using Kraft boxes are explained below.
1.Kraft Boxes – A Recyclable Packaging Solution:
The Kraft material is a pure tree pulp as it is not bleached at all. When the paper is prepared, the original color of the paper is brown. It is bleached then it becomes white. So, kraft paper is purely a tree pulp with zero chlorine impact. This makes it 100% recyclable material with 0% destructive possibility on nature.
Some people do not like its brown color and they don’t use it. They have the option to get bleached Kraft paper in white color. The only back draw of it is that they cannot use this paper for some products like food items as chlorine is added to it.
2.Kraft Boxes – Provides Versatility in Styling:
The packaging trends are changed over time. Now customers do not become happy when they see products packed in the same old traditional packaging solutions. It has pushed the manufacturers to adopt new packaging styles.
For this purpose, they need a stock that is flexible and supple to create unique shapes and styles of boxes. Kraft material fulfills its requirements appropriately in this scenario. It is a material that can be cut and molded easily into any desired shape. This improves the design options for the makers.
Kraft material can be used to develop different shapes and styles of boxes.
Die-cut Kraft boxes with window.
Display Boxes
Lid Boxes
Magnetic Closure Boxes
Jewelry Boxes
Kraft Food Boxes
Tube Boxes
Tray-sleeve boxes
Kraft Gift Boxes
There are many other options as well. Even makers have the opportunity to customize the box design and style as well. They can give their Kraft box packaging any desired shape, size, and style that they think goes best with their product.
3.A Sturdy Building Material:
The main purpose of any packaging solution is to provide safety to the enclosed product. The rest comes after it. Therefore, the box should be strong and durable to hold the product in its perfect shape for a long time. It should not let the product damage during its shipping time.
The Kraft paperboard is a quite strong and durable material. It will allow the makers to design a sturdy packaging box for their items. It will fulfill their packaging safety needs satisfactorily.
4.Kraft Material – An easily Customizable Option:
A personalized packaging box design allows brands to present their product charmingly in front of their customers. Every maker wants to add some extra beautification features to their product box design to make it look appealing and tempting for its customers. This can be done through custom designing options.
Kraft material brings easy and countless customization options for the designers. They can utilize them to give a personalized look to their packaging boxes. What they can do? They can print their brand logo and name on the boxes, they can create a die-cut window in it to show customers little glances of their product or can do gold or silver color heat foiling on it. These customization options improve the beauty of the packaging a great deal.
5.Kraft Material Brings Various Printing Options:
Printing of packaging boxes is always been an interesting phase in their design. Kraft paper material provides different options to the designers in this regard. It can be printed in different ways.
Normally four types of printing are seen on the custom-printed kraft boxes. These are.
Complete Printing in Single Black Color
Complete Printing in Single White Color
Glowing Colors Printing
Full-color printing option
Makers can use any of these printing styles to give their product packaging an impactful and likable look.
6.Custom Kraft Boxes with Add-ons:
These features are not compulsory to be added to the packaging box design. They are used to improve the beauty and productivity of the packaging boxes. Some of these features are.
Foiling
Embossing
Debossing
Lamination
UV Printing
Some of these features reduce the biodegradability features of the Kraft material. For example, when you put lamination on it. It will not remain 100% biodegradable. Although if you try to separate the lamination from the Kraft material. It will not be separated easily. Therefore, select these ad-Ons options carefully.
7.Cost-Effective Packaging Solution:
A low-budget but highly effective packaging solution. How good this line is for the makers? Every maker wants to reduce their production cost to earn more. Getting an economical packaging solution is part of this strategy. It does not mean that they can comprise the quality of the packaging box.
Use custom Kraft boxes for this purpose. Kraft material is available in the market at a low price. With that, the equipment required to convert this material into efficient packaging boxes does not cost much as well. This reduces the manufacturing cost of custom Kraft boxes. You can give them any desired shape and style to get good results.
