Seven Common Packaging Mistakes & How Packaging Manufacturers Can Avoid These

7 Common Packaging Mistakes & How Packaging Manufacturers Can Avoid These

Packaging mistakes are costly and can have a detrimental effect on brand image and sales. When it comes to packaging, manufacturers often make the same mistakes time and time again. Industry experts say that the most common packaging mistakes are:

1. Ignoring Customer's Needs - Manufacturers often focus on creating a product that meets their own specifications, without taking into account the needs of the customer. This can lead to products that are bulky, heavy or difficult to open.
2. Ineffective Design - Poorly designed packaging can be confusing or even dangerous for consumers. For example, bottles of shampoo that are squeezed instead of poured can create dangerous spills if they're dropped, and blister packs that crack open easily can contaminate food with harmful bacteria.
3. Poor Quality Materials - If packaging materials such as paper, plastic and metal are of poor quality, they can be easily damaged or destroyed in the manufacturing process. This often leads to damage to products that are fragile or prone to defects. This wastes resources and damages brands reputation.
4. Thus, when it comes to packaging, using cheap, low-quality materials (just to cut costs) can lead to problems down the line. Cheap materials can easily tear or break, which could lead to product contamination or even product failure.
5. Lack of Sustainability - Poorly manufactured packaging is often unsustainable, which means it has a negative impact on the environment. For example, packaging made from recycled materials may be more environmentally friendly than packaging made from other materials, but it's also more expensive- meaning manufacturers might not be able to sustain such cost over long periods.
6. Impact of Outside Elements - In order to protect products, it is important that the packaging must be strong enough to prevent damage from external elements. However, many manufacturers neglect to properly seal products in containers or use materials that are not water or air-tight. This can lead to products going bad quickly, perishing and becoming unsellable.
7. Using the wrong type of material: Not all materials are suitable for every application. For example, plastic often doesn't hold up well against moisture or high temperatures, which could lead to product spoilage or failure.
8. Failing to Test Packaging: Before using the packaging for a product, it's important to test it out in order to ensure that it meets the necessary specifications (for instance the quality, size, weight, etc.). If tests aren't conduct properly and the package fails to conform to quality standards, it could lead to faulty packaging that causes problems for the product inside

Tips To Avoid Mistakes for packaging manufacturers

Packaging manufacturers can avoid the most common packaging mistakes by following these tips:

Double Check Labels

Always double-check your labels and product packaging to make sure they are correct. Incorrect labels can lead to product recalls or wasted products. Use proper labeling methods for your products-for example, using barcodes or RFID tags. These methods help you track inventory and ensure that your products reach their intended consumers in the correct condition.

Use Peel / Seal / Bond and Adhesion Strength Tester to test the adhesion strength of packaging seals as well as peel-off labels. Based on evaluation of the seal adhesion between two surfaces stuck together, it is highly recommended for use.

Well Designed Packaging

Follow industry standards when designing your packaging. For example, using standard fonts, colors, and graphics can help your products look more professional and appealing to consumers.

Tamper Proof Packaging

Use tamper-evident seals on all of your packaging containers-this will help you monitor inventory and prevent theft or tampering with your products.

Quality Control – Packaging Testing

To ensure this and maintain their superlative quality, it is imperative that every aspect of the packaging – laminates/ shrink sleeve/pouch packaging/labeling – must be tested and strictly adhere to international standards.

Thus, from resistance to maximum stress (under situations such as extreme weathering conditions and transportation or storage) o enduring vertical load as well as extreme heat, dry heat, a sudden impact and pressure, the packaging material should be tough, durable and strong.

• Dart Impact Tester is used for analysis of the sudden impact of a free-falling dart. The free-falling dart is allowed to fall on the packaging film/laminate/shrink packaging. This simple test can help the manufacturer predict the level of damage on the product, when it is subjected to such situations, during storage and transport.
• Laboratory Heat Sealer is widely used to evaluate and check the seal quality of packaging, under heating conditions. It is commonly seen that as the heat levels increase, many seal adhesives don't work. This valuable equipment helps manufacturers to test the performance of distinct adhesion products and compare results.
• Coefficient of Friction Tester is used by manufacturers to test the coefficient of friction value of plastic and evaluate the impact of friction. Based on the results they can observe and analyze how a product, behaves under the impact of frictional forces.
• Box Compression Tester is widely used for evaluating and analyzing the vertical compression load on mono cartons, corrugated boxes and paper packaging.
• Bursting Strength Tester is used for the evaluation of the bursting strength or bursting factor of paper or corrugated board under uniform load application.
• Edge Crush Tester / RCT / ECT / FCT is an instrument which accurately measures and checks the edge crush strength of corrugated or non-corrugated cardboard sheets, as well as thick paper materials. It can also be used to measure RCT and FCT.

Conclusion

Packaging manufacturers can avoid the most common packaging mistakes by following these tips. By doing so, they can ensure that their products are delivered to retailers in perfect condition and without any damage.

1) Follow the guidelines for proper product packaging when designing your products.

2) Use quality materials when packaging your products and conduct quality control testing to ensure that your packaging meets International Quality Standards.

3) Store your products correctly in order to prevent them from becoming damaged or leaked during transport.