How to Make Cardboard Shipping Boxes Stronger
One of the reasons cardboard shipping boxes are popular with businesses is their strength. However, despite this strength, there is a limit to how much weight and rough handling they can take before they give. So if you are shipping a particularly heavy or valuable item, it is advisable to take extra measures that will better ensure the content will arrive at its destination undamaged.
Cardboard Shipping Boxes – Edges
Boxes are highly likely to become dented along edges. If tightly packed, they may also burst open along the same lines. It is therefore a good idea to tape up all the edges and joints as a means of reinforcing them and reducing the risk they will become vulnerable points of entry in case of rough handling. Packing and duct tape are the best options for this. They add extra strength to the structure of a printed shipping box and can even prevent moisture from penetrating. Remember to tape up the flaps at the bottom of the box as well to strengthen the base.
Cardboard Shipping Boxes – Inserts
Inserts not only help to keep the contents of cardboard shipping boxes steady, but they can also prevent the box from collapsing. Having inserts long the length, from corner to corner, will help make the structure of the box stronger. You do not even need customized inserts as you can easily make them from spare cardboard pieces cut to fit the interior. Consider leaving a little space at the top of the box where you can fit in an insert and add some reinforcement if you intend to stack the boxes.
Cardboard Shipping Boxes – Layers
Adding a layer of cardboard to the very bottom interior of the printed shipping box before packing it is another way to strengthen it. Do this after you have sealed the flaps using tape. This extra foundation will allow the box to better bear the weight of the contents. Given that cardboard is so lightweight, you do not need to worry about this addition making the box much heavier.
Printed Shipping Box – Double Boxing
If you have boxes of various sizes, you may want to consider double boxing as an added measure of security. This way, even if the outer box is perforated, exposed to liquid, or dented, the inner one will still be able to safeguard the contents. Double boxing when you have multiple boxes in stock with small variances in size will better ensure safety without adding much to the cost of shipping.