Paperboard is an adaptable packaging material that invites you to get creative. Made from renewable material, it is recyclable and widely recycled. With smart and innovative design, you can make paperboard packaging even more efficient. Get the best result from your paperboard by following these nine guidelines.
9 questions to spark fresh packaging design ideas
Smart packaging starts with smart choices. Discover how paperboard can elevate your design.
1. Can you make it lighter?
You can decrease the weight of the packaging by choosing the optimal paperboard grade. The benefits of lightweight paperboards include:
- less energy, water and raw material consumed,
- less weight transported, and
- less waste generated in the end of the value chain.
2. Can you make it with less material?
Study the packaging structures and layers. Can you find a way to minimise the amount of material and avoid unnecessary packaging? Right-sizing the packaging saves materials as well as space in transport, storage, retail and homes.
3. Can you minimise converting waste?
In die-cut design, aim at maximising the packaging design surface area on a printing sheet in order to decrease the amount of converting waste.
4. Can you make it simpler?
Simplicity is elegant – and resource efficient. When you reduce packaging components without compromising functionality, you also make the packaging easier to assemble, use and recycle.
5. Can you make it refillable or reusable?
Recyclability is a positive step, but can you take it a notch or two further? Once the packaging has been used, could it be refilled or even have a different form of life? Imagination is the limit.
6. Can you make it easier to recycle?
Mixed materials can make it hard to separate and recycle the packaging. If there is no feasible monomaterial solution, make the materials easy to separate. With an elegant design solution, you can eliminate the need for glue.
7. Can you do without a plastic window?
Would a photo or some other design choice offer a better solution for displaying the packaging contents to the consumer?
8. Can you rethink premium packaging?
Savvy modern consumers are drawn to brand with responsible practices and authentic stories to tell. Smart, sustainably designed packaging with a natural look and feel makes an ideal medium to communicate the qualities of such brand.
9. Can you ensure product safety?
Product safety is non-negotiable aspect of packaging. In order to keep the contents and consumers safe, make sure the packaging is made
- of pure, safe and traceable raw materials,
- in hygienic production conditions, and
- complying with regulations.
Fresh fibre paperboards tick all the boxes, and offer good sensory properties. This ensures that the packaging material does not have an adverse effect on the contents.
Bring your packaging ideas to life
Thoughtful packaging design often starts with asking the right questions. By considering aspects like material efficiency, structure, and usability, you can discover new ways to make your packaging work better for your needs. Paperboard offers a flexible foundation for a wide range of solutions, whether you’re looking to optimise weight, simplify design, or enhance product safety.
If you’re interested in exploring the possibilities with Metsä Board’s paperboards or want support with your next project, our team is here to help.