Shipping to certain places requires a bit of finesse and ways to ensure that you don’t have a broken item in its way.
The most damage occurs at the corners. Why? Well, when things drop, those are essentially pressure points, that cause a rattling throughout the packaging, and in turn, will cause the package and its contents to be dented. Pointed corners may also cause the item to cave in, and will impact what’s inside, crushing it.
So yes, you have to protect the corners, especially those fragile ones that are the one thing standing between your fragile item making it or getting broken. Here, we will go over the edge-smart designs and packaging, and how, through design of such fragile corners, you’re able to mitigate damage of this critical impact zone.
Specialized Corner Guards and Edge Materials
There are new corner guards in place that are protecting the edges, which are important.
Molded foam is one example. This type of foam is natural, memory foam that will be naturally molded to the item that’s inside. Again, with this mold, the item is protected from all sorts of damage and invaders.
The other one is honeycomb protectors. All of this of course will create a sustainable, natural sort of packaging protection that will shine.
Another, is smart cushioning strips that, when an impact happens, offers the appropriate amount of cushion so that you are not relying on void film and other plastics that are nowhere near as sustainable.
Again, when you protect the corners, you protect the items.
Layouts to Distribute force
Part of it comes from the way you lay out your packaging.
Don’t ever put an item near a corner, as it will spell disaster when hit. But, you can also prevent the corners from destroying your items with a few simple changes.
Rounded edges are one example. These edges will be rounded, so they’re not crushing the items inside.
Another, is internal bracing, where the items inside are braced for impact, in order to stay at the center, and directly away from damage. Some companies use the suspension packaging method, where it is put in the middle, surrounded by cushioning forces.
Then, there's the placement of air columns and pillows. Smart placing along the edges will prevent the item from directly hitting on impact, but also don’t overload this.
.jpg)
Shipping Costs Vs. Edge Protection
This does cost a bit of money, especially for a lot of brands that are up and coming. It might not be the right move, especially when crafting the ideal packaging changes.
However, you need to sit there and ask if the upgrade is worth the safety. For any packaging distributors that are looking to make the packaging stand out, then it will work wonders. You want to make sure that the shipping costs are factored in with this.
It should not cost a lot more to ship this, but the benefit of edge protection is something remarkable, something that customers will love.
So if you’re worried about edge protection being too much, look at your current returns, customer complaints, and the like. Many companies, including tech, ceramics, and artwork, use this. If you know that it’s going to benefit you, then it might be in your best interests to use it.
Protect the edges, and protect what’s inside. From there, you will be able to improve the experience, and craft a more founded, exciting result from your efforts, which will span multiple areas, and also improve the customer experience from this as well.
