A great unboxing experience and effective branding in DTC e-commerce calls for that wow factor. It’s what’s inside that counts, and that includes the printing on the inside of your shipping box.
Printing the inside of an RSC box is not new but it is rarely done due to the cost and sometimes disappointing results. In the past it has required an expensive cutting die for a rotary printer/die cutter, offline gluing to form the box design, and at least one additional pass through a press, one for each side (in and out). This usually made the box quite expensive with a per unit price nearing the cost of a die cut mailer, making the double printed RSC less economically viable.
Yet, e-commerce wants an inexpensive multi-pack container or a branded shipper for large orders. Does it make sense that anyone would ship out smaller orders in a beautiful, custom printed die cut mailer, but larger volume customers receive a plain unprinted RSC style box you get at an online catalog packaging supplier? Isn’t your branding even more important for your better customers?
New technology makes it a whole new ball game
Yes, I am a baseball fan and I already miss it so forgive my occasional baseball metaphor. The fact is that one of our manufacturing partners has made a substantial investment in a new system that SIMULTANEOUSLY prints the inside and outside of an RSC blank and then, inline, automatically glues them.
That makes the possibility of printing both sides of an RSC box, quite affordable with near flawless print registration, inside and outside.
Branding the inside of an RSC style box
Your inside graphics can be as simple as a one-color flood coat or a random repeat message of thank you, a discount code, or just about anything else you can possibly imagine, designed with up to 3 ink colors outside and 2 ink colors inside. Other than that, the usual limitations and recommendations of direct to corrugated flexographic printing with water-based inks would apply. See first related post below.
Branding inside versus branding outside of an RSC, DTC box
We were one of the original companies focused on printing DTC and subscription boxes. Over the course of thirteen years, the debate on printing inside versus outside has raged on, regarding die cut mailers. As detailed above, printing the inside of an RSC style box was less of an issue or question because it simply was not done very often. Keep in mind we can print either combination on either style so we can give you a straightforward comparison.
We believe printing on the outside of a die cut mailer or an RSC should be minimal because the customer usually gives the exterior only a very brief look, mostly to determine whether the package is addressed to them. In other words, the recipient will likely spend more time looking at the label than the outside graphics. In addition, the box is likely to get dirty in transit (especially white exteriors) detracting and sometimes ruining your graphic design. The average shipping label is 4” X 6” so on a small box, it can consume most of the exterior surface. The inside, however, always arrives pristine with no labels or tape on it, and your graphic design looks great, even on an RSC style box.
Which style box is best for you and your product? Is inside print a good idea or not? What is your order volume? These are just three of several questions we will ask you to help determine the best box design for you. Would you like to see a sample of an RSC box with two-sided print? If so, please contact us here and we will be glad to mail one out to you. Or you prefer, you can call us at 630-551-1700 and speak directly to one of our experienced branded packaging advisors.
After working on thousands of projects and producing millions of boxes, we are confident we will be able to help you create the most attractive branded box, at the lowest possible cost. You might say we will throw you a fast ball down the middle that you can slam out of the park. ????
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