We all come across folding cartons every day when purchasing consumer products. Folding carton manufacturing produces cartons that come in a variety of styles and sizes. They can be custom tailored to pack your product securely for transit, while also serving as a marketing tool to garner attention on store shelves. Color Ink has the design tools to allow you to be as creative as you’d like with your product’s packaging. From bright colors to embellishments, the sky’s the limit. Folding carton manufacturing is an exciting process that consists of converting blank paperboard to a finished packaging product.
Folding Carton Manufacturing - From Start to Finish
Sourcing Paperboard
Paperboard comes in a variety of grades and calipers to suit a product’s intended use. It’s often made from recycled fibers reducing environmental impact. Because trees are still necessary, some manufacturers plant new ones to offset or even replace more than the number used in the production process. Paperboard is the perfect eco-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics.
Structural Design
The next step in the folding carton manufacturing process is to create a structural design in the right size and shape for a product. We construct die lines to house products and display them in an attention-catching way. Our design team can furnish prototypes for final structural approval and sign-off before moving into the production run of a new folding carton product.
Print Production
Once the structural design process has been completed, printing is the first step in the production process. Inks and coating are applied to blank paperboard sheets via lithographic or digital presses. Every folding carton product is 100% customizable with art that is congruent with a brand’s identity.
Adding Embellishment
Brands that seek a premium look and feel can incorporate additional embellishments beyond standard inks and coatings. Foil, tactile UV, and embossing can be applied to folding cartons offline after print. Marketing studies have shown that incorporating embellishment into folding cartons can influence consumer’s purchasing decisions in a significant way.
Die Cut and Converting
After ink, coating, and embellishment have been applied to flat sheets, cartons are die-cut and scored to their final flat shape. Discarded paper from the scrapping process is recycled to make more paperboard. From there, finished cut pieces move to the folding gluing equipment for final conversion to a finished package. Glued cartons are packed flat for easier shipping and storage until they are ready for product fill.
Package Your Product with Color Ink
Have a design idea for your product’s packaging? Color Ink can help take your idea from a concept to a finished folding carton. Contact us today so we can get started!
