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Have you ever stopped to think about how the quality of packaging paper affects your company’s sales? Choosing the appropriate paper grade is more important than most business owners suspect. That’s because the grade, weight, and overall feel of the paper in the consumer’s hands plays a key role in marketing success. Likewise, sometimes a higher grade or weight is necessary simply to protect items during shipment and delivery.

Fortunately, business owners and managers don’t have to master all the technical aspects of the paper industry, or the complex chemistry behind how raw pulp is treated and turned into paper of various quality levels. Packaging industry professionals do that job for businesses who hire them. One benefit of working with an experienced, reliable packaging pro is that merchants can choose from a wide-ranging menu of paper grades, thicknesses, styles, and prices.

Where to begin? Most company owners start with the basics, and that often means learning a bit about the different grades of paper and the main purposes of each one. For example, it’s easy enough to acquire some first-hand knowledge simply by examining products in your own home.

Run your fingertips over the surface of a box of crackers or cereal and note the obvious difference in smoothness, thickness, and strength compared to something like a small perfume or eyeliner box. Those are just two of dozens of paper grades and thicknesses.

For any business that sells packaged items in retail stores or online, it’s useful to learn about the four most popular paper grades so as to choose the one that offers the ideal combination of strength, flexibility, and attractiveness for what you sell to the public.

The 4 Most Popular Paper Grades

There’s no need to become a packaging expert. Spend five minutes checking out the short descriptions of the top four paper grades and becoming acquainted with the most common commercial uses of each one. From there, your job of selecting the most suitable one will be much simpler.

• CUK: The letters stand for “coated unbleached kraft” paper, and is sourced from recycled content 100 percent. CUK is the paper of choice in the food industry because it is able to resist most kinds of tears, has excellent overall strength, and takes printing easily once it’s coated with a very sheer layer of something called kaolin clay.
• SBS: Solid bleached sulfate paper is the most popular of all grades for merchants who want the very best paper packages. One reason it is the top choice for items in multiple industries is that you can print on both the outside and inside of the package, which is ideal for adding lots of relevant, sales-friendly wording to packages of all sizes.
• FBB: Folding box board is a multi-ply pulp grade that is both strong and works well with printing. It’s stiff and durable nature is ideal for products in the pharmaceutical, beauty, food, and other industries. Most of the time, this grade includes at least one bleached surface for purposes of adding written content.
• CCNB: Clay coated news backboard is not known for its strength, but wins for low cost and the ability to take print. Moisture is its enemy, but CCNB is a popular choice for sellers who want to keep packaging expenses low and who sell things like pet food, powdered detergent, dry food, and other bulk products you see in large bags on grocery store shelves.

Why Weight Matters

There’s a basic rule in shipping: the more something weighs, the more it costs to transport from point A to point B. That’s been true since people have paid others to carry goods from one place to another.

In today’s highly competitive business environment, it makes good economic sense to minimize shipping expenses. One way to do that is by keeping total shipment (product, packaging, and shipping container) weight as low are reasonably possible. Still, sellers need to strike a commonsense balance between sturdiness, weight, attractive design, and other factors.

For example, it’s smart to avoid packaging that is unnecessarily large or heavy. Both qualities affect shipping expenses and can be a problem if your company uses popular online sales channels, like Amazon. The company discourages large boxes and products that are a challenge to open.

Weight can work for you or against you. For some products, a package’s heavier feel in the hands of the buyer indicates quality, durability, and elegance. But those extra ounces can cost your company plenty, so be careful when deciding on whether to use thicker, heavier product packaging materials. If the higher price offsets the added shipping expense, that’s great. If it does not, reconsider your packaging options.

How Your Package Can Drive Sales

Product packages have been called “silent sales agents” for good reason. There are multiple ways that packaging alone can deliver better sales numbers, and more positive long-term profits for your business. How?

The following examples are just a few of the “silent” ways that ideal product packaging can drive sales.

• Information: Consumers like relevant, helpful information. Including it on your packaging can go a long way toward boosting sales via consumer satisfaction. Additionally, when you include printed data on packages like nutrition profiles, ingredient lists, company contact information, you’re building brand identity and customer loyalty at the same time.
• Protection: If the packages you use don’t protect the contents from damage during shipment and display, all is lost. That’s why some people believe that the first duty of a package is protection. In addition to keeping items intact and undamaged during transport, packages also do double-duty while sitting on a shelf. They keep your goods from breaking in the even of a fall, and they shield the contents from degradation and spoilage.
• Quality: In many situations, prospective buyers look to packaging to make their initial judgments about the quality of what you sell. Imagine browsing a jewelry display and seeing a $1,000 watch in a cheap, low-grade cardboard box. You’d rightly assume that something was amiss. Of course, quality packaging typically costs more, so you need to find the ideal “breakeven” point when selecting a paper grade that works for whatever you sell.
• Attention: Does your package design draw the attention of potential buyers? A well-configured bit of artwork, content layout, and color can do wonders for sales. That’s because human nature is such that people like to look at attractive things. The “attractiveness factor” is one of the most powerful ways your business can leverage the power of packaging to enhance sales.
• When Packages Become Products: A subtle, but nonetheless potent way to sell more is to create a package that buyers feel proud to display in their homes. One of the best examples of this intriguing principle comes from the spirits industry.It’s a fact that many buyers of high-end wines, bourbon, scotch, and whisky use a gorgeous bottle as a kind of miniature status symbol on an open kitchen or liquor cabinet shelf. If you can design a package that people want to show off, you’ll be on the road to increased sales almost instantly.

Does Your Product Package “Make the Grade”?

Don’t feel at a loss at being slightly overwhelmed with all this new information about paper grades. Most non-industry folks who first encounter lists of grades and quality characteristics of packaging paper are confused. The goal is finding the type of paper that makes the most sense for your company’s products.

That’s where Mid-Atlantic Packaging comes in. We’ve been assisting busy owners and managers for nearly four decades, and we can do the same for you. Our team members can walk you through all the choices, help you hone in on the ideal paper quality, and show you how to integrate various print options for whatever kind of paper you select.

Give us a call if you have any questions. There’s no obligation of any kind for a phone consult about your company’s packaging needs and get quote on a proposed job. Our direct, toll-free line is (800) 284-1332. Plus, you can always visit our website for additional information. We look forward to speaking with you about how to get packaging right.