Print on packaging can take many forms and types but can make such a difference to the constructional designs our team create.
Renowned for our print capabilities, with customers benefitting from a wide range of print types, we offer everything from one colour to six colour and a variety of printing methods to achieve the look and finish customers require.

Tom Penman, Graphics Manager, Cardboard Box Company explains why printed packaging is so important in the marketplace, the capabilities that we have, and how we support our customers to achieve the perfect print finish.

Why printed packaging is important

Printed packaging is the finishing touch to the constructional design of the box or pack. Whilst the constructional design is vitally important to protect product through all parts of the supply chain, it’s the print that can convey information, represent the brand, or simply create a wow factor.

In a crowded marketplace many products, particularly those in retail settings, must stand out to draw customers into choosing their products over those of a competitor. This is particularly evident in shelf ready and retails ready solutions, where customers are bombarded by many types of the same thing.

Similarly, within a supply chain, printed packaging is key to communicating vital product information. It may be QR and bar codes to help with stock management and location, it may simply explain what is in the pack and in what quantity.

For brands who wish to deliver a user experience when opening products purchased either online or in a retail store, high quality print finishes can assist a product in elevating its status and deliver a positive unboxing experience for the customer.
Whatever the scenario that printed packaging sits in, it’s never been more important to ensure it meets the expectations of our customer and their onward customers wherever they are in the supply chain.

Our capabilities
We have a superb range of printing machinery and a skilled graphic team that understand how to get the best from each type of press.
The latest addition, just a few months ago was the Fujifilm Acuity Prime L, LED UV flatbed printer.

Ideally suited to smaller scale production runs a multi-coloured job can be quickly printed – 1 unit in approximately 60 seconds – and then cut on the CAD table as required.

This is a direct alternative to litho-lamination print we offer which achieves a similar high gloss finish by laminating the print finish to the corrugated. This has brought cost efficiencies for some customers depending upon requirements and volumes. It is always considered as a suitable alternative for smaller production runs and if suitable offered to the customer.

Litho laminating is still required for some larger scale jobs that we run and adds further capabilities to our portfolio.
Our main printing type is flexo printing and we have four presses that do this up to a maximum of six colour print.

Our rotary die cutters – a BOBST 618 and a Martin 924 – print up to four colours, fold/cut, glue and wrap into bundles as specified.
This is complemented by a Martin 1636, one of the largest industry printers at over 3m wide. This is ideally suited to large format boxes, typically to protect heavy and cumbersome products and it is usually a strong board grade that is utilised here.

Finally, our six colour BOBST 1624 is a High-Quality Post Print (HQPP) printer that is proving to be a suitable alternative for some litho-lamination jobs. With a digital checking table and CAD cameras it can bring benefits to customers who are seeking the highest quality print without using a digital solution.

Supporting our customers

Because of the experience we have we support customers to explore new ways to achieve the same or better finishes or explore new options when they expand their packaging range.

We do this by carrying out print development trials, sometimes for customers, sometimes just as research projects in house to discover new and improve ways of doing things. This allows to understand clearly what we can offer to our customers and how we need to achieve this. Small trials are run on each occasion to ascertain the correct expectations can be met on every occasion and that all tolerances are understood.

Quality artwork and ink also plays a part in achieving the highest quality print finishes which we are renowned for.
And, if you’re still unsure about why we’re ideally suited to providing some of the best printed packaging in the business, our print capabilities are award winning, having been commended at the Flexographic Industry Association awards on several occasion and most latterly in 2024 when we achieved four awards for our printed packaging.

To discover how we can work with you to support with printed packaging solutions give the team a call on 01254 232223 or drop us a line on info@thecardboardbox.co.uk

The CBC team has successfully received a ‘Commitment Badge’ from Ecovadis in recognition of achievements on their initial stage of their sustainability journey.

“It would have been amazing to receive a bronze medal at our first attempt, however being only seven points away from that marker is a huge achievement,” said Daniel Johnston, Managing Director, Cardboard Box Company. “It’s the perfect reflection of our business and its strong morals, and now we look forward to making even more changes and improvement to secure the gold medal accreditation within the next couple of years.”

Ecovadis is a global recognition scheme that helps to manage Environmental, Social and Governance r(ESG) risk and compliance and helps businesses meet corporate sustainability goals.
“It demonstrates to our customers our ongoing commitment to embrace various accreditation schemes and to achieve the standards necessary to support their supply chains,” said Daniel. “ESG and sustainability is something we take very seriously, and we have a number of initiatives, in their infancy, that will make tangible differences in the months ahead. This will make us even more attractive to businesses as their preferred packaging partner.”

To find out more about Ecovadis visit https://ecovadis.com/

Matt is our Commercial Director and has spent his entire working life at CBC.

He joined the business straight from University, being offered a job as Management Trainee by the then owner, Peter Street, of what was then Chapman Containers, later to be CBC.

Matt commented; “I held Peter in high regard and thought that he would be a great mentor. He turned out to be a tough task master with an incredible focus on our customers.

“This focus ingrained into the DNA of the business now and serves us well.”

In that time, he has worked in pretty much every department going including Planning, Production, Warehousing, Transport and Sales. He was promoted to his current role in July 2022.

When asked about his role Matt commented; “It’s all about the team here at CBC and our customers. It’s about delivering on our promises, making people happy, keeping it simple and not forgetting to have a laugh along the way.”

Just for fun…
If you didn’t work in corrugated, what would you do? – Professional Dancer…

A fact people may not know about you – I’m incredible on the Saxophone and played many a Hed Kandi night in the early noughties ?.

What you like to do outside of work – When I’m not on the Sax I enjoy spending time with my girls, Darcey who’s 8 going on 16 and Lara who’s 4. I’m a foodie and counter that by Trail Running. I’m lucky to live in the Ribble Valley, it’s an awesome place to get out in the countryside and enjoy some fresh air.

Corrugated plays a vital part in global supply chains.

Choosing the right packaging from the right supplier can, quite simply, make or break the process and help businesses understand the rocky landscape of global supply chains.

Matt Herd, Commercial Director, Cardboard Box Company explains a few key points to help you understand what’s needed from packaging in supply chains and how we can deliver.

Good design is essential

Corrugated is a lightweight yet super sturdy material, and through innovative design it can protect, ship, and sell products across all transport methods such as sea, air, road and rail.

Our team of constructional designers utilise their skill, knowledge and experience of dealing in corrugated board to create solutions that allow effective shipping and maximise how the space and the material is used, which can help to reduce shipping and transportation costs.

Furthermore, good design helps to protect the product at all pinch points across the supply chain, all the way from production line packing, to unboxing by the end user. Reductions in terms of fuel, emissions and waste can also be achieved through good designs helping to mitigate the pressure supply chains, and businesses, are under to become more sustainable.

Complementary to good constructional design is graphic design. Our skilled team, which has won several awards for the print designs and finishes it produces, work with customers to design inner and outer print as required ranging from complex six colour solutions to a simple black print on kraft corrugated.

Further down the process, our design team engage with our sales team, our production team and our despatch team to ensure clarity is achieved at all steps of the process and success is achieved.

Material matters

In addition to the functionality of the design, our team advise on the correct material to be used depending upon the type and weight of the product, the shipping requirements, how they will stack, whether they require, or benefit from, fittings and dividers etc.

Our team will understand each element of the supply chain and the product to ensure the best possible material is specified to meet customer requirements.

This will include understanding:
• How the product is packed after manufacturing has taken place
• Whether it requires internal boxes, fittings, dividers, external boxes etc
• How they are to be stacked in warehouses or shipping containers
• Understanding journey times, and storage times at destination, to ascertain if moisture resistant board is required
• Any legislative requirements depending upon the product

Winning at warehouse Management

Good packaging that is fit for purpose can also have a positive impact on warehouse management.

Product that is placed in corrugated solutions is easier to stack and easier to mark with brand and product information ranging from production descriptions, quantities, and QR/bar codes that help with stock management, inventories and customer replenishment reporting.

This is of great use in either the warehouse at the production facility, or at any third-party facility such as a 3PL provider. And, by choosing a 3PL provider that stores and manages product safely and efficiently and tackles onward processes such as freight forwarding with professionalism, movement of stock and its packaging through the supply chain will become a seamless operation. Reassuringly simple, with corrugated packaging solutions designed by our team of professionals.

Understanding the complexities of both the supply chain and how packaging works within it is key to achieving success. Working with our team of packaging professionals, who have the right knowledge, experience and equipment will undoubtedly achieve that success across all types of packaging that a customer may require.

To source your supply chain solution with us simply chat to a member of our team. You can do this by calling us on 01254 232223 or dropping us a line on info@thecardboardbox.co.uk

Our team has been privileged to work on an amazing collaboration with artist Sam Williams, to create an utterly impressive masterpiece utilising corrugated, for the National Festival of Making which took place in Blackburn on 6th and 7th July 2024.

Fabula un Facto (play in the making) was a playful installation that emulates industrial architecture and loosely followed a cardboard box in net form.

Inspired by the culture and physical environment of our factory, the creation invited visitors to experience the wonder of the factory floor, as seen through the eyes of Sam when working with our team on the collaboration.

Sam was able to get close to the design process which occurs daily in the factory and understand the actions of translating 2D into 3D and back again.

Collaborating with our innovative designers, she observed the communication and exchange of information between the team members and how each person’s role is integral to the process as a whole.

Marc Stobbs, Packaging Design Manager at Cardboard Box Company commented; “This was an amazing, but hugely complex project to work on, however we are incredibly proud of the finished project.

“It was a delight to have Sam in residency with us to create such an iconic art installation, our third at the festival’s ‘Art in Manufacturing’ and the largest exhibit at this year’s event.”

Daniel Johnston, Managing Director, Cardboard Box Company added; “The team worked with Sam to bring her vision to life and have executed that vision to perfection!

“It was amazing to see, and to hear the positive comments visitors made as they viewed the installation. A huge well done to our team – another project showcasing the versatility, flexibility and strength of corrugated, all of which translates into the delivery of products and projects for our customers.”

To find out more about the work that Sam does visit https://www.samwilliams.uk/

There are two design elements to the corrugated packaging solutions that we create – Construction and graphic.
Both are very different, yet both can be intrinsically important to the success of the pack, depending upon the brief outlined by the customer.
The role of constructional design
Constructional design is what makes the pack or solution fit for purpose. It adds strength, functionality, and performance to the solution, all of which we achieve for our customers. Our constructional designers draw on their material and industry knowledge to formulate a pack that protects the product and uses the right material to the best of its capabilities. They will consider things like whether it needs to be assembled with ease or speed, indeed whether it needs to be packed with ease or speed too.
For other types of packaging such as shelf ready, point of sale or display packaging, other elements are considered such as how best the product can be displayed, and often a more creative element to the constructional side is applied to catch the eye of the consumer in busy retail environments.
The role of graphic design
Graphic design is the artwork that communicates information. This can range from a simple one colour print to a high-quality design that brings a real wow factor to the box or packaging solution.
Our dedicated graphics team works with our customers to ensure everything that is needed from the artwork is achieved. This could be outer box product details to assist with warehouse management functions, through to a fully printed box or display solution produced on our BOBST Expertflex 6 colour HQPP printer.

Nick Lee, Operations Director, Cardboard Box Company commented; “There are so many elements to successful packaging solutions and our designs teams are at the core of both practical and visual aspects of the packaging.
“When combined, and with such a successful team working together, amazing constructional and aesthetically pleasing boxes and packaging is achieved, fulfilling customer briefs and often winning respected industry awards.”
Additional services bringing benefits to customers include our inhouse paper testing lab to determine performance of board grades and our onsite ink lab which permits ink mixing and consistent colour reproduction by our expert team.

For all enquiries, and to benefit from our constructional design, graphic design and print experts give us a call on 01254 232223 or info@thecardboardbox.co.uk

Last week our team attended the Flexographic Industry Awards (FIA) at the Titanic Hotel, Liverpool, and were delighted to have three separate projects win medals!

We received a Gold award and a Bronze award for two separate projects in the ‘Uncoated Line and Screen’ Category and a highly commended in the special category, ‘Use of Flexo for brands’.

The gold and bronze awards were given for ‘the attention to detail and skilled printing paying close attention to accurate registration of artwork and iconic company branding ensuring consistent detail and precise alignment.’ Meanwhile, our highly commended was a project that saw the team reproduce a 5-color plus varnish print using the flexographic process while maintaining the high quality associated with lithographic printing.

Tom Penman, Graphics Manager, Cardboard Box Company commented; “To receive the gold and bronze awards in one of the most competitive categories is a brilliant result for the team and shows the hard work and dedication we give to achieve print perfect finishes for our customers.”

Daniel Johnston, Managing Director, Cardboard Box Company added; “Our graphics and print teams are renowned across the industry for their skill and precision across all our printing processes and for them to be acknowledged at this leading industry event is amazing.

“Customers enjoy many benefits of this level of skill and to be award winning for our print solutions at an event attended by industry peers shows how accomplished our team is.”

To out more about the FIA visit https://fiauk.co.uk/

Point of sale (POS) packaging can add infinite value to a business sales and marketing campaigns.

Perhaps some of the most positive ways it can make an impact is:
• Raising brand awareness
• Highlighting new products and special offers
• Driving impulse purchases
• Influencing buying decisions

POS packaging has many facets to it, and all can be tailored to ensure maximum impact is gained from the solution chosen.

General Point of sale display units and free-standing display units (FSDUs) can optimise valuable shop floor space drawing a consumer’s eye and making the buying decision easy as they ‘grab and go’ whilst passing the display.

Counter Display Units (CDUs) are perfect for till points and high traffic areas. These displays often capitalise on impulse purchases such as snacks or other essential items such as tissues, batteries, or gift cards that shoppers may have forgotten to purchase, or decide to purchase at the last minute.

Dump bins give greater instore prominence, and we ensure our solutions are easy to assemble meaning large bins can be shipped flat packed and product in another box driving supply chain efficiencies.

Additionally, we are proud to work on event displays of all scales ranging from those suitable for large scale trade fairs to smaller local events.

“POS display packaging is a great addition to a brands marketing and sales strategy and the way it supports these is hugely diverse,” said Matt Herd, Commercial Director, Cardboard Box Company. “The sheer range of products we have created can’t really be communicated and we therefore always advise current and prospective customers to simply chat through their ideas with us so that we can be involved in the project from an early stage, so the best possible outcomes are achieved.”

In addition to highly skilled constructional and graphic design teams we have a range of print capabilities. The latest addition to our machinery portfolio, a Fujifilm digital printer allows us to offer lower volume, high quality print runs for customers.
With decades of experience in designing, producing, printing, and supplying a range of POS packaging for some of the most notable brands in the UK, we are well placed to work with a variety of businesses, from small independents to global blue chips, to create Retail Ready and POS packaging that does the job perfectly.

Just a few weeks’ ago we were pleased to welcome Stacey Thurston to the team as our Head of Logistics.

Stacey has worked in E-commerce logistics for the last thirteen years, firstly in administration before managing the logistics operation, the warehouse, and the people within the team.

She will oversee the warehouse and despatch operation at Cardboard Box Company.

“I was looking for a new challenge and being a part of the team at CBC is something I’m really excited about,” said Stacey. “I’m looking forward to reviewing processes and making sure that we are operating as efficiently as possible in all areas, putting in place solutions and empowering the team.”

In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations Stacey is also looking forward to identifying and making process improvements with the team and motivating them to be the best that they can, respect colleagues, and enjoy their work at CBC.
Stacey concluded; “It’s great to move into a new industry and I’m looking forward to learning all about corrugated from the team, many of whom have been with the business for several years. Everyone has made me feel so welcome – I know I’ve made the right decision!”

Just for fun…

If you didn’t work in Logistics, what would you do? – I’m really interested in building strong teams and what goes in to bringing people together so I would love to work with sporting teams to work with them to improve their sporting performance through teambuilding.

A fact people may not know about you. – I can’t think of anything! I’m really quite boring!!

What you like to do outside work? – Love to just spend time with my family, and socialising with friends.

As part of our ongoing plans to be as sustainable as possible in all our operations, we are delighted to announce that Cardboard Box Company is now ‘Zero to Landfill’.

In partnership with a local recycling company who have supported us in delivering the practicalities of achieving this, the initiative forms part of our Carbon Pledge and future certification ISO 14001 which we expect to achieve and finalise in later summer 2024.

ISO14001 is an internationally recognised Environmental Management System (EMS) framework which provides a ‘systematic approach for measuring and improving environmental impact.’

It can help businesses reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, streamline waste management, and reduce the environmental impact of a business’s day to day operations.

Daniel Johnston, Managing Director, Cardboard Box Company commented; “This effective framework gives us clear direction fort develop and environmental strategy that meets the specific needs of Cardboard Box Company.
“Through this we can make a commitment to a sustainable future and put in place all necessary actions to achieve certification and improve our environmental performance.”

As part of the certification process, many other projects have been identified within the business some of which have already been successfully delivered. Other larger ones are planned for completion in due course.

Daniel concluded; “It is important that businesses analyse the way they do things currently to ascertain if there are changes that could be made that would have a positive environmental impact.

“The activities we are undertaking here demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and to improving our environmental performance, both of which will only bring positive improvements for the business.”