Should You Repair, Refurbish Or Buy New Packaging Equipment?

No matter what product you are manufacturing and selling, you will have to make sure that your packaging process is properly streamlined. Packaging efficiency and effectiveness is important not just because it helps in securing the product but also because it is one of the ways for the branding of your products.

The efficiency of your packaging equipment is one of the factors that you need to consider if you want to maintain the supply of your products to the customers according to their demands. But then, the machines develop problems in them while functioning. Carrying out proper maintenance from time to time and/or replacing them whenever necessary are the things you need to focus on if you think that your machines are not up to the mark. You can also go for the new equipment. Buying new equipment may seem like an expensive deal but it can provide you with the efficiency and effectiveness of operations your business needs. Better ROI and other cost reductions are going to make this investment quite a cheaper one.

If you are not ready to buy the new machinery because of the financial issues, you can consider buying the used or send your existing equipment for refurbishment. These options are also going to help you a lot in enhancing your packaging operations.

Here, you may wonder when you need to get your equipment repaired, refurbished or get the new equipment. A few things are worth mentioning in this regard.

Assess your current equipment

The first thing that you are going to have to do is to assess the equipment you already have. The first factor to take into consideration is the age of your equipment. Generally, a 15-years old equipment is unable to compete with the newer versions. Moreover, you may not be able get the replacement parts of your old machinery.

Another factor to talk about is your spending on maintenance of your machinery. Moreover, total time taken for the maintenance process is also a factor. If you are having good customer service by the supplier, you can surely rely on the equipment you have unless your supplier tells you get the equipment replaced.

If you want to get the machinery repaired, the most important thing you will have to take into the account is the availability of parts. If your older machinery is working fine and you can easily find the parts of it from the market or your supplier, you can stick with the use of that machinery for a few more years.

If you are spending too much of your money on repairs, you need to see if that spending is paying off by giving you the required performance. If it is not the case, you need to replace the machinery for good.

Where to Busy Single Wound and Centerfold shrink film

Maybe you’ve wanted to purchase shrink film and want a vendor that is great for buying this. But you also may have a few products that are done with the in-house packaging line, and you may wonder if there is a good vendor for you to try. Choosing the right one can make or break a business, and there are ways to look for this. How do you choose the right vendor for the needs that you have? Read on to find out. 

Where to Buy Single Wound Shrink film 

Single wound shrink film is clear shrink film all wound in place. There are different manufacturers to look into. For starters, packaging machinery manufacturers are probably some of the best for this, since they’re basically the experts on the packaging that they do sell to you. However, there is a problem with these guys, some of them may not sell to the customer directly, so you need to buy from a distributor that’ll help you. 

What is a distributor? Well, basically they’re the ones who sell these packaging materials from the manufacturers, and usually, they’re kind of the middle man as well. They have a variety of requirements and different needs and usually, you can choose the best one for the needs as well. Buying this can be expensive through a distributor, but if you have a good one, you can usually get a deal for any bulk orders that are there. 

Then there are online vendors, such as Amazon, and eBay and the like. Ut a lot of them are starting to sell through ecommerce stores, and they’re advertising as distributors there. Purchasing from their site or via amazon may result in experiences which are pretty similar, but if you’re purchasing form independent seller options, they may not have good options for you to look at, and it may affect how fast they’ll get this to you, so make sure you also look at this as well if you’re not sure whether or not the online world is right for you. Finally, you want to look at home improvement stores such as Home Depot or Lowes, and you can from there buy it in bulk from people, allowing for you to inspect before purchases are made. At a store is a good option if you want to be able to  physically touch the items as well before you buy directly from them, but it may also result in not as many options, and you also have to bring it to the place you’re going to be packaging, so you should either have a means to do this or have a plan to get this to you. 

What to Choose? 

Well, there are a few considerations you should think about. If you want to buy bulk shrink film, you want a distributor or a manufacturer. If you want advice on the best one for your business, get a distributor since they’re not limited to only one kind of film brand, and they can tell you the best kind of options for you. If you found the right one that you need already, and you just have to buy it, you usually can just order it online, or from a manufacturer, but you may not be able to buy from everyone. If you only need up to 5 shrink film roles, then just go online and use a retailer there, since usually, they’re the best prices for those types of options. Regardless, look into what you need, and the type of packaging for you. 

How to Choose the Best Strapping for pallets

There are many different options for strapping that’s good for the pallets that you have before you get into packaging. This can be based on the products and packaging that’s there, along with the tensile strength of the strapping required. 

But how do you know if that’s the right strapping to use, or if you want to change to something that fits the pallets you have. Well, you’re in luck, because here, we’ll go over the best and simplest process to offer the best strapping material for containing products in the correct manner. 

How to Choose the Correct Material 

When you begin, you first need to choose the correct strapping material, and know the different kinds of strapping materials out there and also offer the best tensile strength within each application, and also to make sure that it answers all of the best questions that you may have. 

Varieties of strapping material 

First, you need to know that not all strapping is equal. Even a simple google search of the strapping that’s out there and getting the first one possible may not be the best option for you. You have three major ones t choose from. 

First is polypropylene strapping, or PP strapping, which is very popular and is available in different strengths, with a high tensile weight, a width, and different core sizes too. The metrics of this is chosen by the applications used, and the products resulting in packaging. This type of strapping is usually embossed, offers better strength, and a better texture for extra friction. There is embossed kinds of strapping that helps to reduce the formation of dust during the application of this as well. 

Then there is polyester or PET strapping, where it may have a smooth texture, and can also be embossed. This is the strapping used on soda bottles that are recycled. This type of “heavy-duty” kind of packaging material offers a more tensile strength and better thermal tolerance in a lot of cases. It also has a decreased level of tension decay, and it offers better tension too, offering better tools and it can even be fully automated based on the formulation possible. 

Finally, you’ve got steel strapping, which is a lot rarer these days, and used specifically for railroad shipping, and usually used to ship different products. This is an enforced type of strapping that is used by railroads t transport construction equipment too. While some polyester strapping is replacing this, if it’s on railroads, it has to be steel. This is done with both handheld and automated machinery, using this to strap your strapping, and usually, it can be put together with a handheld tool as well. 

What’s Best For you? 

This is ultimately dependent on the right type of product that you’re going for. For magazines, newspapers, or any publications, you can use polypropylene to help with this. For bricks, concrete, or tiles, then polyester is a good one. For heavy industrial equipment, such as beams and whatnot, you definitely want to go with steep strapping. 

For hardwood floors and laminated objects, polypropylene is usually the ideal strapping in this case, since it offers the best results for you to use. For canned goods, you definitely will want to go with polyester strapping, since this is the best option for your needs. For those who are shipping with the railroad and a container, you will be mandated by the government to use steep strapping. Finally, for appliances, you want to use polypropylene as the best choice for your strapping needs. 

8 Tips To Save On Shipping

When you go out to ship items in a box to another location, the size and the weight of the box can dictate how much it would cost to ship out the item. Having your own eCommerce site means having to ship very often to different locations. There are several things you can do to reduce the shipping price or remove it altogether.

Use Different Carriers For Different Orders

Always choose the best carrier for each order individually. Different carriers will offer different rates based on the dimensions, destination, and even the weight. FedEx and UPS charge residential fees while USPS does not. This eventually adds up when you think about it.

Using Freight

If your order is large enough, you could use Freight to ship out. You can also let your customer know that their items may arrive at different times from separate freight trucks. This option saves a lot of money with no shipping costs.

Reuse your Packaging

It can be expensive to buy new boxes or bubble paper when you need to. You can always reuse the bubble paper, cheap moving boxes, and the packing peanuts. You can even ask your friends and family to give you all the boxes and the trash inside that they receive in the mail. You can always reuse these items for your own orders.

Buy A Label Printer

Purchasing a label printer can help save money from needing to buy expensive packaging slips used for the package. You could use Shopify shipping, which is one of the features on the platform that let's you print out labels from supported carriers. You can save anywhere from $1-$15 for items shipped nationally and internationally.

Shipwire

Shipwire is a service online that you can connect to. It can be connected seamlessly into your online cart system. It instantly and automatically determines based on every order made which carrier is best to use and will save you the most amount of money. It does this right before the item is shipped, makes the decision, and it ships the product. Talk about a seamless process and an easy way to get those orders shipped.

Package Your Product Efficiently

Get those cheap moving boxes that fit your items just right. No need to have a ton of space. Get the right size for your items. The less it has inside the less it will cost to ship the product out. Try to use light and airy material in your boxes.

Stamps.com

Aside from using USPS or a specific carrier that you feel fits your business, consider using Stamps.com. They provide additional delivery confirmation and tracking numbers at no additional cost to you. They will provide you with a FREE scale as well to help weigh out your items.

Outsource Your Shipping

The last tip to consider is to outsource your shipping in the end using services like Amazon FBA. You wouldn't need to package the products yourself. They will handle all of it for you with reliable delivery for satisfied customers. It may cost more but it's definitely worth it.

Saving on shipping is all about efficiently crafting your orders and knowing which carrier to use for the items you ship out. The tips above will help you save plenty of cash when you get tat eCommerce business flowing.

How to Make Custom-Made boxes

If you’re interested in standing out, a big part of digital marketing is well, packaging. You want to make sure that the product is shipped properly, and packaging is more imperative these days than before.  A lot of people look for premium packaging, since it gives off the vibe of being more valuable than regular old packaging. Almost half of the consumers will also choose the future packaging based on what it looks like too, and a lot of people also share this on social media and with their friends. Custom packaging is something that is vital, but only 11% of people are actually satisfied with the packaging that they get. What’s the solution? Custom shipping of course! Here is what you need to know about custom shipping, and how you can make it possible. 

How to make this 

There are a few things that you need to look at, and you should know a few things about the box types, the costs, and everything in between to make this better for you, and all possible with this as well. 

First, choose the right container. 

You want to choose something that fits your packaging needs. Some people like the regular slotted containers, which flap on down right near the middle, and then it glues or tapes with the assembly of this. There are overlap containers, which are good for products that are bulky and heavy, offering rigidity and strength, with glue and tape needed. 

There is also a one panel folder option, which you can do for magazines, books, or anything that’s flat. You may need tape, or you don’t need it. There is also the C series of boxes, which are similar to subscription-style, have self-locks, and also will need a bit tooling, which does eat up the costs.  They also do offer standard tooling. 

There are also tray and cover options, which are good if you need to ship something flat or requires gluing or stapling to put this together. Finally, you’ve got the half slotted container, which means that they don’t have top flaps, so you have to use glue to seal this, or tape. 

Next do this 

You then want to measure the product that you’re looking to ship. You also should have an idea of the strength of this too, since this is determined by the type of product shipped. Remember, if you’re shipping something heavy, bulky or fragile, you want to make sur that you’ve got a strong box for this. You also may want to as well choose something that fits the needs. Don’t make them too big or too small for your needs. 

You also want to make sure you have an idea of the printing that you want. Usually, standard printing is good, which basically has common wordings and phrases on this. There is also flexo and litho printing, which basically means that you get to choose what’s on the box, whether it’s lettering, if you want to add any important branding, or whatever. 

So what do you do when it’s over? well, then once you’ve determined what youwnat to do, you then can put in an order to get this. A lot of people are definitely interested in doing this, since custom boxes are a way to stand out. Once you order, the order usually comes relatively quick, and it’s something that’s good if you’re looking to get the most out of your boxes, and also to et other people know a bit more about what kinds of products you have, and your brand as well. 

Benefits of Custom-Branded food Paper

There are many food industries that could benefit from food packaging, with more and more customers liking food paper that can really showcase why they enjoy the product as well. This can actually be used not just for wrappers, but also for different other liners used for baskets, and even used with meat cuts. This is a great way to build a better brand, and here we’ll go over why you should use custom branded food paper. 

It Eliminates Grease 

A cool thing about food paper is that you can get it and it’s grease proof. You want to do this because some people don’t like getting grease all over themselves and their clothes, and it does deter them from actually coming in. But with food paper, it can be custom-made to be grease-proof, showing that restaurants actually care about the experience that customers have, and it helps to create real visitors as well. 

You can Compost It 

Food packaging does need to change, given that the current state is there is too much that’s overflowing our landfills, and it can actually discard this paper outside of there and many times most restaurants don’t even have the means to recycle. Custom food paper is easy to compost, and it does break down in a few months. It’ll actually enrich the biomass, so the results of this are much more beneficial than others may think. 

It improves Brand Recognition Along with Awareness 

When you have certain names and such on your sandwiches and other greasy paper, it’s a great way to show people just who you are. A big thing these days are foodies, who post their amazing meals directly online, and if you want to get something that’s good for business, this is the way to do it. The amazing thing about this, is that the product does speak for themselves, and it’s one way to truly master and improve your ability to really sell what it is that you’re selling. 

It Doesn’t Cost a lot 

The cool thing about this as well is you can incorporate all of this without breaking the bank. That’s because it’s super affordable, as you can buy these wrappers in bulk, and it offers a really useful tool for marketing that does offer a lot more bang for what you’re choosing to put into this, and it oftentimes is one of the cheaper ways to brand your stuff too. 

The craziest thing Abou this is that you can actually buy all of this right from your computer too. You don’t have to actually spend a bunch of time looking at different retailers, you can actually choose the size of the packaging, your logos and images, a pattern for this, any other colors you want to add, and even the color of the paper, and also the quantity too. Usually, this ships out fast. 

The cool thing about this too is that it’s simple, but also very eco-friendly when it comes to your ability to create a custom paper that’s really beneficial and useful for your needs too. There are many different benefits out there, and a whole lot that you’ll be able to benefit from, so you can get started with this right away, and from there, learn to really build your brand with all of this. You will see the difference immediately, and there is definitely something that’s really good about this. You’ll be happy with the results, and the thing is, it’s a good way to boost your presence and the food paper that you have.