The e-commerce supply chain, for all its sophistication, is a violent place if you are a carton that must get from point A to Point B. You are handled by many people who may throw you around without much thought to your importance as a customer’s “first impression”. This carton on your customer’s doorstep is his or her first interaction with your company – so make it a good one. Ship your merchandise in a sturdy and well-packaged container – a corrugated one.
On the surface, both cardboard and corrugated cartons look similar. But when it comes to protecting your product(s), there’s no comparison. Goods shipped in corrugated cartons are less likely to be damaged in shipment than those shipped in cardboard boxes.
Cardboard vs Corrugated – What’s the difference?
A carton made of cardboard typically is made of thick paper stock or heavy paper-pulp. This type of material used for cereal boxes or greeting cards. Although corrugated cartons are also made with cardboard, they are much stronger because they are made of three layers - one that includes an inside liner, another that’s an outside liner, and fluting with a ruffled shape, which runs in between the two. This construction gives these cartons much more strength. In addition, corrugated cartons are:
- Less likely to tear or break in transit
- Lightweight, but with a higher strength-to-weight ratio
- Better able to protect the contents
- Cost-effective
- Environmentally friendly
- Better suited for heavier items
- Able to provide some cushioning
- Less likely to be damaged by wet conditions.
Both cardboard and corrugated cartons are useful when used appropriately. Cardboard is more useful for lightweight applications such as to-go containers board games. Corrugated, on the other hand, is the packaging material of choice for shipping boxes. It is strong, durable, provides cushioning and is easily recycled.
Take a Strong Box and Make It Stronger
Want to enhance the strength of a corrugated shipping box? Seal it with water-activated tape. Water-activated tape creates a permanent bond with a corrugated carton. Once activated with water, the adhesive in this tape literally penetrates the carton material, forming a permanent bond. That means tampering with the box, specifically the seal, is easily detectable because it damages the carton.
In addition, water-activated tape can be reinforced with multiple layers of polyethylene strands that make the bond (and the box) even stronger.
Make sure everything you ship arrives in its best condition. Get tips about packaging and shipping from an eBook we’ve prepared for you. Click here to download “A Guide for Tape Dispensing Performance Solutions.”
Better Packages | Water-Activated Tape Dispensers and Tape
Better Packages offers a complete line of water-activated tape dispensers. Its parent company, Intertape Polymer Group, sells a full line of Central® brand water-activated tape, including reinforced and non-reinforced tape. In addition to providing products for packing stations, the companies help their customers analyze and solve their packing station challenges.