seeking advice with product packaging (skin packaging, clicker presses, etc)

Diving into a new product that is much higher volume than anything I've done before.

The product has 12 lightweight metal parts each about 3" long and 4 pieces of small hardware and a 1/2 page of instructions.

The product will only be sold direct. Shipped to the customer. It will not be on store shelves, maybe stocked on dealer/installer shelves.

Skin packaging seems like a decent way to do it to me, but I've never done it before. The cardboard backer can have a sheet of instructions/graphics. The parts can be set on top and the film applied to hold the parts. Slip the packaged parts into a shipping box (or stack many into a larger box) and not much if any packing filler should be required.

Is there anything to be aware of investing in skin packaging equipment?

How does the cardboard backer work? I haven't asked the local packaging places about cutting/printing for this job, but when speaking to them in the past for lower qty stuff the prices have been beyond stupid.

How are others handling this type of packaging?

Thanks!

I've never used skin packaging myself (all our stuff is sold in boxes), but regarding cost, you might want to call some local makerspaces. FabLab up in Tacoma, WA has a skin packaging machine all the members can use. If you're looking at investing in the equipment, it could be worth the trouble of locating one you can play with beforehand.

The cardboard or corrugated backing panel is coated with heat activated adhesive to bond with the film. Skin packaging is excellent as it protects your product and if done well makes a very good first impression with your customer.

Packaging is expensive. Get used to it. Not much to the equipment.

Make the best of the packaging though. The quality of the presentation on the packaging and clear instructions may help repeat business...

spend some time on Google to find a company in your area who does skin packaging and can provide you with samples. Packaging can seem like a pain but try to make it work either in marketing or customer satisfaction.

Garwood said:

The product will only be sold direct. Shipped to the customer. It will not be on store shelves, maybe stocked on dealer/installer shelves.

Skin packaging seems like a decent way to do it to me, but I've never done it before. The cardboard backer can have a sheet of instructions/graphics. The parts can be set on top and the film applied to hold the parts. Slip the packaged parts into a shipping box (or stack many into a larger box) and not much if any packing filler should be required.


Thanks!

Click to expand...

Skin excels for display, loss prevention(theft) and advertising purposes. If you are selling direct, none of these really apply. What is wrong with a plastic bag and your graphic on the enclosed instructions showing outwards?

Skin does provide some protection from vibration damage, but don't count on it.

If some warehouse or logistics company was packing and shipping, then maybe I would agree, but I don't see a good case here.

Cheers

I absolutely detest blister packs, as a consumer I choose anything BUT if possible. Some of those packages are SO
tough, They can't be opened without some kind of sharp tool, [Not good for clumsy elderly people w/arthritis,poor eye sight, and blood thinners]. That stuff is not very environment friendly either, It all ends up in land fills instead of recycling. It also makes a product look cheap. [Think k-mart, Wally World] Your probably paying more for the throw away package, Than the packaged item. Dave [acme thread]

Easily-recycleable packaging will get you kudos from most folks.
Easy-to-open helps, too, as noted above.

Cardboard mailing tube or box with cardboard insert to hold parts, with instructions printed on the insert?

Packaging (for not-sold-in-stores stuff) is a balance between product protection, material efficency, stocking convenience (no dodecahedron boxes) and presentation... all while not "shipping air" from your place to theirs.

Bonus points for using something that's useful later on.

Nest thermostats come in a 5x5x3 cardboard box, with an insert to cradle the base and thermostat unit. Instructions, a couple of screws in a little bag, and that's about it. Box is totally recycleable, but I kept them because they're also durable and handy.

Will your stuff fit in a reuseable sports-type water bottle, with your logo and product info on it? A little padding, the instruction sheet, and you're good to go. You can carton them up in the same carton you get the bottles in.

If the product is DSLR camera support-related, then a little "tool roll" that holds all the parts when broken down can fit right in the bottle, and will get used again, for sure. So, packing for shipment is the same as job-to-job protection for the end user.

Chip

We ship everything in boxes currently with absolutely no peanuts and minimal fillers like bubble wrap. Almost everything is fit into small boxes that nest inside larger boxes for shipping. The issues we've run into with this approach are corrosion if parts sit on the shelf too long. Making absolutely sure everything on a product checklist is in the boxes (because you can't see inside them after they're packed). And it just takes a while to make up all the boxes and pack them.

Skin packaging is not the easiest to open up, but I've always liked how the product is displayed with it.

I've always put effort into making sure the customer gets some "wow" when they open well packed boxes with nicely finished parts and carefully written instructions. Skin packaging would sure display the parts well. Even if they aren't on store shelves they will still look very professional when they are taken out of a box.


I can't think of a container that would hold all the parts inside. I love the drink bottle idea, but can't see it working here.

It crossed my mind to make up packaging from thin EG or Aluminum we could laser and form. Then those parts could hook back together into something else useful like a wall clock with our logo laser etched on it or something. Seems like we could make the packaging for less from sheetmetal than cardboard costs!

Garwood said:

I've always put effort into making sure the customer gets some "wow" when they open well packed boxes with nicely finished parts and carefully written instructions.

Click to expand...

+1 on the wow factor. I love getting nicely packed items, to me it shows the sender cares about the product.

The Japanese make a whole art of it.

Could you achieve corrosion-resistance by using a vacuum-bagging machine as used in kitchens for food? If you're packaging hundreds, doable. If hundreds of thousands, then not so much.

Chip

Or desiccant packs?

gvidas said:

Or desiccant packs?

Click to expand...

skin packing is very simple to do. just need some sort of vacume former to heat and suck the film down onto the backer board, which can be very basic. if you are going with a plain rectangular backer, you dont even need a die cutter, just trim by hand. However if you are going to make many of these, then you are better off having the backer board printed as a multiple, and do several at once then trim them with a clicker or roller die cutter. THe backers can be silk screen printed, the heat activated adhesive is a clear varnish that can also be screened on. steel rule dies are super cheap.