What to Print on an Industrial Corrugated Box
On an industrial box, print is working information before it is branding. It tells a warehouse what is inside, a forklift driver how to lift it, and a customs officer where it is going. Printing the right information — and leaving the rest to a label — saves time at every step of the route.
Printed or labelled: fixed and variable information
The first decision is what goes on the box and what goes on a label. The rule is simple:
- Print what is the same on every box — product name, part number, pack quantity, handling symbols, your brand.
- Label or code what changes — batch or lot number, dates, serial numbers, the consignee on a particular order.
Printing variable information means a new print run for every change, and a stock of boxes that is wrong the moment the batch changes.
Handling symbols
Handling symbols are standardised in ISO 780, so they are understood across languages and borders. The ones most used on industrial boxes:
| Symbol | Tells the handler |
|---|---|
| This way up | Keep the arrows pointing up |
| Fragile | Handle with care; contents can break |
| Keep dry | Protect from rain and moisture |
| Stacking limit | No more than a stated number of boxes, or weight, on top |
| Centre of gravity | Where the weight sits, for lifting an unevenly loaded box |
| Do not use hand hooks | Hooks will pierce the box and the contents |
Print only the symbols that are true for the product. A box covered in warnings gets all of them ignored.
Product identification
- Part number and description, in type large enough to read at arm’s length on a pallet.
- Quantity per box, so counts can be checked without opening.
- Your customer’s part code, if they receive against it.
- Barcodes, printed in a dark ink at an adequate size, with clear space around them. Kraft board lowers contrast, so scan the barcode on the physical sample before bulk production.
Export shipping marks
Export consignments carry shipping marks that identify each package through the port and at customs. Your buyer or letter of credit sets the exact requirement, but they typically include:
- The consignee’s mark or name
- The destination port or place
- The package number and total — for example 12 / 120
- Gross and net weight, and the box dimensions
- The country of origin — Made in India
The fixed parts of the marks can be printed with the box; the numbers that change from package to package are usually stencilled or labelled. See our export and industrial boxes.
Branding on industrial boxes
An industrial box reaches your customer’s receiving dock, their stores and often their production line. A clean, consistent printed brand there does the same job as on a consumer carton — and costs little extra when the box is being printed anyway.
Printed boxes from our plant in Bakrol
Himalaya Packaging prints corrugated boxes in up to four colours, offset, at our plant in Bakrol Bujrang, Ahmedabad — the same plant that makes the board. So marks, identification and branding can go on 5, 7 or 9 ply board specified for an industrial load, not only on light cartons. See our printed corrugated boxes.
The product behind this article
Printed Corrugated Boxes
Branded outer packaging with print quality that holds up on a customer-facing carton.
Offset 4-colour
Die-cutting
Lamination
