When you are budgeting for packaging, there are several factors that can impact your total cost of packaging, and several ways you can reduce these costs by optimizing your current processes. It's difficult to simply place a specific dollar amount to a project like this because no business operates the same way, and what works ideally for your packaging line may not work for any other business in your market. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box to fully realize the potential for cost-savings. Selecting who you work with and when you bring them in can significantly impact the dollar amount you can expect to budget. Here are a few other items that can impact your total packaging cost, including multilayer films, bundling films, maintenance, and new technology:

As it stands in 2017, we can’t avoid plastics – they’re everywhere in our lives from our kitchen appliances to the doctor’s office. Contrary to popular belief, all plastics aren’t the same. There are many types of eco-green packaging options comprised of sustainable plastics available today for all types of products, and they can hold the opportunity for huge savings in your business operation.

As a Brand Manager, Packaging Designer, or Production/Plant Manager, your primary focuses are safe and effective packaging as well as your bottom line. Packaging affects so many aspects of your product line, and with that, your business. Growth, revenue, and reducing costs can all be tied directly into the way you package and ship your products. So, while your industrial packaging products need to adhere to certain standards of quality and safety, how efficiently they are executed is just as important to your business.

When it comes to packaging your products, shrink wrap, aka shrink film, is often the ideal type of material for meeting quality and protection needs while remaining cost-effective. But, what is shrink wrap, and what is it that makes it so versatile for multiple packaging applications? How can you use it to your brand's advantage and make a positive impact to your total cost of packaging? Why is a packaging specialist important? I've broken up the answers to these questions below:

Your packaging makes a statement about how you do business. Here is an easy, three-step plan to master your packaging and make a great impression.

If you had to make a list of the things that are most important for a product's success, packaging would undoubtedly be near the top. According to a 2015 Cone Communications and Ebiquity Global CSR Study on Consumer Trends, 84% of respondents said they were very likely to buy a product if they thought it had social or environmental benefits like green packaging and related materials.But green packaging itself is not the trend—it is merely the catalyst to a series of new perspectives on packaging. There are a number of key green packaging material trends that you should definitely watch out for in 2017.