Questions To Answer Before You Buy Packaging Materials And Machinery

You are beyond excited as you take your last sip of coffee, gently placing the cup on your desk. You have packaging materials and machinery on your mind. And you are ready.

Before you, a flat-screen LCD monitor glows, projecting that beautiful blue light upon your face. You can feel the caffeine coursing through your veins.

You type away at the keyboard; the excitement rises with each click and clack of the keys beneath your fingers. You hit enter.

Now, you stare at the home page of your chosen packaging materials and machinery vendor. You have been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Today is the day, you think to yourself!

You are finally ready to purchase packaging materials or machinery, and you are about to hit that buy button.

You hear a gentle whisper as if a voice was calling to you from another realm. And suddenly, you freeze. Your finger hovers over the enter button.

Wait, says the voice.

Wait? You think to yourself. No, I want to do this; I am ready to buy, you exclaim to no one in particular!

Again, you attempt to hit the buy button. And again, your finger stops as it just barely scratches the surface of the enter button on your keyboard.

Wait, says the voice, now louder, as if from a person standing in the room with you. Whom could that be, you ask yourself silently?

As you read these words here today, we answer you. It is us, Industrial Packaging! You are probably wondering why it seems as if we do not want you to buy packaging machinery and materials.

We do. We genuinely do; however, you may not be ready yet. It would help if you answered several essential questions first, and we are here to go over those questions with you.

Once you have taken care of the items in this article, you will be ready to make a packaging purchase.

Questions To Answer Before Buying Packaging Materials Or Machinery

When getting ready to purchase packaging materials or machinery, there are several things you need to do before hitting that buy button.

I know you are excited and want to make a purchase! But, if you try to do so before taking care of the items listed below, you may complicate the process with unnecessary headaches for yourself.

But, what are these things that you need to do before you buy packaging? What questions do you need to answer?

Below, we will take a look at each of these items and help you answer the crucial questions that need to be answered before you make a purchase.

Is Your Logo Prepared For Packaging Materials?

Do you already have a logo? If not, do you plan on using it on your packaging?

Suppose you are going to use your logo on your packaging. In that case, you will need to create a logo before purchasing packaging materials and the related elements.

If you have a logo, you need to ask yourself a question. Will your logo need to be printed on the packaging itself, or a label that will be applied to the packaging?

You will want to have this information before reaching out to a packaging vendor to purchase packaging materials or labels on which your logo will be printed.

Is your logo available in PDF format? If not, you will want to convert your logo to a PDF file before trying to get your logo printed. This is the best file format for your packaging vendor's needs.

Having your logo prepared as a PDF will make the process of getting your logo printed quicker and easier.

What Do You Want Your Packaging Materials To Look Like?

Do you have a vision of what you want your final product to look like on store shelves? Do you know what you want your packaging materials to look like on your packaged product? If not, you will want to formulate this vision before purchasing or outsourcing your packaging.

Your packaging vendor will not be able to help you without this vision and a clear and concise description of what you want your final packaged product to look like.

Once you have this vision in mind, consider writing out the description. If possible, provide a visual aid such as an illustration, photo, or video of your final product as you want it to look in the store.

By doing this, you will be able to simplify and speed up the packaging purchasing process.

Where Will Your Products Be Packaged?

Where will your product be manufactured? Will it be in a warehouse, your home, a small manufacturing facility, a large manufacturing facility, or elsewhere? Where will your products be packaged?

You must figure this out before attempting to purchase packaging machinery and materials. You must do this because not all packaging equipment and materials will be appropriate for all manufacturing areas.

For example, suppose you have identified the volume of products you wish to package and the speed at which you want to package them. In that case, this will require specific machinery and materials.

But, if the packaging materials and machinery you require for your packaging project need a decent-sized portion of a warehouse and you want to package your products in a small living room at home, this will not work.

You will need to provide information about the location at which you will be packaging your products. You will need to provide detailed information about the space that you have available at this location.

You will also have to let your packaging vendor know your available utilities, electrical output, labor, and related elements at your disposal.

Without this information, your packaging vendor will not be able to help you purchase the suitable packaging materials and machinery properly.

So, it is imperative that you collate this information and provide it to your packaging company before attempting to purchase.

How Fast Do You Want To Complete Your Packaging Project?

Your packaging partner will need to know how fast you want to complete your packaging project. Additionally, we need to understand the volume of packages you want to create in the amount of time you want them packaged.

So, you need to ask yourself how many products do you want to be packaged and how fast do you want them packaged?

It is also important to note that there are minimum order requirements for many types of packaging materials.

As a general rule, you don't want to work with a packaging distributor if the volume of products packaged is low. If it is low, it may be better for you to shop online for smaller pieces of equipment and material orders.

For the most part, a low-volume order would be anything under 50,000 products packaged.

Will You Package Your Products Manually Or Automate Your Packaging?

Before you purchase packaging machinery and materials, you need to decide if you are going to have human laborers run your packaging line or use fully automated packaging machinery.

Fully automated equipment is a significant investment. Before you can choose one of the items above, you will first need to figure out if you can afford to buy the machinery and materials that you want.

Once you have found out if you can afford your choice, you need to let your packaging vendor know if you will need fully automated equipment or be using human labor to package your products.

Do You Have The Required Labor To Run Your Packaging?

The next thing you need to figure out is whether or not you have the proper amount of laborers to run your packaging machinery, materials, and project.

Suppose you can afford to buy the machinery and materials that you need, but you cannot afford to pay the required number of laborers to run your machinery. In that case, you should not purchase that equipment or materials now.

You need to figure out the required number of laborers for your packaging project. Suppose you do not know the correct number of laborers to run your machinery and materials.

In that case, you will want to figure that out before you try to buy the associated packaging machinery and materials.

You will need to share this information with your packaging vendor before you make a purchase.

How Will You Ship Your Packaged Products?

What type of containers will you use to ship your final products? Will you be using cardboard boxes? Stretch film? Strapping? Something else or a combination of one or more materials?

Before making a packaging purchase, you must let your packaging company know the answers to the questions above.

Once your products are packed for shipping, how will you be shipping your products? USPS? FedEx? UPS? Railroads? Trucking?

Before buying packaging machinery and materials, you will have to explain how you will be shipping your products to your packaging partner.

Are You Packaging Food?

Food packaging has a host of rules and regulations that are different from those used for packaging consumer goods.

You will need to educate yourself on these rules and regulations before purchasing the equipment and materials that you want to use to package your products.

Some of the equipment used for food packaging must be stainless steel and washable. As such, you will need to let your packaging vendor know if you are packaging food or not before you attempt to buy any equipment or materials.

Furthermore, not all materials are food-grade materials. If you are packaging food, you will need to select a packaging material that is certified food safe.

So, before you try to buy packaging machinery or materials, you have to let your chosen packaging company know if you are packaging food before you try to make a purchase.

Buy Packaging Machinery And Materials

Once you have acquired all of the answers to the questions above, you will want to collate that information and send all of it to a packaging expert.

With the information above, they will have everything they need to help you to purchase the proper packaging materials and machinery for your needs.

Once you have completed this task, you will then be ready to make a purchase.