Posted by Mike Cunningham on May 7th 2025
Custom Printing on Corrugated Packaging
Custom-branded corrugated packaging is one of the best investments you can make in your business. It creates brand recognition, customer loyalty, and just looks cool. But there’s a lot of prep work and planning that goes into creating it and not knowing what you’re doing can lead to a less-than-impressive final project.
Flexographic Printing: Also known as relief printing, flexographic is the most used method for printing on corrugated boxes. A flexible printing plate is mounted to a large rotating cylinder, and as uncut corrugated board is fed through it, the design on the plate is printed directly onto the corrugate. It’s ideal for flood coating, edge-to-edge printing, and designs that are text-based or include 1 or 2 colors. It’s also a cost-effective printing method, making it especially good for large volume projects. It’s not recommended for designs that involve detailed graphics or multiple colors, due to the need for extra printing plates—which increases the price for every extra color you need.
Lithographic Printing: Also known as offset printing and litho-lamination, lithographic operates differently from other direct printing methods. It involves printing a design onto paper (in coated or uncoated finish), which is laminated onto corrugate board, which is then cut to the final box dimensions. It’s great for detailed and high-resolution graphics, giving you tons of choices and flexibility when it comes to imagery, colors, and other flourishes. Its biggest drawback is it’s the most expensive printing method available.
Digital Printing: Free of the need for plates or lamination, the digital option involves printing a design directly onto the corrugated board. Also, free of the need for mixing separate colors, it uses the full spectrum of CMYK for printing the final product. There are disadvantages to it, however. Using digital printing for flood coating or large color blocks can cause imperfections—colors can be slightly off, or white lines may appear on the finished product. And depending on the corrugated board color and board coating you use, some of the ink can be absorbed into the corrugate and create a muted-looking design. That’s why digital printing is best for short runs and designs that take advantage of those potential imperfections.
Here are other packaging items we can custom print your name, logo, message on:
Stretch Wrap – Shrink Film – Poly Bags – Packaging Tapes – Edge Boards – Labels
Quick Pak Inc is here to be your custom packaging partner. Let’s get started 813 242 6995 or reach sales@quickpakinc.com