A lot of packaging that’s being used for small businesses and niche products might not need a large-scale warehouse. Sometimes, they just want a flexible pricing option, where they just buy what they need, and then, the items are printed. There isn’t a warehouse, just some printing for when you need it, without having to keep track of a ton of stock. Small businesses don’t need thousands of boxes when starting out, hence why on-demand printed pricing is becoming the norm.

The Tech for Short-Run Printing 

Short-run printing is a little bit different from the typical printing. With a lot of larger orders, you have to buy various prints and plates, which can cost a lot.

Digital printing, or digital presses, are common. This creates a digital image, prints it on the packaging, and then you’re shipping it out. it’s cheap, effective, and the only downside is that, compared to the more extensive printing, it might not have as high of quality.

Speaking of cuts, there’s also die cuts that are modular, which is where it’s moldable to the needs of the packaging. So, if you need a specific size, then there you go.

There’s also web to pack services, where it takes the image on the web, and then puts it to a packaging. Again, straight from the website, simple, and effective.

The Benefits 

With this on-demand printing, there’s a lot of benefits that come with it.

First, it launches much faster than other types of printing.   You’re not dealing with the possibility of longer wait times. so for example, if you’re launching a small collection, instead of preparing the packaging weeks in advance, it’s all just put together in short order.

It also is good for product testing. Sometimes, you might not be sure what is best for this, so you’ll be able to test two designs in a short run, and conduct A/B testing in order to see the effects of this.

Also, for branding, especially with branding that you’re unsure about, you can pivot it, to better suit the needs of what’s out there. Again, it works really well with on-demand printing and packaging for a lot of niche businesses, and will help to make your branding fit as needed. 

It’s Ecofriendly too! 

With this, you’re also hitting on the benefit of it’s eco friendly, minimizing inventory waste. You only print what sells, no more no less, so when you’re done with a run, or don’t need that design, you just shelve it, and don’t have a bunch of boxes just lying about out there collecting dust.

It is great, and it reduces your carbon footprint by a lot, making it even easier for you to use, and better as well in the long haul. 

Overall, with this type of packaging printing, there’s a lot that can be done with it. a lot of custom box companies offer digital printing services, and Printly will also do some customized designs for short runs.

Take a look around. Some of the local retailers such as Staple soar Office Max may also offer some quick, short-run services. Again, it will be cheaper than buying a hundred boxes when you only need like ten.

With limited runs, don’t be afraid to use on-demand printing. Many companies are taking advantage of this, and through using it, are able to build a better focus with their packaging products to suit company needs. So, if you’re torn on where to package and where to begin, consider using printed packaging that’s on demand and see where it goes from there.