Packaging and Prototyping
Custom packaging from SpeedPro
There are many reasons to use custom packaging when marketing your product. Custom packaging establishes your brand and sets your products apart both in online ads and on store shelves. A well-designed package creates a tactile experience for the customer when they open it. Consider how some of the most popular YouTube channels in recent years feature “unboxing” videos where products are unpackaged. You might also think of that “new car smell” experience of seeing and touching a new product for the first time.
When the package fits your product in a custom package, less material is wasted which is great for the environment and means your customer has less to throw out later. In fact, if your package is really excellent it may end up collected and preserved to repack the product later. Perhaps most importantly, a good custom package design may lead to repeat customer purchases. Once a customer associates opening your product, like opening a gift, they are more likely to want that same feeling in the future.
What is a packaging prototype?
A packaging prototype is a mock-up, or preliminary example of what your fully printed graphical package will look like before mass production. It is often made by hand or assembled by specialized prototyping machines. A packaging prototype represents a unit of packaging without the expense of mass production and gives you the opportunity to request changes in the design.
It is important to differentiate Packaging Prototypes from proofs, as proofs are the final step before signing off and giving permission to go into full production. And from samples which are examples of the mass-produced packaging after production has begun. Prototyping is an important part of the package designing process. Prototypes can be created for a wide variety of reasons. Packaging prototypes are useful for presentation purposes, use by your marketing team, displays at a trade show exhibit, they can be used to confirm the structural integrity of a design, or to show retail buyers so they can decide if they want to make an order. You can also choose to make multiple prototypes to help make your decision on which is most visually appealing and likely to appeal to your customers.
SpeedPro Chicago Loop is able to work with your company’s supplier or packaging manufacturer to ensure that any packaging prototypes you need to make for whatever purpose have the best-printed designs possible. We want to help your company create custom product packaging consistent with corporate branding and appealing to customers. SpeedPro Chicago Loop takes an individualized approach to learning about your product and helping you produce custom packaging specially designed to show off your product in the best possible light as well as protect your product from being damaged or being tampered with during shipping or on the store shelf.
Packaging prototypes can be made to order in several different materials; popular choices are paperboard boxes, corrugated cardboard rigid boxes, or folding cartons. If you want to go with heavier material than corrugated cardboard, corrugated plastics such as the coroplasts often used in sign materials can also be used. Corrugated materials are made of a liner material that has been folded and effectively sandwiched between two flat layers. This creates an inner layer of furrows and ridges which reinforce and strengthen the material. This type of package is generally well protected from crushing and thus coroplasts are often used for packaging foods such as fruits and vegetables from farmers. Many types of storage containers and packages are designed for transporting items and are often made of coroplast. For example, USPS mail carriers often carry coroplast boxes full of packages and mail.
Small run packaging graphic design
If you would like more than one prototype, SpeedPro Chicago Loop can also do small run packaging graphic design. Test runs are typically a necessary part of finding the best possible packaging for your product. By producing a small run of custom packaging for perhaps a limited release, you have the opportunity to see how buyers interact with your product. You may choose to survey the customer to see what they think and based on interactions you can find out how well the packaging protects the product during transport.
SpeedPro Chicago Loop understands the many benefits of short-run packaging and will help you produce these short runs on request. Once you see how the packaging performs, you can refine your design as needed. Once you’ve confirmed your design decisions you can mass-produce the packaging confident that it is practically perfect in every way.
Always remember that the package your product comes in is an important part of your brand and image. The exterior package is what the majority of the general populace sees but only a confirmed customer gets to look inside and use the product.
SpeedPro Chicago Loop
Located just three-blocks from McCormick Place on Michigan Avenue, serving the entirety of downtown Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, we are convenient, accessible and able to support all of your large format graphic printing.
The Best Large-Format Printing in Chicago
SpeedPro Chicago Loop was the largest SpeedPro franchisee in the region (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan & Indiana) for 2022 and in the Top 10% of all SpeedPro’s nationwide.
We are humbled and proud of of the recognition we have received, not merely as a high performing studio, but by the accolades of our clients and the awards we’ve received, to include; the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) ‘2022 Franchisee of the Year’ (Nominee), ‘3 Best Sign Shops in Chicago’ 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, ‘Exceptional Customer Service’ 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, the only two-time winner of ‘Project of the Year’ 2018 and 2021, ‘Exceptional Growth’ 2018, ‘Rookie of the Year’ in 2016, over 300 perfect 10/10 online reviews and countless other franchise awards– SpeedPro Chicago Loop is committed to delivering great results and a delightful experience for our customers.
What Are the Advantages of Partnering With SpeedPro Chicago Loop?
Why should you choose SpeedPro Chicago Loop over other studios in the area? We offer a range of unique benefits, including:
- Fast turnaround on projects against tight deadlines
- Professionalism in every interaction
- Reliability you can count on
- Precision of graphics, which we use digital measurements to create
SpeedPro Chicago Loop creates one-of-a-kind graphics that will last for your company. See how we can connect you with the potential customers you want while also creating graphics you feel proud to display. Our graphics will make you look better. When companies partner with us, they see results.
Schedule a Consultation With SpeedPro Chicago Loop
Let us get your message noticed. You have something you want to tell potential customers. Visual communications such as the ones designed by SpeedPro Chicago Loop can deliver that information and build bridges that could develop into longstanding relationships.
We want to help you accomplish your goals and grow your business. Chicago-area companies can contact us today to discuss a consultation or request a quote.