Window box or solid cardboard? This is how you decide if your product should be visible
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
A window in your packaging immediately showcases the product, but it is also the weakest point of the box. This way, for each product, you choose between transparent and opaque cardboard, and which closure suits it.
A customer orders a bracelet from you and receives a sealed brown box in the mail. They open it, see a crumpled piece of paper, and only then the product. Another customer receives the same bracelet in a flat box with a window: they see it immediately, neatly in place. The product is the same, the cost might differ by a euro, but the first impression is completely different.
Yet, a window is not always the better choice. There are products you specifically don't want to show, and there are situations where that window film is more of a risk than a selling point. Below, we list when to opt for transparent packaging, when for solid cardboard, and which closure logically accompanies it.
What a window does and doesn't do
A window is a cutout area in the lid or front, covered with a thin piece of transparent film. It solves one problem: the recipient doesn't have to guess what's inside. This helps at three moments.
On the shelf or at the stall. Someone picks up a box, sees the product, and doesn't put it back to ask what it is.
When unpacking at home. The first image is your product, not your filler material.
At your own packing table. You can see which variant is in which box without opening it. This reduces picking errors.
What a window does NOT do: protect. The film is thin and the cardboard is cut out at that spot, so a window is by definition the weakest point of the box. If you send such a box as a standalone shipment in the mailbox, you'll want an outer box or bubble envelope around it.
When to choose solid cardboard
There are four reasons to skip the window.
Light. Soap, fragrance products, chocolate, and anything with dye will discolour or soften under daylight. If your stock sits on a shelf by the window for months, a window works against you.
Discretion. Anything the recipient would rather not have a neighbour see goes into a sealed box. This applies to 18+ items, but also to a surprise gift arriving at the birthday person's home address.
Dust and fingers. On a counter, an open window quickly becomes a dirty spot. For products that are often stacked, solid cardboard is more practical.
Repackaging. When a return comes in, a solid box is more often still saleable than one with a crumpled window.
Rule of thumb
The window is for the moment of choosing or unpacking. The outer box is for transport. If you combine these two in one box, you always compromise something.
Four types of boxes side by side
Type
Strong in
Pay attention to
Flat window box
Jewellery, cards, small flat items; often fits through the letterbox
Hardly any height, so no room for filling
Window box with height
Bottles, jars, rolled textiles
Product must be held firmly in place, otherwise it will slide away from the window
Solid box with flaps
Shipping, stacking, repackaging
Doesn't present itself; requires a sticker or insert
Box with magnetic closure
Gifts, reusable by the recipient
More expensive per piece; only use where it makes an impact
Specific choices from our assortment
For flat products, the 12.5 x 8.5 x 1.5 cm window boxes are the starting point. The black flat gift box with window costs €1.99 and the same size in light pink also €1.99. Black makes a light product stand out better, pink works the other way around.
If you're sending something that the customer needs to see arrived unopened, then VOID security seals, 60 pieces for €9.95, are a simple addition. They leave a visible trace if someone pulls them off.
How to test it on a small scale
Before you stock hundreds of boxes: order a small quantity of two or three sizes, pack ten actual orders with them and pay attention to three things. Does the product fit snugly without extra filling? Does the window stay clean after sliding back and forth on the packing table? And does the box, with outer box, still fit within the shipment you normally send? If one of these three falls short, it's a cheap lesson learned.
If you're torn between two sizes, choose the smallest one where your product still fits loosely. A box that's just too spacious will allow the product to slide against the window, and you'll see that immediately.
Get started
All boxes, window boxes, and outer boxes from this article can be found at Verpakken & Verzenden. If you are specifically looking for gift packaging, check Cadeauverpakking & Geschenkdozen; for jewellery and small items, Opbergen is the starting point. If you don't know which size fits your product, email the dimensions and weight to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — we are happy to help think about the right combination of box, filling, and outer box for you.
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