Which packaging suits your product? Five questions that determine your box
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Letterbox box, bubble envelope, or box? Five questions about thickness, flexibility, volume, protection, and sealing will guide you to the right packaging immediately.
You have an order to ship and three types of packaging in the cupboard: a letterbox box, a bubble envelope, and a regular box. Which one do you choose? If you decide this by gut feeling every time, you'll lose time and money: sometimes a package leaves that could have fit through the letterbox, and other times something arrives damaged because the envelope was too thin.
Aside from individual articles on box sizes, envelopes, and protective materials, a general overview is often lacking: what product characteristic actually determines the choice? This article addresses five questions. Answer them in order, and you will automatically arrive at one packaging type.
Question 1: How thick is the product when packaged?
This is the most important question because thickness determines whether your shipment fits through a letterbox. PostNL states a maximum of 38 x 26.5 x 3.2 cm and 2 kg for a letterbox package (source: PostNL customer service). Other carriers use their own dimensions, so always check the conditions of the party you ship with.
Don't measure your product bare, but as it will be in the package: with the void fill, with the tissue paper around it, with the card included. A 4 mm piece of jewelry in a box with filling quickly becomes 15 mm.
If you are above 3 cm, the question shifts to rigidity. Products that can bend — textiles, bags, soft accessories — don't need flat walls. For these, a bubble envelope is lighter and cheaper than a box, and it takes up almost no space in your storage cupboard.
If it's something that must not bend — glass, ceramics, electronics, a collectible — then the envelope is out, even if the product is flat. A bubble layer absorbs shocks but does not provide dimensional stability.
Question 3: How much air is around the product?
For boxes, your costs are determined by volume, not weight. A box that is two centimeters too spacious on all sides will cost you void fill material and possibly a higher tariff class. Therefore, work with a short series of sizes instead of ten variants.
The 15 x 15 x 15 cm cube box is a convenient intermediate size: it's large enough for a mug with filling or a set of small items, and small enough not to immediately fall into a higher class.
Question 4: What happens if the package falls?
Imagine your shipment falling half a meter from a conveyor belt. Does the product survive that without protection? If not, then you now determine how much material should go around it.
For occasional use, a small roll is enough. The Green Bubble Wrap 50 x 500 cm costs €5.00 and is sufficient for about fifteen packages. If you ship regularly, you calculate per meter: the Bubble Wrap Roll 500 mm x 500 m costs €12.95 and provides a hundred times more film. Such a roll is quite bulky—plan beforehand where it will be stored.
Rule of thumb: at least two centimeters of cushioning between the product and the edge of the box, on all sides. If the product still moves when you shake the closed box, there's not enough in it.
Question 5: Should the customer be able to see if the package has been opened?
For valuable or sensitive shipments, you don't just close, you seal. With Security Seal Stickers VOID, 60 pieces for €9.95, you show that the package remained closed during transit: if you remove the sticker, the word VOID remains.
Not everything needs to be in a box. For documents, invoices, and cards, a regular envelope remains the cheapest. The C5 White Envelope 162 x 229 mm, 25 pieces costs €4.95 and fits an A4 that you fold once. If the paper needs to stay flat, for example for a certificate or a signed contract, you use A4 Envelopes 229 x 324 mm, 10 pieces for €4.00.
The five questions at a glance
Does the packaged shipment remain under approximately 3 cm thick? → letterbox box.
Can the product bend? → bubble envelope. If not → box.
How much space is around it? → choose the smallest box that fits two centimeters of cushioning.
Does it survive a fall? → if not, add bubble wrap or foam.
Does it need to be visible if it has been opened? → seal with VOID stickers.
Go through these questions once per product group instead of per order. Write down the outcome on an A4 sheet and hang it near your packing table. Then, whoever is packing no longer has to choose — just grab what's there.
Assembling your own packaging line
If you want to build your own range of packaging, start with the categories that belong to your product groups. In Letterbox Packaging you'll find the boxes that fit through the letterbox, in Boxes the shipping and gift boxes in ascending sizes, and in Envelopes both paper and bubble envelopes. For the rest of your packing table, look under Protection & Void Fill Material and Tape. If you want the complete overview at once, everything is together in Packing & Shipping. If you are unsure which size suits your product, email the dimensions and weight to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — and we will help you think of a suitable range.
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