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How To Choose The Right Plastic Box Style For Your Packaging Needs

How To Choose The Right Plastic Box Style For Your Packaging Needs

If you’ve used rigid plastic boxes for your packaging needs then you know how advantageous they are over other options. If you haven’t – then you’ll be delighted by the benefits they can afford your products.

Rigid plastic boxes are sturdier than other options like cardboard and soft plastics, not fragile like glass, but still retain the crystal-clear aesthetic that makes it easy to showcase products.

They’re food safe, BPA-free, and strong enough to withstand the jostling that comes with shipping. So if you’ve got a product to showcase, store, or ship, these boxes make an ideal packaging choice.

Whether they’re already your go-to packaging choice, or you’re new to plastic boxes and are exploring ways to beautifully package and protect your products, plastic boxes fall into several different categories. These are some of the types of boxes you’ll see and when you might choose to use each one.

shark teeth in plastic boxesHinged Boxes

Hinged boxes are exactly what they sound like – their lids are attached by hinges on one side and they snap shut with a small clasp on the other. This design ensures that the lid and base are always joined. There is no risk of losing a lid, and the connecting components are strong enough to withstand repeated use without wear or breaking.

These boxes are a great choice when ease of access is important. The snaps are simple to open and close and require less exertion than other types of lids, which may require a bit more dexterity and hand strength. And since the lid is attached, it is easily closed again to keep contents clean, protected, and secure.

Hinged plastic containers are a user-friendly, convenient, and protective packaging option for valuables such as jewelry, delicate components such as electronics, and critical items like dental materials. They’re well-suited for specialty products like musical instrument parts including oboe and bassoon reeds, fashion accessories like neckties and silk eyelashes, and even hobbyist items like hunting calls, puzzle pieces, and game dice.

All of these items and more can be beautifully showcased, easily shipped, and safely stored in hinged boxes. In addition, the boxes can be fitted with custom inserts of foam, flock board, or another material of your design to prevent any movement or jostling of contents.

The OMNI Collection: Your Reusable, Recyclable Plastic Box For GiftingFlush Lid OMNI Boxes

Flush lids are simply those that fit seamlessly over a base that is designed to sit snugly when inserted into the lid itself. Lids remain in place through friction, keeping items inside protected from damage and dust-free. There are a number of advantages to choosing a box with a flush lid.

Since they don’t have hinges, they offer a more streamlined aesthetic with a full rotation 360-degree view of contents. Their sleek sides make them easy to stack, whether for storage, shipping, or to create towering displays that can be further packaged with ribbons, bows or shrink wrap.

They’re a great choice when showcasing a product is of utmost importance. Their crystal clear sides and the unobstructed view of contents makes them perfect for high-end items like collectible dolls or figurines, autographed sports memorabilia like baseballs or footballs, and even artisan food items like hand crafted candies, cakes, and cookies.

Like their hinged counterpart, they are food-safe, BPA-free, reusable, and fully recyclable. They can also be fitted with custom inserts, and can even be coupled with our natural pine bases for an elegant display piece. Pine bases can be painted, stained or decorated as desired. Simply remove the lid and insert the box into the perfectly cut grooves of the base to showcase everything from model trains, to a special wine bottle, favorite antique, and more.

Compartment Containers

Our compartment containers also fall into the hinged category, but instead of a single area to place contents, these can have two, or up to as many as eighteen compartments for individual items.

They have the advantages of a hinged container – sturdy lids, easy access, simplicity of keeping lid and base attached – with the added benefit that they are designed to neatly accommodate a diverse array of small or distinct items.

Compartment containers make a great choice for a variety of food items, including multicolored candies, different types of nuts, decorating sugars and sprinkles, one-of-a-kind handcrafted artisan chocolates, and more.

The compartments allow for an easy and beautiful separation by type, color, or whatever criteria you choose. That makes them perfect display pieces for small food items, elevating the perceived quality and value of the products inside.

They’re also ideal for crafting, and can hold an array of components. Choose a box with asymmetrical compartments to use as a sewing kit – scissors and tape measures will fit nicely into the longer compartments, and buttons, spools of thread, or decorative baubles like sequins and beads kept safely in smaller compartments.

Use them for scrapbooking supplies, jewelry making kits, and just about any hobby that requires storage of a collection of small pieces.

Other uses include tool boxes, with compartments for nuts, bolts, screws, washers and other parts; fishing kits with compartments for bait, tackle, hooks, and line; and even storage boxes for office supplies like paper clips, tacks, binder clips, rubber bands and tape.

Their clear lids make it a cinch to find just the item you need without repeatedly opening and closing the box. They make for a lovely display with all items visible at a glance, and they’re easy to stack and store when not in use.

plastic boxes for dessert giftsRound Boxes

Our round containers also fall into the flush lid category, with the sole difference being the shape. We’ve separated them out because their geometry offers some unique benefits.

Round containers have all the same qualities as flush lid containers, including their ability to marry with our pine bases for display. They’re also better suited to very small, rounder objects like crafting beads, glitter, stones, and bath beads to name a few. And they are familiar companions in the fashion and beauty industry, holding eyeshadows, blushers, and lip glosses.

With their round design, there are no corners for small items to get stuck, and their smooth interior makes it much easier to retrieve contents as well as to clean them for later reuse.

For aesthetics, round boxes are ideal companions for charms, bracelets and medals. They are just as easily fitted with a custom insert to hold items securely in place.

And if you’re really thinking outside the box, they also make fantastic vases for centerpieces at parties, weddings and other events. They’re lightweight, which makes them easier and more cost-effective to ship, and they aren’t at risk of shattering like glass.

Whatever your packaging needs, we have myriad sizes, shapes and styles of rigid plastic boxes to choose from. Custom inserts are available in ether foam, ester foam, and flock board in a variety of colors. And all boxes can be custom imprinted on any sides with your choice of logo or artwork. We have 15 standard foil colors, including metallic gold and silver, and a choice of over 20 standard ink colors to choose from.

If you’d like help finding the perfect packaging for your product, call us toll free at (800) 227-4279 or contact us online. You can request a sample, place an order, or chat live with one of our product specialists. We look forward to serving your packaging needs.