Packaging Responsibly
Since arriving on the package-printing scene two years ago, I have come to appreciate the thought that goes into designing a package. And even though I consider myself a “stick-to-the list” type of shopper, there are still those occasions where a package catches my eye, for whatever reason, and I make the impulse buy. It’s usually in the supermarket, and I’m usually hungry at the time—the perfect storm for such a purchase. It happened recently when I bought brownie mix that was on sale for 10 boxes for $10. No, I did not buy all 10, just one. Was it the image of the brownie that drew me to it or was it the price? If it was the brownie, I don’t think it was the print job on the package that did it, but I could be wrong. Whatever the reason, a brownie mix company got my buck. Nonetheless, product packaging plays a huge role in getting consumers’ attention and holding it. There are so many great effects consumer goods companies can use, but every so often I find myself staring at packaging and wondering, “Why?”
After my family received a whole round of DVDs during the holidays, I began to question the practicality of a common packaging technique—using paperboard “sleeves” to cover plastic DVD cases. Two of my sons received some of their favorite movies for Christmas, and both are quite adept at finding them, removing the the discs, covering them with fingerprints, and often scratching them on something prior to putting them in the DVD player upside down. But just before I started cringing at their handling of the discs, they took the DVD case out of the cardboard sleeve, dropped the sleeve to the floor, and proceeded to step on it en route to the DVD player, ultimately creasing the packaging, ripping it in places, and rendering it useless. The inherent problems with their not looking where they’re stepping notwithstanding, just the idea that there was one more thing to pick up off the floor and put away annoyed me. The boys are 4 and 2, so after going nine rounds to get them to eat their peas, I’ll endure leaving a DVD sleeve on the floor for now.
But since I write about how packaging works to grab consumers’ attention, I put my annoyance aside for a few minutes and took a look at one of the discarded sleeves and tried to figure out how this paperboard sleeve actually serves as functional packaging. Alas, I have yet to find success here.
Right off the bat, even a cursory glance revealed that there was no new information on the sleeve not found on the DVD case itself. The sleeve wasn’t doing anything to communicate unique information that the DVD case could not. In fact, it appeared that the image on the DVD case is the exact same one on the paperboard sleeve, except for the bar code. There’s a cutout on the paperboard so the bar code on the DVD case can be scanned. I asked myself, “What’s the point?”
Packaging is supposed to grab my attention, and grab my attention it did—prior to it being left on the floor. The images on the paperboard had a brightness not achieved on the artwork with the DVD case. There was some foil decorating, as well as some embossing. The embossing was in an area where such tactile effects are lost on the person holding the sleeve, so again, I found myself questioning the sleeve’s existence.
The print quality was pretty good to my untrained eye. Everything appeared to be in register. I don’t know with what process it was printed, what types of inks were used, how the inks were dried, or if there’s some sort of clear coat on it to jump out at me. But what’s important to me as a consumer isn’t the presence of these effects. The information I typically look for is on the sleeve, but also on the DVD case.
Well, OK, anyone can now see that I don’t really see the practicality behind these sleeves, and I’m actually kind of hoping that someone can explain to me the need for these. Naturally I realize that not every home has children, aged 4 and 2, stomping around the living room floor and squishing these sleeves beneath their feet. But my problem with the sleeves goes a little deeper than that.
As a whole, whether commercial, packaging, in-plants, or publishing, the printing industry has embraced the concept of sustainability. For instance, this magazine is printed by a company which has received FSC certification. But in an era where we as a country are taking great pains to ensure our natural resources remain plentiful, we are specifying DVD sleeves that don’t add any value to what’s inside. Instead of making sure this packaging can be recycled (one component of sustainability) shouldn’t we be questioning the need for such packaging in the first place? Consumer product companies (CPCs) ought to be thinking about not only developing packaging that is sustainable, but is also useful. To truly be sustainable, you should package responsibly, and it seems to me these DVD sleeves are the opposite, unless I’m missing something. They are consuming natural resources for seemingly no reason. They border on being a waste of paper. When it comes to espousing sustainability, actions will often speak louder than words, and ordering packaging that doesn’t satisfy a need speaks volumes about how CPCs really feel about sustainability. pP
