Last Updated on November 13, 2023 by Packoi Team
In 2020, the value of returned goods amounted to $1 trillion. This is the reality of shipping items to your customers. It shows the need for an effective retail packaging design that can protect fragile items while they’re in a shipping container.
That’s the challenge when you’re designing your mailer boxes. It’s not enough that you just use an overlap-slotted container made of thick corrugated board. You need to think about how you can protect the product inside the cardboard boxes.
This is where cardboard box dividers come into play. In this article, you’ll learn more about cardboard dividers and how they’re different from box inserts. You’ll understand why it’s a great option to add protection to your products, and you’ll get tips on designing creative yet highly functional dividers for your brand.
About Mailer Cardboard Box Dividers
A mailer box is not like a shipping box. It’s smaller and can be made to look like the product box. That means you can tailor-fit the design to reflect your brand.
Of course, the security and protection of the products being shipped out are still the primary functions of mailer boxes. This is why your packaging solutions should always combine functionality and creativity in the design of cardboard boxes.
With that in mind, you’ll understand why cardboard dividers are very important. These are cardboard partitions added to the mailer box to secure the products and hold them in place during transit. The individual compartments can hold different items and allow you to ship multiple products safely.
When done right, these dividers can also be used to present products in a way that will give your brand a positive reputation.
3 Types of Box Dividers
When choosing the divider for your mailer boxes, there are three options available.
- Corrugated dividers. The thick walls of the board make it ideal for fragile and heavier products like glass and ceramics. You can use corrugated box dividers to separate bottles, jars, or ceramic pots and mugs.
- Chipboard dividers. These are made of paperboard or cardboard dividers that don’t bend. It’s made of recycled waste paper that can be customized with different colors, shapes, and sizes.
- Fiber dividers. These are made of either chipboard or corrugated cardboard strips that have slots to interlock with each other. This allows it to form grids to hold different products.
If you’re not sure about what to pick, you can always choose the same material for the outer packaging. So if you use cardboard boxes, you can use cardboard box dividers. If you want chipboard boxes, opt for the chipboard divider.
What’s great about these options is that they are all sustainable materials that can use recycled boards.
Different Structural Designs of Cardboard Dividers
Apart from the materials, cardboard dividers can also come in different structural designs. Make sure you consider the needs of the product and the type of journey that your mailer box will go through. This will give you an idea of what type of design your cardboard boxes should have and the structure of the divider that you’ll use.
The most common structure for dividers is the partition divider. These look like grids that allow you to put one product in each slot. It’s great for organizing multiple products in one box.
If you plan to ship different items, you can choose layered dividers. These will give you multiple layers to fit different shapes and sizes. It’s more customizable, so you can create a more visually appealing product presentation.
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Why Use Dividers Over Box Inserts
Cardboard dividers and box inserts practically have the same role. You can see that the two are sometimes interchanged. Dividers are defined as one type of box insert, or vice versa. These two keep a product in place while it’s inside cardboard boxes. They both protect the product and allow you to arrange them in a presentable way.
However, if you look carefully, cardboard box dividers look more like grids, while box inserts look like trays with slots in them. They have pros and cons, but you’ll notice that dividers are sometimes perceived as the most practical and functional option for cardboard boxes.
Here are the reasons why dividers are the obvious choice for some companies:
1. Provides Efficient Organization
The ability of cardboard dividers to streamline how the contents are arranged in a mailer box (or even a shipping box) is quite efficient. It’s like putting each product in its own compartment. The way it’s organized allows each product to shine within the cardboard boxes.
If you sell a makeup kit, you can assign each product to its own compartment. The lipstick, eyeshadow palette, and brushes can be laid out separately but can be viewed as a whole kit once the box is opened. The dividers will keep them from being mixed while inside the box.
This way, customers won’t have to rummage through the box to find all the contents. They’re all there, nestled in their spots.
2. Gives Optimal Protection
Since all the products are given their own space within the cardboard dividers, you can also be assured that they’ll be kept protected during delivery. If you don’t use dividers, everything will be jumbled inside the cardboard boxes. The full-overlap slotted container may protect the products from any outside force, but without properly separating the products inside, they might hit or scrape each other.
This is why using cardboard dividers is a must. If you have heavier or more fragile items, use corrugated dividers for more optimal protection. The corrugated board is thicker and can keep glass or ceramic products from colliding against each other. It’ll avoid chipping or breaking the products inside.
3. Allows Multi-Product Packaging
Cardboard dividers also come in handy when you’re shipping gift sets to your customers. It’s also ideal for product bundles or subscription boxes where no two products are alike. You can use the cardboard box dividers to give each item its own space to shine.
Since dividers are customizable, you can arrange them to accommodate the different shapes and sizes of the products. While the slots aren’t molded into the shape of the product, you can mix and match various items for different cardboard boxes.
For example, you can put together a mailer box filled with food items. You can slot in chocolates, crackers, and various snacks into the dividers. One box can have more chocolates, while another can have other food items.
The grid-like dividers allow you to slot them in without worrying that they won’t fit or will look disorganized.
4. Helps with Brand Aesthetics
Custom boxes make it easier to advertise brands. The same is true for cardboard dividers. You can have it printed with your brand logo or brand name, so it can be used as a marketing tool. Printing on corrugated board dividers can be a pleasant surprise for customers, especially if you use a beautiful graphic design.
You can have the outer cardboard boxes in plain colors—maybe even just brown. But once the customer opens the box, they’ll be met with a divider that compliments the color of the products. With the right design, it can make the unboxing experience memorable for the customer. That positive experience will help you secure repeat purchases.
Of course, you’ll have to ensure that the design you’ll use represents your brand and the image you want to uphold. If it’s a luxury, let the design of the divider and products exude that vibe. If you want it fun, make it colorful. The same is true if you want to be known as a sustainable brand.
5. Has Room for Innovative Designs
Cardboard dividers can be treated like a canvas to showcase your creativity. You can be innovative and experimental with how you want them to be shaped.
For instance, you can use different colors for each section of the cardboard box dividers. Or you can let the strips of cardboard be shaped like the product if they can be applied.
If you’re shipping floral perfume, lotion, and body wash, you can have the dividers shaped into delicate flowers. Make it look like the products are sprouting from the flowers. This can make the unboxing of the products feel exciting for the customers.
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8 Tips When Creating Dividers for Mailer Boxes
Designing cardboard box dividers for your mailer boxes requires creativity and a bit of technical knowledge. First of all, you want it to be incredibly functional. But at the same time, you also want it to look visually appealing, so it puts your products and brand in a positive light.
While cardboard boxes are meant to protect the product, you’re providing an extra layer of protection when you add cardboard dividers. It keeps the products in place, so they don’t rub against each other. But that’s not all. You should also create partitions to be versatile so they can be used for multiple products of different sizes and shapes.
How can you do that? Here are some tips that you can use:
1. Think about the Right Shape
Most cardboard dividers look like grids. So the shape of every grid is usually square, but sometimes it can be rectangular. While this is the most common shape used for cardboard boxes, don’t limit yourself to it. Feel free to design the interlocking mechanisms of the dividers to create shapes that can hold your products in place better.
Among the things that you should consider are the dimensions of your products and the fragility of their design. So if you’re carrying glass, the dividers should follow the curve of the glass to hold it in place better.
Imagine what it’ll look like with the completed box. Look at all the angles and check the top and bottom to ensure the product is protected from all sides.
2. Choose Sustainable Materials
Sustainability continues to be a growing concern for retailers and the packaging industry. With some people opting to forgo the use of cardboard dividers to favor the reduction of packaging waste, they’re compromising the safety of their products.
Instead of skipping the use of dividers in cardboard boxes, it’s better to use eco-friendly materials instead. Although cardboard dividers are made of raw materials from trees, you have to be cautious about where they come from.
Partner with an FSC-certified packaging company, so you can be sure that their corrugated boxes and materials come from responsibly managed forests.
Creating sturdy dividers that can protect products is also one way of being sustainable. It eliminates the need for return shipment, which would lower the carbon footprint for that particular transaction.
3. Recycle When Possible
One of the ways that you can be sustainable is to recycle whenever possible. Use recycled cardboard to create your dividers. If you have old corrugated boxes, you can cut them and interlock them with each other to create a simple divider. Make sure any lamination or print you’ll put on the cardboard box is soy-based printing or bio-based printing.
Feel free to use scrap paper or recycled paper to create your cardboard dividers. You can put a stamp on the cardboard boxes to indicate that you used 100% recycled materials. This will attract the attention of your eco-conscious customers.
Apart from using recycled mailer boxes and materials, you can also give instructions on how your customers can recycle the packaging. Provide concrete steps they can follow to ensure that the boxes and dividers they received won’t go to waste immediately.
4. Keep Dividers Secure
Once you put the cardboard dividers in your custom boxes, what happens next? Make sure that it stays in place. Secure it with tape or any eco-friendly adhesive so it won’t move. If it does move, it might compromise its ability to protect the products inside the cardboard boxes. Even if the box has an overlap-slotted container design, if the inside isn’t secure, it could lead to product damage.
If you can secure the dividers, it can keep the products steady. Apart from adhesives, you can also add a locking mechanism so the dividers can be attached to the mailer box.
5. Make It Easy to Disassemble
One way to make your cardboard boxes and custom dividers sustainable is to teach customers how to properly store or dispose of them. This is why you should include rules in the box so they’ll know what to do after they receive the mailer box.
Print the instructions on recycled paper along with other information that will help the customers use the products properly. You can also print a simple QR code on the outside of the box so people can read how they can disassemble the cardboard dividers and boxes.
Make sure the foldable structures are indicated and the rules are easy to follow.
6. Tailor Compartments for Specific Products
You can also create cardboard dividers with compartments that are specially designed to carry specific items like brochures, product paraphernalia, accessories, etc. These compartments can hold special gifts or freebies that you can offer your customers, so they’ll feel appreciated.
By adding these compartments to the divider and not the cardboard boxes, you can have more flexibility in what you can add to the contents of the corrugated box.
The clever positioning of the compartment will also make customers feel that you have a keen attention to detail—something that can fuel their trust in your brand.
7. Consider Weight Distribution
As you design your cardboard dividers, don’t forget to consider the weight distribution of the products. Make sure the cardboard boxes won’t tip or tilt when they’re in transit.
Plan how the products will be positioned through the custom dividers. Design it so the corrugated board for the bigger products isn’t positioned on one side of the box. Alternate the big and small products while taking into consideration the weight as well.
This will ensure that the products are equally supported and that the box will be stable throughout the delivery process.
8. Add a Personal Message
Find a way to personalize the mailer box by creating cardboard dividers to carry a special message for your customers. Maybe you can print words of wisdom or relatable quotes for them. Include a thank-you note in one of the compartments so your customers will know how much you appreciate their loyalty to your brand.
The extra touch of personalizing your custom boxes is another proof of your ability to pay attention to details. This will make them feel closer to you, and it’ll strengthen your connection with your target market.
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6 Examples of Creative Dividers for Cardboard Boxes
Now that you know more about cardboard dividers, it’s time to look into specific examples that you can draw inspiration from as you design your dividers.
So far, the functional side has been discussed, so you can be sure that dividers will do their work in protecting fragile items and various products inside cardboard boxes. But that’s not the only thing that you should focus on.
It’s also important to be creative in your design choices so people will appreciate the visual appeal of your packaging solution. If you’re not sure how to get started, here are 6 examples that you can use to ignite the creative juices in your mind.
1. Uniquely Shaped Dividers
Although square and rectangular cardboard dividers are the norm, they don’t have to be the shape that you should follow. Think outside the box and consider eye-catching shapes like hearts, circles, and even triangles. As long as the product can fit in the compartment, it should work. Make it a pleasant surprise when the customer opens the cardboard boxes.
If you can make the unboxing experience memorable, you’ll stay on top of the mind of the customer.
2. Themed Dividers
If you have a particular theme for your box design, let it extend to the cardboard dividers inside. So if your mailer boxes have fun shapes, the dividers should follow that theme.
If the cardboard boxes are littered with patterns, use the same patterns or at least the same color scheme for the dividers. So if you used floral patterns in pink, lavender, and sage shades, use these colors for your dividers. Let one side be pink and the other sage.
If your mailer boxes have a Christmas theme, use the colors red and green for your dividers.
3. Tiered Dividers
This type of divider uses layers within the box to add an elegant vibe to it. What’s great about this option is it can enhance the visibility of each product.
For instance, if you’re sending a makeup set, you can put the different products in layers depending on their size. Make the cardboard dividers look like a pyramid where the bigger products, like the makeup brushes, concealers, and tubes of products, are at the bottom. Then the slightly smaller products like lipstick tubes, mascara, and eyeshadow palettes are on the second tier. On the topmost tier in the middle, you can put sponges in different shapes.
Imagine how the customer will feel when they open the cardboard boxes to see how you creatively arranged the items. They’ll surely be impressed.
4. Color-Coded Dividers
You can create a cohesive look in your cardboard boxes by using colors. If your brand colors are blue and white, use the same shades for the cardboard dividers. This will make people recognize your brand as they look at the products.
It’ll also make the products blend well into the brand’s colors.
You can also use the colors to define the products encased within. If you send an assortment of goodies, color one part of the divider pink, then put the sweet treats there. Then the savory treats can be in the yellow area.
5. Branded Dividers
Even the simple brand design is enough to make your cardboard dividers look unique. Create a monogram pattern of your brand name and logo. Then have it printed all over the dividers.
If your cardboard boxes are in plain colors, the monogram pattern inside will feel like a surprise. It can also help reestablish brand recognition and recall.
Apart from the logo and name, you can also include your slogan and any characters that your brand is identified with. Add your values as well. If it resonates with your customers, they will feel a deeper connection with your brand.
6. Interactive Dividers
You can also make your cardboard dividers more fun by making them interactive. For instance, create puzzle pieces out of the different cardboard strips that make up the divider. That way, the customers can take them out and form them into different shapes.
Or you can print minigames on the strips. There are many ways for you to be creative with this. The cardboard boxes can also be printed with different games and fun activities. The more fun it is, the more people might decide to keep your packaging, which reduces waste.
Don’t Underestimate the Design of Your Mailer Box Dividers. Packoi Printing Can Help You the Perfect Divider for Your Boxes.
Although cardboard dividers seem like a trivial part of your packaging, don’t underestimate their power in marketing your products. You can turn it into a powerful tool to promote your brand while protecting your products.
The more creative you are with your cardboard boxes and your packaging solutions, the more that you’ll connect with your customers.
If you need help creating a functional yet visually appealing divider for your mailer boxes, Packoi Printing is here to help. Our design team is ready to help you come up with creative ways to use dividers. We are also FSC-certified, so you can be sure that our cardboard materials come from responsibly managed forests.
Give us a call so we can discuss this further. We’ll get back to you with a fair quotation after we end the call.
