Taking Care of Folding Cartons: 12 Storage Tips and More

Last Updated on December 8, 2023 by Packoi Team

The folding carton packaging market is a steadily growing industry. Most businesses use folding cartons for different purposes. Some use it as shipping or mailer boxes. Others use it as a product box.

It has a value of $148.47 billion in 2023, and it’s expected to grow by approximately $38 billion in 5 years. This growth isn’t surprising.

These folding cartons also come in different styles. You have straight-tuck boxes that are ideal for lightweight products. There are also reverse-tuck boxes that provide easy closure for packaging lightweight items. Auto-lock bottom boxes are ideal for heavier products since the bottom part is sturdier.

There are many folding carton styles for you to choose from, depending on the needs of your business. But whether it’s a straight tuck box or a reverse tuck box that you need, one thing is certain. You have to set up the right storage conditions if you want to preserve the structural integrity of your boxes.

In this article, you’ll learn vital rules that will help you set up the right storage space for your folding boxes.

Why Storage Matters for Folding Cartons

Folding cartons have specific storage requirements because they’re made of organic materials. Its composition includes paper pulp, vegetable fibers, etc. All this organic matter is influenced by the environment in which it’s kept.

You may be wondering, Why not buy only the carton that you need? The reason is simple: cost-efficiency.

Businesses purchase folding cartons in bulk. It’s the most cost-efficient way because the more quantity you buy, the lower the cost you have to pay per piece.

So if you can save more when you buy straight tuck, reverse tuck, or sleeve packaging in bulk, you’d choose to get huge quantities. After all, it would also be nice to have them when you need them.

But how can you store these boxes properly?

You need to store them in a controlled environment so you don’t have to worry about mold and damage.

12 Important Rules When Storing Folding Carton Packaging

Since folding cartons are made of organic material, you need to keep them stored in a cool, dry, and safe environment. 

This is how you protect the folding carton design and ensure that you won’t waste the money you invested when you bought the cartons in bulk.

Here are 12 rules that you should follow when storing your folding carton.

1. Set the Right Temperature

The first thing that you have to check when storing folding cartons is the temperature. The ideal range should be 41ºF (5ºC) to 86ºF (30ºC) throughout the day. This may require you to properly insulate the storage space because there are areas where it gets hot during the day and cold at night.

Make sure the folding carton storage area is far from anything that could make it catch fire. Paper is a highly combustible material. One spark can cause it to ignite, so you want to minimize the risk of fire by keeping it away from heat sources.

2. Check the Humidity

The humidity level of the folding carton storage room should also be considered. The area should stay within 30% to 70%; otherwise, you risk getting your folding cartons damp and moldy.

As you know, your folding boxes are made of paper material. These are quite porous and easily absorb moisture. This could lead to mold and a foul odor. You can’t use boxes that are damp and moldy. You’ll only end up throwing them away, and that would be a complete waste of your packaging budget.

To protect your boxes well, make sure you consider air humidity very seriously.

3. Don’t Practice Heavy Stacking

Folding carton designs are meant to be stacked together. But that doesn’t mean you should put anything on top of it, especially if your boxes are made of corrugated cardboard material.

If you know how corrugated material looks, you’ll know that the middle isn’t solid. That means if you put very heavy materials on top of the folding cartons, it’ll leave dents and creases. This is true even if the boxes are flattened. You can’t use a deformed box because its ability to protect your products will be compromised.

4. Store in Clean and Dry Conditions

As mentioned, folding cartons are made of porous materials that can easily absorb moisture. This is why you have to put the boxes on a clean and dry surface. Check the surrounding area and ensure that there are no leaking pipes.

It would be best if you elevated the folding carton so it could stay dry even if the area suddenly got flooded. Or if there are accidental spills on the floor, they won’t reach the boxes, and they’ll stay clean and dry.

There’s no way to reuse damp cartons. Even if you dry them, they won’t look the same.

5. Leave the Film Cover on

Usually, folding cartons are shipped flat and wrapped in a thin film cover. This is usually made of plastic, so it protects the box while in transit.

When you receive the boxes, don’t remove this cover immediately. Keep it on until you need to use the boxes. And if you know that you won’t be able to use everything that was filmed together, don’t remove the cover. Keep it there until you’ve used the last folding carton.

This will ensure that the cartons are protected from dust and dirt. It can also protect the boxes from accidental spills, as long as you can remove the boxes immediately to ensure they won’t get drenched.

6. Stay Away from Direct Sunlight

Although you don’t want to store folding cartons in dark and damp spaces, you also don’t want them to be directly hit by sunlight. The UV rays of the sun are powerful enough to damage the printing on your folding cartons. It causes the ink molecules to break, thus compromising their ability to act as pigments.

This can affect the overall look of your folding carton. It won’t make the printing as vivid as it should be. So to preserve the boxes and make them look as good as new, keep the boxes away from the windows or open areas where sunlight can filter through. 

7. Keep Them Flat

There are two ways that you can store folding cartons. You can store them horizontally or vertically, as long as they are flat against each other.

You should also look at how thick the walls of the folding carton are. If it’s too thin, you might want to store them horizontally to ensure they won’t bend over time. Stack the flattened boxes so they won’t be in the way of other items in your storage space.

8. Use the Right Labels to Organize Boxes

If you’re using different folding carton styles, make sure they are labeled accordingly. You don’t want to mix the straight-tuck boxes with the reverse-tuck boxes. The same is true for the auto-lock bottom boxes and the sleeve packaging.

Keep them separate and properly labeled so that when you need the boxes, you’ll know what stack to look at. This minimizes any handling problems.

9. Be Ready with Pest Control Measures

Pests are another problem when storing folding cartons. No matter how careful you are, insects and bugs can use your boxes for nesting or food. These can destroy your boxes.

Don’t store your boxes where you know there’s a danger of a pest infestation. Also, make sure you clean the area regularly so you can spot potential pest issues before they get too hard to deal with.

10. Provide Handling Guidelines

Your folding cartons should have the proper handling instructions on them. That way, anyone can be sent to handle it, and they’ll know what to do. Not only that, if you have to transfer the boxes to a different location, ensure that they are shipped flat and that they come with instructions on how to care for them.

This way, the folding carton won’t get tears, creases, or any damage while it is being shipped out.

11. Check the Boxes Regularly

Even if you’ve stored the folding cartons in the best conditions, it’s still wise to check them regularly. You want to make sure there are no pest infestations or leaks that suddenly appear near the boxes.

Be diligent when you do this so you won’t miss out on potential problems. The earlier you encounter problems, the faster you can solve them so they won’t damage the rest of the boxes.

12. Follow the 12-Month Rule

Folding cartons last a long – but not forever. That means you have to carefully calculate how much you’ll order at a time.

According to experts, a folding carton can maintain its structural integrity for up to 2 years. But if you don’t have to, there’s no need to reach that period. Practice the 12-month rule when it comes to ordering your boxes. That way, you won’t have too many boxes to store.

6-Steps to Prepare Used Folding Cartons for Storage

If you have used auto-lock, reverse tuck, or straight tuck box packaging materials, don’t be too quick to throw them away. These folding cartons are sturdy enough to be reused.

As long as they don’t have any noticeable markings, tears, or creases on them, you can reuse the folding carton. This is a great contribution to minimizing packaging waste and practicing sustainability.

Here are 6 steps that you can follow to prepare used boxes for storage.

1. Strip the Carton Bare

Start by looking at the folding carton designs. Remove everything that you can including any paper, tape, ribbons, and even stickers. Strip the folding cartons bare so they can be reused in the future.

If there is wrapping or tissue paper used, you can also recycle these separately.

2. Properly Flatten the Carton

Once you’ve removed all the design elements, carefully flatten the folding carton. Deconstructing the folding cartons allows you to stack them on top of each other.

Check the creases and flaps of the box so you can flatten them properly. A reverse tuck and straight tuck box would look different from each other when they were flat, so be careful about how you flatten each one.

3. Group Similar Carton Styles Together

If you have several folding carton styles, make sure you group similar ones. Don’t put the straight tuck boxes with the reverse tuck boxes because it’ll be hard to keep them aligned. The edges might end up being creased if they’re not stacked with similar folding cartons.

If there are enough for each style, just group them.

4. Tie Them by Size

Apart from the folding carton style, you should also group the boxes based on size. Group them so you can put the bigger boxes at the bottom and the smaller ones on top.

Stacking the folding cartons based on size would ensure they wouldn’t topple over and make a mess in your storage space. If the boxes fall, it might destroy the cartons.

5. Label Them Clearly

Once you’ve grouped the boxes based on their folding carton style, it’s time to label them. Put a straight tuck box or reverse tuck box on the right stack of cartons. This will help you find the right folding cartons when you need them in the future.

Make sure the labels are visible so you can easily spot the stack of boxes you want to go through.

6. Secure the Storage Space

Once you’ve properly stacked the folding cartons according to their style and size, tie the boxes together and keep them secure.

If you have to, put something beside the pile of boxes so they stay upright. You can also put the cartons flat on a pallet. It’s not advisable to store them on the floor to ensure they won’t be affected in case of an accidental spill.

Get Quality Folding Cartons that Are Durable and Long-Lasting. Packoi Printing Is an Expert in Product Packaging.

Storing your folding cartons isn’t too hard as long as you order high-quality and durable boxes to begin with. If your custom folding cartons are made of poor-quality materials, they won’t last long, even if you set up the best storage conditions for them.

To ensure that you’re getting high-quality boxes, find an experienced packaging company like Packoi Printing. We have both expertise and experience in producing different styles of folding boxes (e.g. straight tuck boxes, reverse tuck boxes, etc.)

Give us a call so we can discuss your packaging needs. We’ll send you a fair quote as soon as possible.