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Solutions June 2005
Case
Study
Packaging
A
Crowning Package
In
1994, Andrew Jakson started Dental
Tech Laboratory in Amherst, N.Y.,
to provide crown and bridge prosthetics
to 15 area dentists. Eleven years
later, the company has grown to
a full-service dental laboratory
with 29 employees. Despite its
growth, Dental Tech Laboratory
still prides itself on being “the
hometown lab” for western
New York. And Jakson wanted that
hometown feel reflected in the
packaging materials used to transport
prosthetics to dentists.
For
three years, Paul Winkler has
supplied Dental Tech Laboratory
with printed products, including
invoices, statements and envelopes.
Jakson approached Winkler, a sales
representative with Forms In A
Wink, to provide an eye-catching
package that serves as a tray
to hold crowns and bridge work.
Previously, the lab used a white
corrugated box imprinted in two
colors with its name, contact
information and a list of its
products and services.
“Jakson
is definitely a ‘think-out-of-the-box’
owner, no pun intended,”
says Winkler, whose distributorship
is based in North Tonawanda, N.Y.
“He wanted to incorporate
an attractive tray device that
includes aspects of the Buffalo
(N.Y.) area.” Jakson told
Winkler he wanted a 4-color box
that would slip over the corrugated
boxes that hold dental prosthetics.
“He said, ‘I need
the boxes at X price,’”
says Winkler. “It was my
job to see if that was feasible.”
Winkler
turned to a trusted manufacturer,
Columbus PaperBox in Columbus,
Ohio. He sent the company a sample
of the corrugated box. It suggested
several options, including a ready-to-use
rigid box and one delivered flat
that the customer could construct
prior to usage. To save on storage
space, Dental Tech Laboratory
opted for the latter.
Columbus
PaperBox created a blank prototype
with custom folds and die cuts,
which the lab approved. Then the
lab sent digital artwork, created
by a designer at a dental supply
company with whom it partners,
to the manufacturer. The top of
the box features a photo of a
smiling woman, the lab’s
name and logo and its mission
statement. The four sides depict
photo montages of smiling faces
and western New York landscapes,
such as the Buffalo skyline and
Niagara Falls. Dental Tech Laboratory’s
name also is imprinted on each
side.
Columbus
PaperBox produced 5,000 boxes,
which measure 71Ú2 x 6 x 4 inches
when folded. The lab places sterilized
crowns and bridges inside an 8
x 5-inch, 2-color plastic bag.
The bag is imprinted with the
company name and logo, and includes
spaces to write the doctor
and patient’s name. The
lab then places the filled bag
inside the corrugated box and
slips the 4-color box over that.
It delivers the boxes via courier
to dentists’ offices.
In
addition to an attractive package,
Dental Tech Laboratory had other
criteria: The box needed to be
durable enough to withstand storage,
folding and delivery and still
look good. “We hit every
single one of those goals, and
the customer had no qualms whatsoever,”
says Winkler. Forms In A Wink
is now working on a reorder for
the box.
Winkler
credits much of the success on
the project to a solid relationship
with Dental Tech Laboratory. “We
have a good rapport with this
customer,” he says. “We’re
on the same page and understand
the quality they want.”
—Susan
Keen Flynn
Tips
1.
Pick a picky supplier. Packaging
products can be complex, so choose
your manufacturer carefully, says
Paul Winkler, sales representative
with Forms In A Wink, North Tonawanda,
N.Y. He relied on Columbus
PaperBox, Columbus, Ohio, for
a 4-color box for a dental lab.
“Columbus PaperBox was key
in this project,” says Winkler.
“Their design team was very
specific on potential problems
that could occur.” For instance,
the client provided artwork featuring
a montage of photos. Columbus
PaperBox warned Winkler that the
register was off by 1Ú32-inch
near one fold. “It comforts
me to know those guys didn’t
just say, ‘OK, let’s
put this job through,’”
says Winkler.
2.
View a prototype. Because
packaging products are often 3-D,
ask suppliers to provide a sample
so clients can see—and approve—the
product before manufacturing thousands
of packages that don’t match
their ideas.
3.
Offer other packaging. Boxes
are a big segment of packaging,
but there are other products:
Your customers may need paper
and plastic bags, canisters and
plastic containers, baskets, glass
bottles and more. Don’t
forget to market protective materials
such as bubble wrap, tissue paper,
shredded fillers and shrinkwrapping.
