“We needed to cut waste and lower our packaging footprint without compromising durability,” said Maria Chen, Operations Director at EastHub Moving & Storage. “And we wanted the boxes to carry a clearer sustainability message our customers could trust.” They brought in a regional print partner and, early on, looped in **ecoenclose** for material guidance and supplier benchmarking.
The immediate hurdles weren’t glamorous: corrugated board variation, color drift on recycled liners, and long changeovers tied to ink and plate swaps. Their reject pile hovered near the end of each shift, a quiet reminder that good intentions need good process control.
Emotionally, the project ran deeper than metrics. This is a North American company with roots in community housing programs; they wanted boxes that felt responsible. Market research—yes, including comparisons like moving boxes vs plastic bins—highlighted consumer expectations around durability and end-of-life. It also surfaced brand confusion against big-box “ups moving boxes” displays, nudging them to sharpen both print and message.
Company Overview and History
EastHub Moving & Storage started 25 years ago in the Mid-Atlantic and grew into a regional player with 15 facilities across the Northeast. Their packaging mix is corrugated Board with recycled Kraft liners for most SKUs, and CCNB for specialty printed inserts. Seasonal peaks are intense: June through September the team doubles throughput just to keep pace with relocations and dorm move-ins.
The company sells direct and through local retailers, often competing for shelf space and attention against national brands and recognizable kit assortments like ups moving boxes. Because moving customers buy on trust—“Will this survive my sofa?”—print clarity and board grade matter as much as price.
Sustainability has always been part of the story. They set goals to source more FSC liners and to meet SGP-aligned practices in their print supply chain. During vendor evaluation, the team skimmed ecoenclose reviews to gauge consistency, service, and recycled-content availability. The takeaway: certifications help, but day-to-day run stability matters just as much.
Quality and Consistency Issues
The prints looked decent on a good day—but color drift showed up when recycled liners from different mills entered the mix. On flexographic printing, their ΔE fluctuated in the 3–5 range on mid-tone greens, which the brand used for eco messaging panels. FPY sat in the low to mid-80s, and registration shifts appeared on large panel graphics when board caliper varied.
Ink-to-substrate behavior was the main culprit. Water-based Ink worked well for speed and cleanup, but on rougher Kraft it soaked a touch deeper than expected, muting certain tones. Soy-based Ink samples gave richer color on test sheets but took longer to dry, complicating varnishing and stacking schedules. Meanwhile, customer feedback compared moving boxes vs plastic bins with an emphasis on sturdiness and reusability. The boxes had to carry a message—and actually perform.
Operational pain points added up: Waste Rate hovered around 7–9%, and changeover time landed anywhere from 45–60 minutes when plate swaps and ink purges piled up. The line crew could keep pace, but every extended changeover cut into already tight seasonal windows.
Solution Design and Configuration
The configuration settled into a pragmatic hybrid: Flexographic Printing for core volume plus short-run Digital Printing for variable data (QR store locators, route-specific tips). Corrugated Board remained the substrate of choice, with FSC-certified Kraft liners for the majority of SKUs. The ink set shifted to primarily Water-based Ink for high-volume runs; Soy-based Ink stayed on select panels where color richness mattered and drying windows could be managed. A light Varnishing pass protected message panels, and G7-inspired targets helped keep ΔE in the 2–3 band for branded greens.
The brand partnered with ecoenclose to validate recycled content specs and liner sources, and to refine disposal and recycling guidance printed inside the top flap. They debated the ecoenclose logo placement and chose a subtle interior mark rather than exterior branding—clear for traceability, but the customer’s brand stayed front-and-center. Variable QR codes answered the real question customers type every day: where to buy moving boxes near me. Scans routed to nearby outlets and the company’s DTC page, anchored in ISO/IEC 18004 QR standards and basic GS1 guidance.
Project Planning and Kickoff
The plan ran over 120 days, broken into three phases: audit, pilot, and ramp. The print team benchmarked the flexo line—anilox selection, doctor blade settings, viscosity windows—and set color targets to contain ΔE within 2–3 on key brand hues. Training covered plate handling, humidity controls around the corrugator, and quick checks for warp on recycled liners. The timeline felt tight, but realistic for a seasonal window.
Pilot runs launched with ten SKUs, mixing traditional shipping cartons and two heavier box grades. FPY rose from mid-80s into the low-90s on the second week—enough to prove the settings had bite—even as drying times forced longer stacks on soy-rich panels. Here’s where it gets interesting: a humid spell rolled through, and board warp showed up again. Not catastrophic, but it pushed the team to revisit knife pressure and stacking cadence.
They recorded one tough day: a mis-specified anilox paired with a thicker varnish backed up the line and scrapped eight pallets. The turning point came when the crew switched blades, tightened viscosity ranges, and kept roll stock above floor-level humidity. It wasn’t perfect, but the process held steady afterward.
Quantitative Results and Metrics
Six weeks into full ramp, Waste Rate settled near 4–6% depending on SKU. Throughput nudged up in the 12–15% range for high-volume cartons, and changeover time trimmed to roughly 30–35 minutes when plate maps and ink schedules were staged. On the sustainability ledger, CO₂/pack fell by an estimated 10–15% due to recycled liners and fewer scrapped sheets. These ranges shifted with weather and mix, and the team tracked them weekly rather than declaring victory too early.
On the customer side, QR scans tied to where to buy moving boxes near me drew a modest but steady uptick—click-through landed in the 8–12% range when paired with route-specific moving tips. Damages in transit dipped by roughly 5–7% after the board grade change on heavy SKUs. Small wins, but they compounded across busy season peaks.
Lessons Learned
Don’t chase perfect color on recycled Kraft—embrace a slightly warmer aesthetic and keep proofing on the actual liner, not sample white board. Water-based Ink brings speed and cleaner changeovers, while Soy-based Ink can carry color on key panels if drying windows are respected. Place supplier marks carefully; the team chose a discreet interior ecoenclose logo, preserving brand hierarchy at shelf. And during vendor selection, reading ecoenclose reviews provided context on recycled content and service, but local press discipline mattered more day-to-day.
Messaging matters. Customers comparing moving boxes vs plastic bins cared about durability and reuse more than slogans. The crew framed real tips on stacking and recycling, and kept board grades honest. As for big-box benchmarks like ups moving boxes, the team watched pricing but anchored decisions in board performance and process stability. If you’re starting a similar journey, expect some trade-offs—a 3–5% material premium can be offset by lower scrap and steadier runs. For our crew, that balance was worth it, and they’ll keep refining with **ecoenclose** as the next season approaches.
