Have you ever wondered what the common question is when you visit different packaging partners? The one common question that they will surely ask is what the dimensions of the box you want are. What is the length, width, and height of the box you want to customize for your product? As a business owner, you must have an answer to this question and knowledge about the box dimensions. Otherwise, you will not be able to choose the right box size for your product.
In this blog, we are going to learn about the dimensions of the box and understand why they matter in the custom packaging industry. Let's get to the point and get started!
Before starting to design custom boxes and packaging, the first thing that comes to mind is the box dimensions. Now what are these box dimensions? They are basically three measurement units: length, width, and height. Let's learn what length, width, and height are:
Length is simply the longest dimension of some shape, box, or product. It tells the longest distance between two points. It is measured in linear units like inches, centimeters, and meters.
The side to side dimension of an object, shape, or box is called width. It tells how broad or wide a given object is. Like length, width is also measured in linear units, inches, centimeters, and meters.
The height is the measure of how tall an object is. It's the measurement from the base to the top, or how high or deep an object is. In terms of vertical measurement, the height and depth are used interchangeably.
Let's understand length, height, and width with the help of an example. Consider an example of a pitch. Here, the long distance is called length, the broadness of pitch is width, and the fence length is the height.
By the definition of length, width, height we can write these dimensions for different shapes as follows:
For a 2-dimensional geometrical shape or figure, we have two dimensions only. These are length and width.
For a three-dimensional shape like a cubic shape, we have three dimensions: length, width, and height.
What is the purpose of calculating the volume, area, and other calculations? These calculated values give us the size of the shape and its capacity to hold things. Especially, when you have to pack a product in a box of some shape other than a conventional square or rectangular shape. Let's see different calculations for different box shapes:
The rectangle is a 2D shape that has only two measures of its sides: the length and the width. Let's calculate its perimeter:
Perimeter = 2 × ( Length + Width)
The perimeter helps you in practical applications like fencing a rectangular garden and adding ribbons to a box.
The rectangle has length and width only, but if we talk about a rectangular box, height also steps in. For calculating a box capacity, we have to calculate the volume with the following formula:
Volume of the box = l x w x h
The round objects do not have corners, so they do not have any length, height, or width. You must be worried, how will you calculate the box size now? No need to worry. There is a small change in the method. For round objects, you have to measure the radius. The radius is the distance from any point on the circumference (boundary of the circle) to the center. You can also measure the diameter (twice the radius that divides the circle into two parts).
How to measure? Simply take the measuring tape and measure the distance from one point to another, crossing the center. Let's suppose the diameter turns out to be 20cm, so all sides of the circle will be of this value. That's how it works.
We are repeatedly talking about the l, w, and h measurements. But we didn't think once about how we measure them? Not a tough task. We will just need the following supplies, and the rest will be done in seconds:
Got all these items? That's great. Now follow these steps:
Measure the length (the longest side) and note it down.
Similarly, measure the width and then the height. Collectively, the box size value is equal to = length x width x height
Feel free to use any authentic measuring tape or any math geometry tool that makes it convenient to measure.
We know that length x width x height is the standard order, but sometimes you also see these orders:
height x width x length
height x length x width
length x height x width
The dimensions are the same, but only the order is changing. Why? It is no more than a game of position and perception of the box. Let's simplify this as follows:
When you are discussing dimensions of a box, how can you forget about its interior and exterior? It is not a hard and fast rule that the interior and exterior of a box will always have the same vertical and horizontal dimensions. They can be different. Let's understand this with the help of an example.
You have already measured and described the dimensions of a box that will fit your product. Then you choose a corrugated box that may not let the product perfectly fit. How? It can add an extra cm to your current measurement. The same can be done by the walls of the box with different depths or thicknesses. Let's see the interior and exterior of the box:
By the interior of the box, we mean the internal sides of the box. It is where the product is kept and comes into contact with. If you want a more accurate measurement, it is better to measure the box from the interior, which will not cause any loose fittings.
The exterior is the outer side of the box whose dimensions may differ from the interior. What is the reason for the difference? It's the material and construction that can cause a slight difference between them.
Generally, it is recommended to measure the box from inside so that no inconvenience occurs and accurate measurements are taken.
Have you ever observed that the boxes are designed as a perfect fit for the product with a slight space? Why don't they pack the product in a larger packaging than the product itself? The answer is simple. They do so to save space, packaging material, and to keep the product in place. And we hope you will not disagree with this fact.
From this real-life scenario, you can easily understand the role of box dimensions. The product packaging is designed in such a way, the product perfectly fits in without any damage. The product's width, length, and height are measured, and then the box is designed accordingly. This ensures efficient use of space without causing extra material cost. For shipping, if the product is safe from external pressure but not fixed in place, there are chances of damage. So these 3 dimensions save the product and packaging cost.
To calculate the volume of a rectangular box, you need length, height and width of the box. After getting these values, use this formula l x w x h to calculate the volume.
According to common industrial standards, length comes first than the width and height.
The L x W x H means Length x Width x Height. It is the standard way to express the 3 dimensional dimensions of a cuboid box.
The length is the longest dimension of the box. The breadth is the width, i.e., how broad a box dimension is.
d*w*h stands for depth, width, and height, that is multiplied to estimate the volume of the box.
The correct and standard order is considered to be lxwxh. Other orders are also used, but it depends on the context.
The length, width, and height are fundamental measurements or dimensions that describe the shape of a box. The length is the longest dimension, height is the vertical dimension measured from top to bottom, and width is the measure of broadness. Understanding these box dimensions is paramount if you want a perfect box size for custom packaging. No matter, you are customizing shipping boxes, retail boxes, gift boxes, or any type of product boxes, these dimensions are important. A small ambiguity can end your packaging game.
Like other packaging partners, MyBoxPrinting also asks for the dimensions of the box. It provides you with custom boxes and sizes in customized sizes and shapes that perfectly fit your product.
