Blog
36 posts on the regulation, materials and design decisions that affect what your product ships in, grouped by topic.
One email a month with our latest packaging guides, compliance updates and sector notes. No sales pitches, and you can unsubscribe any time.
Practical explainers on board grades, FEFCO styles, sizing and specifying the right pack for the job.
Buying guide
6 min read
Which packaging tape for which job: acrylic vs hot-melt vs solvent adhesive, when vinyl beats polypropylene, and why paper tape is the plastic-free option.
Read: full postTechnical guide
5 min read
How to design packaging that survives the outbound trip and brings the product back intact: seals, openings and materials that work twice.
Read: full postBuying guide
7 min read
The four decisions that make or break an e-commerce pack: box or mailer, right size, void fill choice, and whether the pack can survive the journey twice.
Read: full postBuying guide
5 min read
Peak season packaging planning is easier in advance than in October. Five checks to make now on usage, samples, print approvals, stockholding and consumables.
Read: full postTechnical guide
6 min read
Packaging for large products: how to measure, choose a board grade, stop movement and pick a box design for long, heavy and unusually shaped items.
Read: full postBuying guide
6 min read
Framed art, mirrors and canvases are the classic high breakage item. Here is how picture frame boxes are built, what board to use, and how to pack a frame so it arrives intact.
Read: full postBuying guide
7 min read
Bespoke packaging is often assumed to be the expensive option. A made to measure box often costs less delivered than a stock box plus void fill. Here is what sits behind a quote and where the savings are.
Read: full postBuying guide
6 min read
How PaperWave air cushion packaging works as a plastic-free paper void fill, why it is made from over 80% regrowing resources, and what FSC, ClimatePartner, PTS and award recognition mean for your despatch bench.
Read: full postTechnical guide
7 min read
Single wall, double wall and heavy duty corrugated board compared: flutes, ECT and BCT, what each grade is good for, and how to match a grade to your box style.
Read: full postBuying guide
5 min read
A quick way to pick the right box: measure the product, choose single or double wall for the weight, then match the FEFCO style to how the box is packed and opened.
Read: Which cardboard box do I need?Technical guide
4 min read
What actually changes when you move from single wall to double wall corrugated: stacking strength, puncture resistance, weight limits and cost.
Read: Double wall vs single wall boxesTechnical guide
5 min read
ECT, BCT and bursting strength in plain language, and how stacking height, humidity and pallet overhang change what a box can actually carry.
Read: Box compression strength explainedTechnical guide
4 min read
FEFCO codes are the standard four-digit language for corrugated box styles. Here is what the numbers mean and the codes you will use most often.
Read: What is FEFCO?Buying guide
4 min read
A simple way to work out void fill volume, plus a comparison of paper, air pillows, loose fill and honeycomb wrap for cost, protection and recyclability.
Read: How much void fill do I need?Buying guide
4 min read
Gummed paper tape, self-adhesive paper tape and polypropylene compared on hold, cost, recyclability and the machines each one needs.
Read: Paper tape vs polypropylene tapeBuying guide
4 min read
Cast vs blown, hand vs machine, gauge and pre-stretch explained, so you use less film per pallet without losing load stability.
Read: Stretch wrap guideBuying guide
4 min read
Small vs large bubble, anti-static grades, bubble bags and recycled content: all our bubble wrap is made from 30% recycled material and is recyclable.
Read: Bubble wrap guideTechnical guide
5 min read
A practical checklist for cutting transit damage: right-size the box, protect the corners, seal properly, palletise squarely and test before you roll out.
Read: How to reduce shipping damageWhat EPR, PPWR, EUDR and packaging accreditations actually mean for UK businesses buying corrugated packaging.
Accreditation
4 min read
We took the unannounced route for our BRCGS Storage & Distribution audit on 28 and 29 July 2026, and came away with the top grade of AA+.
Read: AA+ at our first unannounced BRCGS auditCompliance
6 min read
The UK Packaging Waste Regulations still sit behind the newer EPR scheme. Here is who is obligated, how the recovery and recycling targets work, and what the transition to EPR means for your reporting.
Read: full postRegulation
6 min read
The EU Deforestation Regulation covers wood, paper and corrugated packaging as well as timber products. Here's what it asks for, who carries the burden, and why chain-of-custody paperwork suddenly matters.
Read: full postRegulation
6 min read
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is now law across the EU, and it changes how packaging must be designed, labelled and minimised. Here's the plain-English version for UK businesses.
Read: full postCompliance
6 min read
Extended Producer Responsibility shifts the full cost of packaging waste onto the businesses that place packaging on the UK market. Here is who is caught by it, what you have to report, and how better packaging lowers the bill.
Read: full postCompliance
5 min read
What FSC packaging is, how chain of custody works, what the FSC 100%, Mix and Recycled labels mean, what our licence code C214479 covers, and when you can use the FSC label yourself.
Read: full postAccreditation
4 min read
What BRCGS certification covers, why food, pharmaceutical and retail buyers ask for it, and what it means for the packaging you receive.
Read: What is BRCGS Storage & Distribution?How packaging requirements differ by industry, from food and drink to engineering, e-commerce and pharmaceuticals.
Sector guide
4 min read
Glass, ceramics, instruments and finished surfaces: how to build a pack that absorbs shock, immobilises the product and survives a parcel network.
Read: Packaging for fragile productsSector guide
4 min read
Traceability, hygiene, tamper evidence and temperature control: what a pharmaceutical supply chain needs from its packaging supplier.
Read: Packaging for pharmaceuticalsSector guide
7 min read
A step by step method for packing framed prints, glazed pictures, stretched canvases and rolled artwork so it arrives undamaged: glazing protection, corner protectors, the right box style and courier size limits.
Read: full postSector guide
4 min read
ESD protection, moisture control and cushioning for boards, assemblies and finished devices, plus the retail-ready options for consumer products.
Read: Packaging for electronicsSector guide
4 min read
Food-contact suitability, hygienic storage, shelf-ready boxes and chilled distribution, and the certification your auditor will ask about.
Read: Packaging for foodRecyclability, FSC® certified board, plastic reduction and cutting material without cutting protection.
Case study
6 min read
Premium presentation, less plastic, 80% less storage and 50% lower packaging cost: how Barton Jones Packaging redesigned the pack for Aston Microphones' high-quality microphones.
Read: full postCase study
6 min read
How Barton Jones Packaging replaced conventional void fill with custom-printed PaperWave® and AirWave2 inflation systems for an operation shipping more than 60,000 parcels a month across Europe.
Read: full postSustainability
5 min read
Six claims we hear every week, and what the evidence actually says about recycled content, plastic-free packing, biodegradable films and box weight.
Read: Sustainable packaging mythsInvestment in our Letchworth Garden City site, our team and our accreditations.
Company news
3 min read
Barton Jones Packaging Ltd is installing an additional box maker this September, adding to the box-making machines already running at Unit 3 and giving us the ability to produce large format corrugated boxes up to 2.8m wide with faster turnaround and lower tooling costs.
Read: full postOther posts from our packaging team.
Guides
6 min read
A practical guide to sizing balloon in a box packaging: inflated diameter, clearance, board grade, box styles and keeping parcels inside courier size bands.
Read: full postNews
3 min read
Our printed catalogue is now a flip-through brochure on the website. Every stock line, laid out page by page, ready to flick through on any screen.
Read: full postOne email a month with our latest packaging guides, compliance updates and sector notes. No sales pitches, and you can unsubscribe any time.