Paper and cardboard do get impacted and further affected through different weather conditions. While the impacts may not just be rain, but also the humidity and heat. When cardboard hits any of these, it causes bacteria and moisture growth, and there usually is damage to the structure and the glue which holds these together. 

It does impact how the materials and packaging feels, and how it remains on a more structural level, which we’ll go over here. 

Humidity and Cardboard 

High levels of moisture and humidity will affect the cardboard, and this does have a huge effect on the strength of a cardboard or mailer box. 

Why does this occur? Well, it’s because the wood fibers within the cardboard box creation have a natural position to these, in order to absorb the moisture when they have transpiration occurring, and is maintained, especially after the entire treatment of the chemical production of your cardboard. It does make this naturally able to absorb the moisture at a higher type of level. 

For example, in warmer areas close to water, the humidity levels are much higher. Southeast Asia, China, and the eastern parts of the US have the highest rates of humidity, so there is a lot more moisture within the air and impacts the cardboard structures. 

With high moisture levels in this, it not only composes the structural integrity, but it can increase the viscosity that happens with the moisture. 

Humidity is a huge part of packaging, especially since the relative humidity and the strength of stacking play a part. Relative humidity is different from the regular levels of humidity, as this is the moisture amount within the air that’s relative to what’s naturally there. when it’s at 50% RH, you will have the stacking strength drop to 80% of what was there, so summer is hard for packaging and the delivery world, as it’s the highest during the point. The solution a lot of people to counter this is utilization of desiccant bags to get rid of the moisture. 

Product Packaging this 

You need to be mindful of the ink, glue, and the finishes, and you need to spend more time allocating drying boxes.  Rushing this may not fully dry, and it can be flimsier, so keep it in mind. 

What about Cool and Dry Weather 

This is the opposite of humid weather, and usually during this point, the cardboard will be more brittle, different from the loss of strength and compression that happens during warmer weather. 

That means it can cause tears and cracks. When it’s in dry conditions for a long period of time, the lack of added moisture is like a sponge without water, so it becomes very brittle, and hard to fold together without cracks and tearing. 

The best way to prevent this is to use an aqueous finish to help with lamination, as this will help with making it easy to keep together and stronger. 

Direct Sunlight and Packaging 

When direct sunlight hits it, the temperatures are much higher, and this can lead to damaging of the structure of the box, and color fading, also known as photodegradation. It’s less the sunlight though, and more the UV lights that are there. 

Some dyes and the hues are far more prone to this, and the bigger dilemma is that it’s hard to keep things eco friendly and not harder to photodegrade. 

Soy based inks are some of the best, and are better for the customer, and are easy to remove and allowed for printing. Keep in mind all these factors when choosing your packaging.