Insulated Box Liner or Polystyrene Box: Which One Suits You?

An insulated box liner and a polystyrene box do the same job, but they cost you something very different: warehouse space. For many businesses, that's the real deciding factor.

The storage bill

A polystyrene box is mostly air with a wall around it. So what you're really storing is air. An insulated box liner is delivered folded flat, with the insulation bag supplied separately: that lets you fit up to five times as many on a pallet.

If you use a hundred boxes a week, that difference may not matter much. At a thousand a week, it determines whether you need an extra warehouse rack.

Cooling duration

At equal wall thickness, polystyrene holds temperature slightly longer. With the 6-layer insulation bag, the insulated box liner comes close, comfortably enough for 48 to 72 hours with sufficient coolant.

Strength

Polystyrene breaks when dropped, cardboard dents. With frequent handling or stacking, the cardboard outer box wins, because it deforms without breaking open.

Shipping appearance

A cardboard box looks like a regular shipment and can be printed on. Polystyrene in the mailbox stands out, and not always positively with consumers who are mindful of waste.

Reuse

The insulation bag of an insulated box liner can be used multiple times. On fixed routes where the packaging comes back, that's an advantage polystyrene doesn't offer.

The bottom line

If you have plenty of space and every euro of unit price counts, polystyrene is often cheaper. If your warehouse is full or you ship in peaks, the insulated box liner pays for itself on space alone.

See all sizes in our EPS boxes collection or compare with the foldable insulated box liners.