Custom Packaging
Everything here is made to order. Nothing is picked from a catalogue of fixed sizes, which means the process has a shape worth understanding before you start.
- Made to order, always
- Die line before print
- Nothing runs unsigned
What custom means here
The word is used loosely in packaging, so it is worth being specific about what is actually made to order.
- The die line is drawn for your container. Not selected from a size chart and not adjusted from a similar job.
- The board grade and weight are chosen against your pack, its packed weight and how it is merchandised.
- The print process is selected against your quantity and colour count, not fixed by what a supplier prefers to run.
- Finishing is specified per job. There are no bundled packages of laminate plus foil plus spot UV.
- Pricing is quoted, not listed. A price list would either overcharge simple jobs or under-quote complex ones.
The practical consequence is that we cannot give a firm price from a product name alone. Dimensions and quantity are the minimum, and a physical sample of the container removes most of the remaining uncertainty.
The stages of a project
Six stages, with the decisions that belong at each one. Skipping a stage almost always costs more than running it.
| Stage | What happens | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brief | We establish what the product is, how it is sold, and roughly what quantity | A description, a quantity, and a launch date if one is fixed |
| 2. Specification | Board grade and weight, print process, finishing and insert proposed with reasoning | Container dimensions or a physical sample |
| 3. Quote | Written price at your quantity and at the next volume break, plus one-time costs separated | Confirmation of which option to develop |
| 4. Die line and sample | Structural drawing issued; a plain cut-and-creased sample confirms fit | Written approval of the die line, ideally after testing the sample with product |
| 5. Proof | Colour proof on the specified stock, with foil and spot UV positions shown | Written approval per design or per shade |
| 6. Production and delivery | Print, finish, die-cut, glue, inspect, pack to your case count, dispatch | Delivery address, case count preference, any receiving requirements |
The five decisions that change your price
Worth understanding early, because each one is cheap to decide now and expensive to change after tooling.
- Quantity. The largest single lever, because tooling and make-ready are one-time costs spread across the run.
- Board grade and weight. Constrains what the finish can achieve, so it comes before the finish. Compared on theboard and material options.
- Colour count. Process, spot colours, and whether an opaque white underprint is needed on the chosen stock.
- Finishing passes. Each of laminate, foil, spot UV and emboss is a separate pass with its own cost and its own lead time.
- Structure and insert. An auto-bottom base or a die-cut platform costs more per unit but can pay for itself in packing labour or avoided damage.
Structural samples, and why they are worth the delay
A plain unprinted sample is the cheapest insurance in a packaging project.
It tells you three things a drawing cannot: whether your container actually fits with the right clearance, whether the carton stands and closes the way you expect, and whether the insert holds the product when the box is shaken. On a rigid box it also tells you how the lid feels and how strong the magnets are.
Test it with your real product, not an empty carton. A fit that works on paper sometimes fails with a slightly pillowed sachet or a lacquered case that measures marginally larger than its specification. Sample options are set out on the order a sample kit.
If you are packaging more than one product
The economics change enough that it is worth treating a range as a single project rather than several orders.
Fix the board, the finish and the print process once and apply them across everything. That consolidates the material buy, lets several die lines share one press sheet, and collapses proofing from a series of separate reviews into one standard plus a set of variants. It also produces a range that looks like a range, which products specified separately over eighteen months generally do not.
How that is structured, including scheduled call-offs and private label programmes, is covered on thebulk programme page.
What we do not do
Being clear about the boundaries saves everyone time.
- We do not review regulatory compliance. Ingredient declarations, net contents statements, SPF drug facts panels and product claims are yours to write and verify.
- We do not fill or assemble product. We supply packaging components, flat-packed or assembled as appropriate.
- We do not stock a standard range. There is no catalogue to order from and no off-the-shelf size list.
- We do not quote from a product name alone, because it would not be a quote in any useful sense.
Start with a brief, however rough
A sentence describing the product and a quantity is enough to open a conversation. We will tell you what else we need rather than expecting a full specification up front.
Price starts from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. Final pricing depends on size, material, printing, and quantity.