How to Order

What to send with your first enquiry

You do not need a full specification. These five things are enough for us to quote accurately, and the more of them you have, the fewer questions come back.

1. The container. Its dimensions, or better, a physical sample posted to us. For a tube, the outside diameter and the height with the cap on. For a lipstick, the width at the widest point with the cap fitted.
2. The quantity. The number you actually want, plus the number per design if the job has shade or scent variants.
3. How it is sold. Shelf, peg fixture, e-commerce, gift set or wholesale. This changes the structure more than anything else.
4. Artwork status. Print-ready, in progress, or nothing yet. All three are workable; we just plan differently.
5. Any fixed date. If a launch or a planogram reset is driving the schedule, say so at enquiry stage rather than at order stage.

Send it through the full quote request form, which asks for these in order, or use the short form on any product page if you would rather just start a conversation.

The five stages

What happens, who does it, and what you are asked to decide.

The two approvals that matter

These are the points where a mistake becomes expensive, so both are handled in writing.

The die line approval fixes the structure. Once a die is cut, changing a dimension means a new die. This is why a structural sample tested with your real product is worth the few days it adds.

The proof approval fixes the colour and the content. The production run is measured against the approved proof, so a compliance change or a colour change afterwards means new plates and a new run. Have your regulated copy reviewed before this point, as set out in theartwork guidelines for print files.

Reordering

Repeat orders skip most of the work, and that is reflected in the price.

Once a die line is cut and a proof approved, both are held against your account. A reorder is quoted on print and material cost at whatever quantity you need, with no die charge and no proofing charge. Tell us at the first quote if you expect to reorder on a cycle, because it changes how the tooling is quoted.

For a range, a single shade or SKU can be reordered on its own. The economics change, since a single-SKU reorder loses the benefit of sharing a press sheet, but there is no new setup to pay for.

Changing an order in progress

What is straightforward and what is not, depending on how far the job has gone.

• Before die line approval — dimensions, structure, board and quantity can all change freely.
• After die line, before proof — artwork and colour can change. A dimensional change means a new die.
• After proof approval, before production — a change means a new proof cycle and, if plates are made, new plates.
• Once production has started — the run cannot be altered. A change is a new order.

Quantity increases are easier to accommodate before production than after, because a second short run costs considerably more per unit than adding to the first. If you are uncertain, ask for the price at both quantities in the original quote.