Turnaround Time
We confirm a production window in writing with every quote rather than publishing a fixed figure, because the honest answer depends on your specification and on how quickly approvals come back.
- Confirmed per order
- Stages you control
- Rush options where possible
Why we do not publish a single lead time
A number on a website that does not apply to your job is worse than no number at all.
A digitally printed carton with a varnish finish moves through production quickly. The same carton in offset litho with foil stamping, spot UV and a die-cut insert involves several additional passes, and a rigid box adds hand assembly on top. Those are genuinely different schedules.
More importantly, a large part of most lead times sits on the customer side: die line approval, artwork supply and proof sign-off. A job where proofs come back the same day finishes noticeably sooner than an identical job where they take a fortnight, and no supplier can quote around that.
What we do commit to: a written production window with your quote, and an updated one if the specification changes. If a date slips on our side you will hear it from us rather than finding out later.
What makes up a lead time
Six stages. Three of them are yours, which is useful to know when a schedule is tight.
| Stage | Controlled by | What speeds it up |
|---|---|---|
| Quoting | Us | Complete dimensions and quantity in the first enquiry |
| Die line issue | Us | A physical container sample rather than a drawing |
| Die line approval | You | Testing the structural sample promptly with real product |
| Artwork supply | You | Building to the die line from the start; regulated copy pre-checked |
| Proof approval | You | One decision-maker rather than a committee, especially across variants |
| Production | Us | Fewer finishing passes; digital rather than litho at low volume |
What adds time to production
Each of these is a separate pass or a separate tool. None is unreasonable, but they accumulate.
- Offset litho plates — plate making adds a step that digital printing does not have.
- Lamination — a converting pass after printing, plus curing time.
- Foil stamping and embossing — a metal die has to be made before the pass can run.
- Spot UV — a screen or plate plus an additional pass.
- Window patching — an extra machine pass, and film has to be in stock.
- Inserts — a separate die and often a separate production run.
- Rigid construction — wrapping, corner finishing and magnet setting are partly manual.
- New tube diameter — rolled paper tubes are tooled per diameter.
- Multiple SKUs — more artwork to approve and more dies to make, though far quicker than sequential orders.
How to compress a schedule safely
Five things genuinely help. Two commonly suggested shortcuts are not worth taking.
Worth doing:
- Post a container sample with the enquiry, so the die line is drawn once and correctly.
- Have artwork built to the die line before the quote is even accepted.
- Get regulated copy reviewed in parallel with structural sampling rather than after it.
- Nominate one person to approve proofs, and give them the authority to do it.
- Simplify the finishing. Dropping one pass often saves more time than any expediting.
Not worth doing:
- Skipping the structural sample. It saves a few days and risks the entire run, because a fit problem found after production is unrecoverable.
- Approving a digital proof on kraft, metallised or holographic stock. On those substrates a screen proof does not predict the printed result, which is explained on the printing options page.
Rush schedules
Often possible, and the constraints are worth knowing before you ask.
Where a launch date is fixed, we will look at what can be brought forward. Usually that means recommending a print process and a finishing specification that suit the timeline, rather than expediting an elaborate specification. A digitally printed carton with a varnish can be turned around considerably faster than a foiled litho job, and on a tight deadline that trade is often the right one.
What cannot be compressed is your approval time and the physical curing of laminates and inks. Tell us the date early and we will tell you plainly whether it is achievable and what would have to change.
Transit time is separate
Production time and delivery time are two different things, and they are quoted separately.
A production window ends when the goods leave, not when they arrive. Transit depends on the destination, the freight method and the volume of the consignment, and rolled tubes and rigid boxes are bulky enough that volume rather than weight drives the cost. How freight is arranged and quoted is set out on the shipping and delivery information.
Working to a fixed launch date?
Tell us the date at enquiry stage rather than at order stage. It changes which print process and finishing we would recommend, and there is usually a route that works.
Price starts from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. Final pricing depends on size, material, printing, and quantity.