TL;DR: A poorly structured brief is the single biggest cause of requotes and sample iterations — most delays happen before production even starts.
TL;DR: Artwork files below 300 dpi at final print size will fail our prepress check and push your sample timeline back by 5–7 working days.
What We Need Before We Can Quote or Sample Accurately #
When a brand partner reaches out asking for a defect analysis or troubleshooting sample — whether that’s a corrugated shipper they’ve had crush failures with, a folding carton showing delamination, or a flexible pouch with seal integrity problems — the quality of our response depends entirely on what comes in the brief. A vague request (“we need a box, roughly 200×150×80mm, white, decent quality”) generates a vague quote that will shift after sampling. A specific brief generates a locked quote with a predictable timeline.
Here’s what we actually need from you, broken down by category:
Structural information: Final inner dimensions (L×W×H in millimetres, not inches), wall configuration if it’s a corrugated structure (single wall vs. double wall, flute type), intended fill weight, and whether the pack will be palletised or hand-stacked. For rigid boxes, specify lid-and-base vs. hinged, and whether you need a magnet closure — the greyboard spec changes from 1.6mm to 2.0–2.5mm depending on that answer.
Material preference: If you’ve had a defect on a previous supplier’s pack, tell us what substrate they used. Our incoming inspection team logs substrate-related defect patterns under what we call our PM-03 material deviation register — knowing your previous supplier’s board grade or film structure lets us cross-reference against known risk categories before we commit to a spec.
Quantity tiers: We need at least two quantity points — your expected initial order and your projected 12-month volume. Our MOQ for folding cartons starts at 5,000 units per SKU; for rigid boxes it’s typically 500 units. Quoting against a single number without volume context produces a unit price that may not reflect your actual sourcing cost.
Print and finish details: Pantone references (coated or uncoated — this matters), whether you’re specifying G7-calibrated colour output, lamination type (matte, gloss, soft-touch), and any tactile elements (spot UV, emboss, foil). If you don’t have finals yet, tell us. We can quote against a structural dummy first.
| Information Type | Minimum Required | Why It Affects Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Structural dimensions | L×W×H ±1mm accuracy | Die line tolerance and board yield calculation |
| Substrate / board spec | Grade or previous supplier spec | Material cost, defect risk cross-reference |
| Print spec | Pantone refs + finish type | Ink coverage, lamination SKU, run speed |
| Quantity tiers | 2 volume points minimum | Unit price and tooling amortisation |
| Target market / regulatory | e.g. FDA 21 CFR, EU 10/2011, REACH | Material compliance pre-screening |
The last row matters more than many buyers expect. If your product contacts food or cosmetics, our compliance team needs to know your target market before we specify an ink system or lamination adhesive. A pack destined for the EU triggers EU 10/2011 migration limits; one going to the US requires FDA 21 CFR 175.300 compliance for any coating in direct food contact. We run this check at brief stage, not after sampling.
Where Requests Break Down and Samples Get Repeated #
The most common reason a sample goes through three iterations instead of one is an incomplete brief on dimensions or colour. These aren’t independent problems.
A brand sends us a PDF of their artwork at 150 dpi. Our prepress team flags it immediately — anything below 300 dpi at the final print size will show visible dot grain in solid tints, particularly in skin tones and gradients. We can upscale in software, but upscaling doesn’t recover lost resolution; it smooths artefacts that then look soft on press. We ask the brand to resupply. If the original artwork file is locked in a platform they no longer have access to, finding a workaround typically adds 5–7 working days to the sample schedule. This is avoidable: supply editable source files (Adobe Illustrator .AI or InDesign .INDD with links embedded, PDF/X-4 at minimum) with 3mm bleed on all edges, and confirm resolution at 300 dpi minimum for process print, 1200 dpi for fine line or barcode elements.
Colour is the second common failure point. A brand specifies “Pantone 485 C” verbally. Our press operator pulls the Pantone Coated swatch. At proof stage, the brand’s marketing team sees it on an uncalibrated monitor and rejects it as “too orange.” The problem isn’t our print — it’s a missing approval workflow. Before sampling, we ask brands to provide a physical drawdown approval or confirm they’ll sign off against our press proof, not a screen preview. We calibrate our sheet-fed offset lines to G7 grey balance targets, which gives us consistent neutral reproduction across runs, but G7 calibration doesn’t change what Pantone 485 looks like — it looks red-orange, and if that’s unexpected, the brief was incomplete.
Dimension errors are the third failure pattern we see, and they carry the highest rework cost. A buyer sends us inner dimensions but means outer dimensions, or specifies a dimension without accounting for tray depth on a lid-and-base rigid box. We’ve had die tools made against buyer-confirmed dimensions only to find the insert didn’t fit the product jar because the jar measurement wasn’t checked against the actual production batch (which ran 2mm wider than the nominal spec). Our standard practice now is to ask for the actual product sample alongside the brief for any insert-fitting job — we record the measured dimensions against the buyer’s nominal and flag any gap above 1.5mm before cutting.
Which Sample Type Should You Request? #
Request a white sample first for any new structural configuration.
A white sample (unprinted structural prototype, typically in grey or white board) costs a fraction of a printed proof and tells you everything about fit, function, hinge action, magnet pull strength, and closure geometry before a single ink impression is made. If the structure needs adjustment, no print cost is wasted. For a new folding carton die, white sample turnaround from confirmed die line is 7–10 working days. For rigid boxes, allow 10–15 working days.
Printed proofs follow structure sign-off. For offset-printed cartons we produce inkjet proofs for colour reference and a short-run press proof (typically 50–100 sheets) for final colour approval. A production sample — full-run spec, from the actual production tooling and materials — is what you evaluate against your AQL criteria before approving the order. Our standard AQL inspection level for production sample sign-off is AQL 2.5 for major defects, AQL 4.0 for minor defects, per ANSI/ASQ Z1.4.
Specification Notes for Brand Partners #
When you brief us on a defect analysis or troubleshooting-related packaging job, the most useful thing you can send alongside your dimensions is a sample of the pack that failed — or a photograph with clear annotations showing where the defect occurs and under what condition.
We need: confirmed inner dimensions with your actual product measured (not nominal), substrate or structure type from your previous supplier if known, target market for compliance pre-screening, print spec with Pantone coated references, finish type, and your two quantity tiers. Artwork should be supplied as PDF/X-4 or native .AI/.INDD with 3mm bleed and 300 dpi minimum resolution.
The gap we see most often in incoming briefs is missing target market information. If you skip this, our compliance team flags it at prepress, and we have to pause the quote until it’s resolved. That pause is typically 3–5 working days. Include it upfront.
Our standard sampling timeline runs 7–10 working days for a white sample, 12–18 working days for a printed proof from artwork approval, and 20–25 working days for a production sample. Timeline variability is driven primarily by tooling queue and artwork revision cycles, not production capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Can I compare your quote directly against another supplier’s quote if the specs look similar?
It depends on what “similar” means. If one quote specifies 350 gsm SBS board and another specifies 300 gsm coated duplex, the unit price difference reflects a real material difference, not supplier margin. Before comparing prices, align on board grade, caliper (target the same gsm ±10%), lamination type, and whether tooling cost is amortised into unit price or invoiced separately. A 15% lower unit price that includes a separate $800 tooling charge may be more expensive at 5,000 units.
What file format should I send for artwork?
PDF/X-4 is our preferred format for print-ready files — it embeds fonts and colour profiles and prevents the font substitution errors that plague standard PDFs. Supply at 300 dpi minimum for raster elements. If you’re sending native files, Illustrator .AI with outlined text and InDesign .INDD with packaged links both work. We don’t accept Word, PowerPoint, or low-resolution JPEG as artwork masters.
How many sample iterations is normal before production approval?
For a well-briefed job with confirmed dimensions and approved Pantone references, one white sample and one printed press proof is typical. Jobs that arrive with approximate dimensions, unconfirmed Pantone refs, or unresolved regulatory questions routinely go to three or four iterations. The brief quality at the start predicts sample cycle count more reliably than anything else in the process.
Do you charge for samples?
White samples for standard structures are typically provided at no charge for qualified inquiries. Printed proofs involve press setup cost, which we invoice at cost (no margin) and credit against the first production order. Production samples are invoiced at a per-unit rate reflecting actual material and run cost. Sample charges are confirmed in writing before we proceed — no surprises on the invoice.
Planning a packaging project? Contact our team to request a complimentary specification review and sample quote.
