This is a specification reference for powder compact cartons: pressed powder, bronzer, blush, highlighter and pressed setting products in a hinged case. It sits beside the product page and covers what to specify rather than what to buy.
Specification sheet
| Item | What to specify |
|---|---|
| Carton structure | Straight tuck end, reverse tuck end, seal end, sleeve and tray, or two piece rigid |
| Internal length and width | Closed compact at its widest points, plus clearance and insert thickness |
| Internal depth | Closed compact at its thickest point, normally the hinge, plus clearance |
| Insert | Board platform, foam pad, or a fitted tray. Required if the compact can slide |
| Board | Coated folding carton for print fidelity, rigid greyboard for premium weight |
| Finish | Matte or gloss lamination, soft touch, spot gloss, foil stamping, emboss |
| Labelling panel | Reserved area for ingredient declaration, net contents, shade and batch coding |
| Shelf orientation | Face up in a tray, or standing on an edge. This decides which panel is the front |
How to measure a compact
- Close the compact fully. Measure the longest edge and the shortest edge of the closed case.
- Measure any latch, thumb catch or lip that stands proud of the body, and add it to the relevant axis.
- Measure thickness at the thickest point. On most hinged cases this is at the hinge, not at the centre of the lid.
- Round compacts: measure the diameter at the widest point, and remember a round product in a rectangular carton needs an insert or it will rotate and slide.
- State the result as internal length x width x depth, and write the word internal.
Protecting the hinge and the mirror
The hinge takes the stress in transit, and the mirror is glass in a pack that will be dropped at some point in its life. A compact that can slide inside its carton hits the carton wall repeatedly and marks its own lid, which on a lacquered or metallised case is immediately visible at the point of sale. A simple die cut board platform, sized so the compact cannot move more than a fraction, fixes both problems for very little money and no tooling cost, because the die is included.
Finish and shelf
Compact cartons are shallow and wide, so the front panel is a large, flat, uninterrupted area, which is excellent for photographic artwork and unforgiving of registration errors. Soft touch lamination suits dark palettes and shows fingerprints on large dark panels, which a shallow wide carton has plenty of. Foil and emboss register well on a flat panel of this size. Decide early whether the carton is merchandised face up in a tray or standing on edge, because that determines which face gets the design attention and where the shade name has to appear.
Labelling
Reserve the panel for the ingredient declaration, net contents, shade name and batch coding before artwork begins, and confirm the labelling rules that apply to the markets you sell into. On a shallow carton the side panels are narrow, so that copy usually has to live on the back.
Ordering
Minimum order is 100 boxes, with pricing from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes, confirmed on your written quote. Die and plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof before anything prints are included. Turnaround is stated per product across three lanes: rush with expedited production plus air freight, standard by air, and cost saver by sea, from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery. Specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks. Production is in West Chicago and Guangzhou.
To order, go to compact boxes, which owns this product. If you are weighing up the finish, what is soft touch lamination covers how it behaves on large dark panels. Send your closed compact measurements and shelf orientation to request a quote.
