Trays get ordered late and specified loosely, which is why they are the item most often reordered in a different size. The fix is to write down four numbers before you ask for a price: internal length, internal width, wall height, and compartments. Everything else on the quote follows from those.
How to spec a tray in four steps
- Measure the portion, not the recipe. Plate the food as it will actually be sold, then measure the footprint it occupies and the height it stands at when the portion is generous rather than average.
- Set the wall height from the fill line. Add clearance above the fill for a lid, a film seal or a sleeve. A tray that is deeper than it needs to be lets the portion move in transit and looks half empty on a shelf.
- Decide compartments early. Compartment walls change the tooling, so adding one after the die is cut is a new die, not an edit. Note whether the dividers need to be full height or partial.
- Choose how it closes. A tray can be sold open, with a printed sleeve, with a separate lid, or under film. Each option changes the flange and the wall detail.
Where trays go wrong
- Corner leakage. A glued or locked corner behaves differently to a folded one under a wet portion. Say on the quote whether the contents are wet, oily or dry.
- Stack collapse. Trays stacked for delivery load the walls, not the base. If you stack them loaded, say how many high.
- Sleeve mismatch. A sleeve is a separate item with its own dieline, and it has to be sized to the tray with the lid or film already in place.
- Print rubbing. Heavy ink coverage on an outer flange takes handling abuse. Keep critical branding on the flat panels.
Direct contact matters here more than on most items, so it belongs on the paperwork. Tell us on the quote whether the board contacts the food directly or whether a liner, wrap or container sits in between, and confirm what your product and market require. We build to the stated requirement rather than guessing it.
Ordering, minimums and turnaround
The minimum is 100 units per size and artwork. Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes, and your figure is confirmed on a written quote once the four numbers, the board and the print are fixed. Included in the order: the die, the printing plates, design support, US shipping, and a digital proof before anything prints. There is no sample kit to buy, so if you want to handle the tray before committing, raise it in the quote conversation.
Production runs at two plants, West Chicago in the United States and Guangzhou in China. Turnaround is stated per product on three lanes: Rush is expedited production plus air freight and carries a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job, Standard moves by air, and Cost saver moves by sea. The floor is from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 days for delivery, and specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks.
Send your four numbers and a photo of the plated portion to the quote form. If you are building a full line rather than one item, custom food boxes covers the wider range, and tray box dimensions goes deeper on sizing.
