Distributors buy packaging in layers. What the consumer holds, what the retailer opens, and what the pallet carries are three different specifications with three different jobs. Treating them as one order is how a shipment gets rejected at a receiving dock for a missing case mark.
The three levels
| Level | Its job | What it usually has to carry |
|---|---|---|
| Primary pack | Holds and sells the product | Brand artwork, product identity, any required consumer information |
| Inner pack or case | What a retailer receives and puts out | Case barcode, unit count, product description, orientation marks |
| Master carton | Ships, stacks and travels on a pallet | Case quantity, gross weight, handling marks, stacking limits |
Get the retailer's receiving specification before the dieline is drawn. Every large account publishes one, and it will tell you where the barcode goes, how big it must be, and what else the label needs. Retrofitting that onto a printed carton means a new plate run and a delay.
Protecting product between levels
- Partitions keep glass, bottles and jars from contacting each other, which is the main cause of breakage inside an otherwise sound case. See partition boxes.
- Pads and layer sheets stop the top layer of a case crushing the one below during a drop.
- Board grade is chosen for the loaded case weight and the pallet stack height, not the case footprint.
- Case count is a handling decision as much as a commercial one. A case nobody can lift safely gets damaged in every warehouse it passes through.
Private label and multi-brand programmes
Distributors often run the same structure under several brand identities. That is a print change on a shared dieline, which is the cheapest kind of variation. Because the die and the plates are included, keeping one structural spec across a portfolio and varying only the artwork removes tooling from the equation entirely. Keep the structural dieline fixed and version the print.
Ordering economics
The minimum order is 100 boxes per specification. Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote. Distributors usually get the best result by ordering the master carton and case levels deep on the cost saver lane, while running shorter print variations on the primary pack as the portfolio changes.
The three lanes are quoted per product: rush combines expedited production with air freight at a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job, standard moves by air, and cost saver moves by sea. Production runs from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery, and specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks. iBox Factory produces in West Chicago and in Guangzhou, and the quote states which plant runs the job.
Included at every level
Die and plates, dieline design support, free US shipping and a digital proof at every level before anything prints. Proof approval matters most on case and master carton artwork, because a wrong case count printed on ten thousand cartons is not a small correction.
Send your case specification
Send your product dimensions, case counts and any retailer receiving specification to /quote/. For volume pricing across the catalogue, see wholesale custom boxes.
