Ordering custom packaging for the first time feels opaque because the vocabulary is unfamiliar, not because the process is complicated. It is seven steps and most of them are decisions you already have the information to make. Here they are in the order they actually happen.
Step 1: measure the product, properly
Measure at the widest point of each axis, not the nominal point, and measure the product in the state it will be packed: labelled, wrapped, assembled, with the cap on. Write the three numbers as length x width x depth and note that they are internal. Nearly every packaging problem that shows up later starts with a measurement taken on the wrong version of the product.
Step 2: choose a style, or describe the job and ask
If you already know you want a tuck end carton, a mailer or a rigid box, say so. If you do not, describe the job instead: what the product is, how heavy it is, whether it ships alone or inside a case, and whether it sits on a shelf. A style can be recommended from that far more reliably than from a guess at a name.
Step 3: get the dieline before you finish the artwork
The dieline, sometimes called a keyline, is the flat template your designer lays artwork onto. Ask for it early. Designing artwork first and fitting it to a structure afterwards produces panels that are the wrong proportion and text that lands on a crease.
Step 4: artwork
Keep critical content inside the safety margin, run backgrounds out to the bleed, keep barcodes off creases and glue areas, and leave the dieline on its own non-printing layer. Design support is included, so if this is not your skill set, hand over what you have rather than guessing.
Step 5: approve the digital proof
A digital proof is produced before anything prints and it is included. This is your last cheap opportunity to catch a mistake. Read every word of legal and ingredient text, check the barcode, check panel orientation, and check that the artwork on the fold looks the way you expect once folded rather than flat.
Step 6: choose a lane
| Lane | What it is | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Rush | Expedited production plus air freight, premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job | A fixed launch date or a stockout |
| Standard | Air freight | The usual balance of speed and cost |
| Cost saver | Sea freight | Planned reorders where the date is flexible |
The floor is from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery. Specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks, so ask where your item sits before you commit to a launch date.
Step 7: run, then write down what you learned
After the first delivery, record the final internal dimensions, the board, the lane you used and the real total lead time. Your second order then takes minutes instead of weeks.
What it costs
Minimum order is 100 boxes. Price starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, because board, size, print coverage, finishing and volume all move it. The die, the plates, design support, US shipping and the proof are included. Production comes from two plants, West Chicago in the US and Guangzhou in China.
Before you commit a full run, how to test packaging before a big run covers what to check. If the dieline vocabulary is the unfamiliar part, what a keyline is explains every line on it. When you have your three measurements and a rough annual volume, send them through the quote form and the rest of the decisions can be made with real numbers in front of you.
