From drawing to dock · step 8 of 10
Step 8: Packaging. A flat dieline becomes your box.
Your retail box is designed as a flat dieline, proved as a white sample, printed, and packed at the factory the way it will ship. Printed boxes and tins run on a lead time of about 15 days, and boxes that ship in their own container can be built for the ISTA 6-Amazon test.
What happens in this step
Four steps, in this order.
- Dieline and white sample. The structure and the insert are cut and proved, unprinted.
- Printed sample. Artwork, color and copy on a real printed sample you sign before the run.
- Print run. Boxes, tins, cards or sleeves printed and finished.
- Pack-out check. Packs, master cartons and marks checked at the factory before the container is sealed.
This page is the step guide. The full range, from tins and gift boxes to blister cards and master cartons, with photographs, is on custom packaging.
What you send us
The product and how it will be sold.
- The product, or its dimensions and weight.
- How it is sold: on a shelf, on a peg, online, or shipped in its own box.
- Your artwork, or what the box has to say and show.
- Quantities, and the count per master carton.
- Any retailer or test requirement, such as ISTA 6-Amazon.
What you get back
A pack that sells and survives.
- A white sample to check the structure and insert.
- A printed sample to sign before the run.
- Printed boxes and tins in about 15 days.
- Master cartons marked with the program, count and origin, packed the way they were tested.
Built for the parcel network
When the box is the shipping container.
If your product ships to the customer in its own box, the box has to survive the parcel network on its own. Retail boxes on two programs Jack managed passed ISTA 6-Amazon.com-SIOC, tested as Type A parcel shipments, at TÜV SÜD in 2023. A report summary is available to qualified buyers under NDA; more on the certificates and lab reports page.
Common mistakes at this stage
Cheap to fix before the print run.
- Approving artwork on screen without a printed sample.
- Designing the box before the product's final size is fixed.
- Forgetting the insert, then paying for damage in transit.
- Testing a hand-made box, then shipping a production box that behaves differently.
- Packing differently from the way the box was tested.
How packaging fits the schedule
Start the box before the product is finished.
Packaging is a separate supply chain that has to land at the factory before the product is packed. The print run itself takes about 15 days, but the structure, the artwork and the approvals come first, so the box is usually started while the product is still in samples or tooling.
- Fix the product's final size and weight before the dieline is fixed.
- Approve the white sample with a real product inside it.
- Approve the printed sample, not a PDF.
- Agree the master-carton count and the carton marks with your warehouse or retailer.
- Plan the print run so boxes arrive before the product is ready to pack.
If the box also has to pass a parcel test, test the production box, packed the production way. A box that passes as a hand-made sample and then changes board grade, insert or tape in production is a different box.
Inventor or business?
The same step, from where you stand.
Starting out. If this is your first product, the box is often the first thing a buyer sees. Start with how it will be sold, on a shelf, on a peg or online, and let that decide the structure before anyone designs artwork.
Already selling. If you already sell the product, send the current box and your retailer's packaging rules. The new box can match the old one exactly, or fix what your returns and damage reports say needs fixing.
Questions
What people ask about this step.
How long do printed boxes take?
Printed boxes and tins run on a lead time of about 15 days.
What is a dieline and a white sample?
The dieline is the box laid out flat with every cut and fold. The white sample is that structure cut from plain board, so the fit is proved before anything is printed.
Can you build a box to pass ISTA 6-Amazon?
Yes. Retail boxes on two programs Jack managed passed ISTA 6-Amazon.com-SIOC, Type A, at TÜV SÜD in 2023.
Can the packaging run with the product?
Yes. The box, the insert and the master carton can run in the same program as the product.
Related
Have something to make?
Send what you have. Jack reads it himself, and we’ll sign your NDA — or use ours — before you share details.