How to brief a packaging job so the quote is right first time

Most slow quotes are not slow because of the supplier. They are slow because the brief has gaps, and every gap means another email. Here is what to gather, and why each item changes the price or the spec.

The ten things to have ready

1. The product. What it is, its length, width and height in millimetres, and its weight. A sample unit helps most, because it shows awkward shapes and corners that measurements miss.
2. The journey. How fragile it is and how it travels: on a pallet, by courier, for export, or straight onto a shop shelf. The journey decides the board strength.
3. The format. Shipping carton, mailer, folding carton, rigid box, container, bag or film, label or insert. If you are not sure, say so and we will recommend one. Our box style guide can help.
4. Material and finish. Any preferences on board, lamination or premium finishes. See board grades and flutes and print and finishes.
5. Sustainability needs. Recycled content, FSC certification, or plastic targets you have to meet for a client, a retailer or your own reporting.
6. Branding and print. Print-ready artwork, a logo file, or a request for us to design it from scratch.
7. Quantity. Pieces per design, from 10,000, and how often you expect to reorder. Each different size or print counts as its own design.
8. Delivery. Where the order is going and the date it needs to be there.
9. Budget guide. A rough figure per piece or per run, so we recommend the right spec first time instead of the most expensive one.
10. Who decides. Who signs off the sample, and when the order needs to be placed.

Why each detail changes the quote

Size and weight set the amount of board and the strength it needs. The journey sets the flute and the number of walls. Format and finish set the print method and the number of production steps. Quantity spreads the set-up costs, so the price per piece falls as the run grows. Delivery sets the freight. Leave any of these out and a supplier has to guess, and a guess is usually priced on the safe side.

Mistakes that slow quotes down

• ✓ Sending the old box size instead of the product size. The old box may have been too big all along.
• ✓ Asking for "a price for 10,000 boxes" across five different designs. That is five runs of 2,000, not one run of 10,000.
• ✓ Leaving the artwork question open. Supplying files, adapting a logo and designing from scratch are three different jobs.
• ✓ Forgetting the deadline. Production starts after the sample is approved, so a date that sounds generous can be tight.
• ✓ Not saying who approves. Samples waiting for a decision-maker who has not seen the brief are the most common delay of all.

What happens after you send it

Once we have your full specifications, you get a written quote within 48 hours. We then make a physical sample for you to approve. Nothing goes into production until you sign it off. EU deliveries typically arrive from around 15 days after artwork sign-off, and UK timings are confirmed in your quote.

The fastest way to send a complete brief is the spec builder. It walks through the same ten points and gives you a specification you can email, send by WhatsApp or paste into our enquiry form.