The questions we hear most, from pricing and materials to production timelines and sustainability — straight answers, no sales pitch.
Don’t see your question, or want more detail on one below? Reach out directly — we’re happy to talk through the specifics of your project.
We don’t have a minimum order quantity. The right production quantity depends on your number of SKUs, carton size, substrate, print complexity, and how the job runs on our 57″ offset presses. Because offset printing has significant make-ready costs, very small runs typically aren’t the most economical fit for our equipment unless we’re working on trial runs. If you’re unsure whether your volume makes sense, send us the specifications — we’ll help you determine the most cost-effective run quantity for your cartons. If you’re planning on staying under 10,000 cartons for all or most of your annual runs, another option may be a better fit.
Yes. Get the sample in our hands and send us the art files if you have them. We’ll match what you currently have, offering advice on immediate improvements if you’re interested.
The easiest way to get started is to send us a sample of your existing carton along with the carton specifications. If you have an existing drawing or dieline, even better. We’ll typically need the carton style, dimensions, substrate, number of colors, coating preference, quantities, and where the product will ship. If you have additional details — pallet configuration, pack-out requirements, annual usage, warehousing needs, or shipping preferences and restrictions — that’s helpful too. And if you don’t have all of this information, that’s okay — we can help build the specifications with you.
For the smoothest prepress process, please provide packaged Adobe Illustrator files with artwork outlined and live text, including all fonts and linked images. We can also work with InDesign files, though they’ll need to be converted to Illustrator before trapping, which may require additional prepress time. Normalized PDFs are another option, particularly for files that have already been trapped.
Yes. We can help with structural design and die lines when needed. If you have an existing carton, sample, or drawing, we can work from that. If you’re developing something new, we can help determine the appropriate carton style, dimensions, and structure for your application. When everything is approved, we’ll send over the die lines for your art team to place art. Our goal is to make sure the carton is designed to run efficiently on our equipment and perform the way you need it to. If you’re not sure where to start, bring us the product and the requirements — we can help build it from there.
No problem — we do this often, helping customers stay within the 7-color limit of our presses, optimizing color combinations for repeatability, and suggesting graphic changes to pop off the substrate.
Yes. For white prototypes — what we call “size and style samples” — we can typically turn those around within 48 hours. If we’re designing from scratch and need some added time, we’ll work with you. You’ll receive physical samples to load your product into, shake around, and confirm everything fits before you approve with confidence.
Yes. We can provide digitally printed prototypes of your cartons within 1–2 weeks. Keep in mind digital printing simulates spot colors, so it may be slightly off from what you’d see with offset-printed cartons. The coating is also a standard coating.
Standard bleeds are external (.125), glue flap (.125), and dust flaps (.25). UPC/barcode BWR is .001. Images should be 300 DPI at 100% of their placed size — please keep images as links rather than embedding them, and avoid clipping images to clipping masks, so we can make bleed adjustments when needed.
Our standard target for repeat orders is 5 weeks. That timing can move throughout the year depending on demand and production capacity, but we’re upfront with customers and work aggressively to stay nimble when needs change. For new programs, good planning is especially important — board availability, tooling, and production capacity can all affect the first few runs, so we work with you to establish realistic target dates from the start. For customers with a contract or stocking program, we can be even more responsive, since we can plan board in advance and eliminate much of the material lead time. With our free warehousing, stocked cartons can often ship within 1–2 days when you need them.
We can be flexible with trials. We carry extra board and try to pull from what we have stocked whenever we can. Trial dies can be turned around quickly, allowing us to slot trial jobs in faster than normal production lead times — though unique board sizing, substrate, or complex dies may challenge lead times. Give us your target and we’ll be upfront about what we can do for you.
Yes. Board stocking programs are a great option for customers with consistent, repeat-volume needs. We can work with you to forecast usage and stock the board needed for your program, helping eliminate much of the normal board lead time and giving us more flexibility to respond when you need cartons. Combined with our free warehousing, a stocking program can make a significant difference in responsiveness — instead of waiting for board to arrive before production can begin, we can have the material ready and your finished cartons available to ship when you need them.
EPR, or Extended Producer Responsibility, is a growing set of state regulations that can require companies to report on and help fund the management of the packaging they put into the market. Requirements vary by state, but they can include reporting packaging materials, weights, and formats, as well as registering and paying associated fees.
No, but we can help make the reporting side easier by providing accurate material and weight information for your cartons based on the actual paperboard specifications used in production. You remain responsible for your EPR registration, reporting, and fees, but we can provide the packaging data you need to get it done.
Not so fast. Each substrate performs differently on filling lines, so if you have big throughput targets, you may want to think twice — also consider your artwork complexity and how it will print on a different substrate. The goal isn’t simply to replace virgin fiber with recycled fiber. The goal is to create a packaging system that uses fiber responsibly, performs efficiently, and remains recyclable at end of life — a circular economy.
Absolutely — we’re great at this. Design optimization is in our blood. We want your product to fit perfectly on each print sheet, minimizing as much waste as possible. We can get creative with the design of your carton to maximize impressions while maintaining functionality and style.