Packaging Order Process: Payment, QC and Shipping

Every order follows the same route: enquiry and quotation, design and proofing, sampling, order confirmation, production, quality control, balance payment, shipment and after-sales. The eight steps in the workflow below are the published route; what follows explains what happens inside each one, what you approve, and who does what.

Quotation and Order Confirmation

Send the product type, size, material, print and finishing, quantity and target delivery date. We reply with a quotation within 24 hours, and the quotation states the unit basis, the proofing position, the lead time and the payment terms. Quotation is free. If the specification is still open we send a short question list rather than a guess, because a price built on an assumed material is the most common reason a first quote has to be revised. Once you accept, the order is confirmed against the agreed specification and artwork. Where a dieline is needed we issue it before artwork is finalised, so the print layout and the finished box match.

Design and Proofing

Design is free. For most projects we produce one to three design options within two to three working days, and two to three rounds of revision are included at no charge. You receive a proof that shows the artwork on the actual dieline, with colours, finishes and bleed positions marked. Approval is on the proof, not on a verbal description, because foil, spot UV and embossing all change how a colour reads on the finished sheet.

Sampling Before Production

A physical sample takes one to three business days. The sample is made on the specified stock with the specified finishes, so what you approve is what the production run will look like. Sampling is where most specification problems surface: a colour that shifts on kraft stock, a foil that reads too dark next to a matte laminate, a thermoformed tray that sits a fraction too tight for the vial it holds. Finding those on a sample costs a few days; finding them after production costs a full run.

Payment Terms

Payment is by T/T, PayPal or Trade Assurance. On T/T the deposit is 30% to 50% of the order value and the balance is settled after you have seen the quality-control result and before shipment. The exact split is stated in the quotation and does not change after the order is confirmed. We do not ask for the full amount up front and we do not ship before the balance is settled, because either arrangement removes the protection that the deposit and the QC step are designed to give you.

Four Quality Control Gates

Quality is checked at four points, not one. The first gate is incoming material: paper, board, film and foil are checked against the specification before they enter production. The second is the first article: the first good piece off the run is measured against the approved proof and sample, and the run does not continue until it matches. The third is in-process random sampling taken through the run rather than only at the end. The fourth is final inspection against an AQL plan, after which defective pieces are isolated and counted out of the shipment instead of being sorted later. The QC result, together with the balance-payment step, reaches you before the shipment leaves.

Packing and Shipping

Finished goods are packed to survive the route, not just the warehouse. Carton strength and inner packing are specified for the mode of transport, and a palletised sea consignment is packed differently from air and express shipments. We ship by sea, air or express courier, and we quote the option that fits your date and budget rather than defaulting to one. We serve buyers in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, South America and Africa. Export documents are prepared for the terms agreed in your quotation; if your broker needs a particular format, tell us before the order is confirmed so it can be built into the schedule.

Lead Times

Sampling takes one to three business days. Bulk production takes seven to fifteen business days from artwork and deposit confirmation. Inside that window the things that move a date are the number of finishes on a single piece, the quantity against the press run, and whether the artwork is final. Lead time is quoted with the price, so the date and the cost are decided together rather than one after the other.

What We Do and What We Do Not Do

We print and convert custom paper packaging: boxes, paper bags, cards and hang tags, self-adhesive labels, thermoformed plastic trays, and the outer packaging for vials, cartridges and pens. We are not a pharmaceutical manufacturer. We do not produce, fill, sterilise or test any product, and we do not hold product licences. If your project needs a specific certificate or a regulated declaration, raise it in your first message, so we can tell you honestly whether we can meet it before you invest time in a specification we cannot support.

After-Sales

If something is wrong with a shipment, start by sending photographs together with the carton or batch reference. Claims are checked against the approved proof, the sample and the QC record, which is why those three items are kept for every order. Where the fault is ours we remake or credit the affected pieces. Where the cause is artwork that was approved as supplied, we say so plainly and quote the correction. Either way you get an answer with evidence rather than a debate.

Questions Buyers Ask Before Confirming

How fast is a quotation?
Within 24 hours of receiving your specification, and free.
Can I start with a small order?
Boxes, cards and plastic trays start at 100 pcs, paper bags at 100 pcs, labels at 1,000 pcs, and flexible packaging at 500 pcs.
When is the balance due?
After you have seen the quality-control result and before the shipment leaves.
Who owns the artwork?
You do. We keep the approved proof and dieline for reorders.