How to Read a Packaging Quotation

You collect three quotations, ranging from RMB 3.8 to RMB 7.2 per box. Most people's first reaction is "the expensive one is ripping me off" or "the cheap one must be cutting corners". The reality is usually more mundane: the three quotations are not for the same box.

1. Paper: grammage is only the entry-level information

"350gsm white card" on a quotation tells you almost nothing. What you need to confirm is:

• Brand and grade: imported vs domestic, A-grade vs unsorted — whiteness and bulk directly affect stiffness and printability.
• Single sheet or laminated board: 350gsm solid board and 250gsm double-mounted to 400gsm have completely different cost structures.
• Grey-back vs white-back board: grey-back saves around 20% on cartons, but the inner wall is grey — unusable for gift boxes.

2. Finishing: priced per pass

Foil, embossing, UV, lamination, corrugating, die-cutting and gluing are each a separate cost, and most require their own tooling.

• Foil dies, embossing dies and cutting dies are all one-off tooling charges — the larger the run, the lower the unit amortisation.
• Spot UV usually needs its own film or screen; the more complex the artwork, the higher the cost.
• Hand-applied trims and insert assembly are priced by labour hours, scaling linearly with quantity and never amortising with volume.

3. Run length: where the economic break-even sits

For offset printing the economic starting point is usually 1,000–3,000 pieces. Below 1,000, the share of makeready waste and set-up time rises quickly, and unit cost actually exceeds digital printing.

If a gift box will only run to 300 pieces, it is worth asking: can we use digital printing plus manual assembly? Colour fidelity is slightly below offset, but you save three sets of tooling.

4. Making quotations comparable

Ask all three suppliers to quote against the same Finishing Specification Sheet:

Item	What must be specified
Dimensions	L × W × H after assembly (mm), including lid clearance
Material	Paper type, grammage, whether laminated board, insert material
Printing	Number of colours, spot colours included, single or double sided
Surface	Lamination type, foil area, UV area, embossing depth
Structure	Whether a cutting die is needed, whether an insert is required
Finishing	Gluing method, manual assembly, packing and cartoning
Quantity	Split or single delivery, whether sampling fees are included

Fill in those seven rows and the numbers become comparable. Otherwise you are not comparing prices — you are comparing imaginations.

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Need a ready-to-send Finishing Specification Sheet template? Contact us and we will send one over.