Two quotes for the same box can differ by half. Inserts, dies, proofs, samples and hand assembly are the lines that decide which — here is what to ask.
In a packaging quotation, the box body and the printing are usually priced per unit, while the insert, the die, the sample and the hand assembly are priced separately or not shown at all. Nothing is free — a line described as free is either absorbed into the unit price or genuinely costs the supplier almost nothing, such as a stock box or a digital proof. The way to compare two packaging quotes is to ask for the same five lines on both: box body, print, insert, tooling and assembly.
The short answer
Nothing is free. But some lines genuinely cost the supplier almost nothing, and some are charged only once.
The confusion comes from quotes that list a total per box and nothing else. That single number can hide a die, a proof, a sample and a hand-assembly step — or it can hide the fact that none of them exist because the box is a stock item.
| Line | One-off or per unit | Typical treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Box body | Per unit | Always charged |
| Printing | Per unit | Charged; scales with colours and coverage |
| Insert | Per unit, plus a die | Die is one-off; insert is per unit |
| Structure or die-line design | One-off | Sometimes free, sometimes charged |
| Digital mockup | One-off | Usually free, and worth what you pay |
| Physical proof or colour drawdown | One-off | Usually charged |
| Physical sample | One-off, per round | Usually charged, sometimes credited |
| Hand assembly | Per unit | Charged when specified |
| Artwork setup | One-off | Sometimes free on simple jobs |
The free things, and why they are free
Digital mockups. Minutes of design time, and a sales tool. Genuinely free, genuinely limited. It shows layout, proportion and rough colour. It does not show how a dark colour sits on kraft board, how a metallic ink catches light, or how a lid closes over a filled insert.
Structure suggestions. A factory that has made thousands of boxes will tell you that your design needs a tuck flap instead of a magnetic closure, and will not charge for the advice. Take it.
A digital proof of the artwork. A PDF with the artwork imposed. Free, and it catches typos, which is most of what goes wrong in printing.
A stock box in a stock size. Not free, but no setup, no die and no minimum worth discussing, so the per-unit price is close to cost plus margin.
The charged things, and why they cost what they cost
The insert die. This is the line buyers most often miss. A foam or EVA insert cut to the outline of your drive needs a cutting die, which is a physical tool made to your drawing. It is a one-off charge, and it is genuinely one-off — the die should be retained and reused on the reorder.
The physical proof. Someone sets up a press and prints a short run for you to look at. The materials and machine time are real. If your brand colour matters, this is the step that catches a bad match before it is multiplied by a thousand boxes.
The physical sample. Material, cutting, assembly and a courier. A sample is a small piece of the whole job performed once. Expect to pay, and expect the fee to be partly credited against the order if you proceed.
Hand assembly. The quietest line and sometimes the largest. If the box contains a drive in an insert, a ball chain in a recess, a printed card and a sleeve, someone opens, fills and closes each unit by hand. At a hundred units this is a rounding error; at five thousand it is a distinct operation with its own labour rate and its own defect rate.
Split production. A box printed in four colour versions means four print setups, even in the same size. The minimum applies per version, not to the total.
How to design a quote you can compare
Give both suppliers identical inputs:
- The artwork, as vector, with colours specified.
- The dimensions, internal and external, with the drive’s actual external dimensions.
- The structure, named — rigid box with lid, tuck-top carton, sleeve, magnetic closure.
- The contents, listed — drive, chain, card, insert.
- The quantity, and whether it is one version or several.
- The destination, because freight and duty land somewhere.
Then require five lines on the answer:
| # | Line | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Box body, per unit | The base cost of the structure |
| 2 | Printing, per unit | Cost of colour and coverage |
| 3 | Insert, per unit | Cost of holding the product |
| 4 | One-off: dies, proofs, samples, setup | What you pay before the first good box |
| 5 | Assembly, per unit | The labour content |
Two quotes with the same total but different splits are not the same offer. One contains a die you will not pay twice; the other contains a higher unit price that never goes away.
The lines that return on a reorder
This is the question that separates a supplier who thinks in orders from one who thinks in transactions.
| Line | Reorder behaviour |
|---|---|
| Box body | Recurs |
| Printing | Recurs; re-quoted if artwork changes |
| Insert (die-cut) | Recurs; die should not |
| Insert die | Should not recur if unchanged and retained |
| Physical sample | Recurs if a new sample is wanted |
| Hand assembly | Recurs |
| Freight | Recurs, and is the most volatile |
Ask for the reorder price in the original quotation. A supplier who can quote it has thought about the second order. For how tooling carries between orders, see tooling cost shared across orders.
Five ways to reduce the packaging cost honestly
Use a stock size. The single largest saving available. A custom size buys millimetres and costs a die and a minimum.
Reduce the number of print versions. One artwork, one setup. Four versions is four times the setup.
Replace the die-cut insert with a folded paperboard platform. Slower to design, no die, and it recycles as one material — which is increasingly a selling point in itself.
Print one colour on kraft board instead of four-colour on white. Kraft board with a single dark ink reads as deliberate and costs far less than process colour over a white base.
Ship packaging flat and assemble locally. For small orders, sourcing the box in the destination country avoids shipping air across a border.
What a fair packaging quote looks like
It separates one-off from recurring. It names the insert construction. It states whether assembly is included. It states the reorder price. And it does not describe anything as free that has quietly been added to the unit price.
The last point is not a criticism of anyone — absorbing a die into the unit price is a legitimate commercial choice, and for a small order it can be the sensible one, because it saves the buyer an upfront payment. The problem is only when it is not disclosed, and the buyer compares it against a quote that shows the die separately and concludes the wrong one is cheaper.
The short version
Body and print are per unit. Insert is per unit plus a die. Proofs and samples are one-off and charged. Assembly is per unit and often the biggest surprise. Mockups are free and worth exactly what you paid for them.
Ask for five lines, ask for the reorder price, and ask what is included in assembly. Send us the box you have in mind and we will quote it in that structure, with the one-off costs separated from the recurring ones so you can see what the second order will actually cost.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Is a free digital mockup really free?
Effectively yes. A rendered mockup costs the supplier a few minutes of design time and is a sales tool, so it is genuinely absorbed. It is also not a specification: a render shows a clean, idealised product that no production method will match exactly. Accept it as a layout and proportion check, and do not treat it as evidence of finish or colour. A physical sample is a different matter and is usually charged.
Why does one supplier charge for an insert and another not?
Because they are not supplying the same insert. A die-cut EVA or foam insert requires a cutting die, which is a one-off tooling cost; a hand-cut insert from stock foam sheet uses no die but is slower and less consistent. A supplier who quotes no insert charge may be using stock foam, may be folding a paperboard platform instead, or may have folded the die cost into the unit price. Ask which of the three it is — the unit price tells you one number, the answer tells you what you are buying.
Should sample fees be deducted from the production order?
Ask, and get the rule in writing before you pay. Common arrangements are full deduction if the order is placed, no deduction at all, or deduction above a certain order value. All three are legitimate. The problem is when the rule changes between the quotation and the invoice. A sample fee of a modest amount is rarely worth a dispute; a misunderstood deduction rule on a large order occasionally is.
What is hand assembly and why is it charged separately?
Hand assembly is the labour of putting the drive into the insert, closing the box, adding a ball chain or a card, and packing to a specified arrangement. On a printed box with a fitted insert and a name card, this can be the slowest part of the whole job, because every box is opened, filled and closed by a person. It is priced per unit and it scales with labour cost, which is why the same box design quoted in two countries can differ substantially in this line.
Are proofs and colour matching included?
Usually a digital proof is included and a physical printed proof or a colour drawdown is charged, because someone has to set up the press to produce it. Ask specifically whether the approval step is digital or physical — the digital version cannot show you how a metallic ink or a dark colour over kraft board will actually read, and that is exactly what buyers want to check. The charge for a physical proof is small against reprinting a run.
How do I compare two packaging quotes fairly?
Give both suppliers the same artwork, the same dimensions and the same requested structure, then require five lines on each quote: box body per unit, printing per unit, insert per unit, one-off tooling, and assembly per unit. Add freight separately. Two totals cannot be compared when one includes a die and the other does not. The five-line structure makes the difference visible in one glance.
Which charges come back on a reorder?
Tooling and dies should not, if the factory retains them and the design has not changed. Proofs are usually charged again only if the artwork changes. Sample fees recur if you want a new physical sample. The recurring lines are body, print, insert and assembly. Ask for a reorder price in the first quotation — a supplier who cannot state it has not thought about the second order, which tells you something.