Buyers often read a minimum order quantity as a rule. It is closer to a price curve. Below a certain run the set-up cost is spread over so few boxes that the unit price stops making sense, and that point is what a factory quotes as its minimum.
What you pay for before the first box
- Printing plates: one per colour, the same cost for 500 boxes or 50,000.
- The cutting die: a board with steel rules bent to your dieline.
- Make-ready: the sheets used to bring colour and registration up to standard, usually 150 to 300.
- Paper: mills and merchants sell by the ream or the reel, so a small job still buys a full pack.
Why the minimum differs by box type
Folding cartons and mailers run on fast automatic lines, so set-up is a large share of a small job and the minimum sits around 1,000 pieces. Rigid boxes and paper bags involve more handwork per piece, which makes set-up a smaller share, so 500 is workable.
Four ways to order less
- Print digitally. There are no plates, so 100 to 300 pieces is possible at a higher unit price.
- Share a sheet. Cartons with the same board and finish can be ganged, so three products at 400 each run as one job.
- Keep to a standard die. If your size is close to one we already have, the die cost disappears.
- Order once, ship twice. Print the full run, and have half held for a later shipment.
When you ask for a quote, give two or three quantities. The price break between them tells you more than the minimum does.