Pricing
How Quantity Affects Packaging Pricing
Everyone knows packaging gets cheaper per unit at volume. Fewer people know which parts of the price actually move, which is what determines whether ordering more is a saving or a warehouse full of regret.
Two kinds of cost
Fixed costs happen once regardless of quantity: making the cutting die, making the plates, setting up the press, mixing the inks, running the first sheets to get the color right. Whether you order five hundred boxes or fifty thousand, that work happens the same way.
Variable costs scale with the number of boxes: the board itself, the ink consumed, the running time on press, the finishing, the packing and the shipping.
The unit price falls at volume because the fixed costs are divided across more units. It does not fall indefinitely, because at some point the variable costs dominate and the curve flattens.
What moves and what does not
| Component | Behavior | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting die | Fixed, one-off | Stored for reorders — you pay once |
| Printing plates | Fixed per color | Four colors means four plates |
| Press setup | Fixed per run | The single largest fixed cost on small jobs |
| Foil or emboss die | Fixed, one-off | Also stored for reorders |
| Board | Variable | Scales almost linearly |
| Ink and running time | Variable | Scales with quantity |
| Finishing | Mostly variable | Hand finishing scales directly with volume |
Where the curve flattens
The steepest part of the saving is at the low end. Going from five hundred boxes to two thousand often cuts the unit price substantially, because the fixed costs are being spread across four times as many units.
Going from twenty thousand to forty thousand moves it far less, because by then the fixed costs are already a small share of the total and you are mostly buying board and press time. That is the point at which ordering more stops being a saving and starts being a storage decision.
Deciding how much to order
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Ask for the break points, not a single number
A quote at three quantities shows you the shape of the curve. Where it flattens is where extra volume stops paying.
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Cost the storage honestly
Space, handling and the risk of damage. On bulky items this can outweigh the unit saving quickly.
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Cost the risk of change
If your design, ingredients or regulatory copy might change within the year, a large run becomes a large write-off.
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Remember the die is stored
A reorder does not repeat the tooling cost, which makes ordering twice less expensive than it first appears.
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Split the difference if unsure
A moderate first run plus an agreed top-up quantity often beats guessing at the optimum.
The honest starting price
We state pricing from $0.30 per piece, and it is worth being clear about what that means: it is the low end for a large, simply specified run. A small quantity of a foiled, laminated, windowed box in a dyed-through board is a different number entirely.
What moves it is size, material, quantity, printing, finishing, inserts and shipping. Any supplier quoting a single figure without knowing those has not looked at your job. The mechanics of the printing side are set out in our printing guide.
Questions to put to any supplier before choosing a quantity
The answers tell you more about the price than the price does.
- What are the fixed costs on this job, itemized?
- What would the unit price be at half and at double this quantity?
- Is the tooling stored, and is it charged again on a reorder?
- What is the over- and under-run tolerance on the run?
- Which single change to the specification would save the most?
- Does the delivery date include transit, or only production?
Questions this raises
Why is the unit price so much higher on a small run?
Because the fixed costs — die, plates, setup — are divided across fewer units. The work involved in getting a press ready is the same whether you order five hundred boxes or fifty thousand.
Do I pay for the die again on a reorder?
No. We store it, and as long as the artwork is unchanged a reorder carries no new tooling charge.
Is it always cheaper to order more?
Per unit, yes; in total, not necessarily. Storage, handling and the risk of a design change all cost real money, and past a certain point the unit saving stops covering them.
What is the fastest way to reduce a quote?
Reduce the number of print colors. At typical quantities that saves more than almost anything else, and it often improves the design rather than compromising it.
Can I get a quote at several quantities?
Yes, and you should ask for it. Seeing three figures tells you where the curve flattens, which is the information you actually need.