Before you commit
Samples and Prototypes
A dieline drawing tells you the dimensions. A physical box in your hand, with your product inside it, tells you whether the fit presents the item properly and whether the tuck holds. Those are different questions and only one of them can be answered on screen.
Three kinds of sample
- Plain blank — the exact board and size, unprinted. Answers fit and closure.
- Printed sample — your artwork on the specified stock. Answers appearance.
- Swatches — board, foil and laminate samples to compare in your own light.
Worth it when
- The fit is tight, or the product varies between batches
- The format is square, very small, very large or unusually heavy
- A color has to match something you already have
- The delivery goes somewhere a reprint would take weeks to reach
- It is your first order and you have not seen our work
Request a sample
Tell us the product and what you want the sample to prove, and we will quote the sample alongside the job.
What a sample actually tells you
Whether the product goes in and comes out easily. Whether the closure holds with the contents inside rather than empty. Whether the board is stiff enough to keep the face flat. Whether a window shows what you thought it would once the product settles. And whether the pack folds quickly enough for whoever will be assembling a thousand of them.
None of those are visible on a dieline, and all of them are expensive to discover on a full run. On anything unusual we will suggest a sample before you ask.
About samples
What kinds of sample can I get?
A plain blank in the board and size we have specified, a printed sample of your actual artwork, or a small set of board and foil swatches. Which is appropriate depends on what you are trying to check.
Are samples free?
Board and foil swatches usually are. A cut blank and a printed sample carry a cost because they are made individually, and both are stated on your quote rather than added afterward.
How long does a sample take?
Less time than a run, but not no time — it still has to be die-cut, and a printed sample has to be printed. We quote it with a date alongside the main job.
Is a printed sample the same as the production run?
Close but not identical. Digital proofing reproduces color slightly differently from a production press, which is why we send a printed draw-down for any color that has to be exact.
When is a sample genuinely worth it?
Whenever the fit is tight, the size is unusual, the format is square, the contents are heavy, or the delivery is going somewhere a reprint would take weeks to reach. In those cases it is the cheapest insurance available.
Can I test with my own product?
That is the point. Put your item in the sample, close it by hand, and see whether the tuck holds and whether the fit presents the product properly. Thirty seconds of that beats any drawing.
Next step
Ask for a sample with your quote
Send the product, the quantity and the date you need it on a shelf. We come back with a written quote, a specification and an honest view of anything in the brief that will not work.