Packaging is a three-dimensional construction rather than a flat design. The dieline determines which faces are seen and which fold away inside; when artwork is not laid onto that template, a logo can land on a crease or a product name disappear under a glue flap.
Board is chosen by the weight of the product. Folding boxboard suffices for light cosmetics, while heavier or fragile goods need a corrugated structure. Printing on corrugated loses fine detail and small type, so the design has to be simplified accordingly.
Shelf visibility depends less on the front face than on the top and sides. Where products stand side by side, often only the narrow face is visible; making the brand name legible there does more work than the design on the wide face.
Technical options
- Structures
- Tuck-end, glued carton, corrugated shipper, sleeve box
- Board
- Folding boxboard, kraft, corrugated (E and B flute)
- Finishes
- Lamination, varnish, foil, window patching
- Tooling
- Custom cutting die from the dieline
Related services
Frequently asked
What is needed to design packaging?
The product's dimensions and weight, along with the intended shelf arrangement where one exists. Designs prepared without these two usually go back for revision at production.
Is a new cutting die made for every order?
The same die is reused as long as the dimensions do not change. The tooling cost therefore appears on the first order and drops out of repeat runs.
Can detailed artwork print on corrugated board?
Fine lines and small type do not reproduce cleanly because of the surface texture. High-contrast, simplified, larger-scale designs work far better on corrugated.