What does MOQ actually depend on?

The format and the print method rather than a policy decision. Cup forming and pouch film both carry a fixed setup that does not scale down, which is why they have a higher practical floor than a flat-printed carton. Our minimum is 100 units on any format.

What is the difference between caliper and flute?

Caliper is the thickness of a single sheet of paperboard, quoted in thousandths of an inch. Flute is the corrugated wave sandwiched between two liners, quoted as a letter grade. Caliper describes solid board; flute describes corrugated construction.

What is makeready and why am I charged for it?

It is the press setup before a run — mounting plates, bringing colour to target, running waste sheets until the job is correct. It takes the same time whether the run is 500 or 50,000, which is why it dominates the unit price on short runs and disappears at volume.

What does dimensional weight mean for my costs?

Carriers bill on whichever is greater, actual weight or volumetric weight calculated from the box dimensions. A large light parcel is charged as though it were heavy, which is why right-sizing a box saves money even when nothing about the contents changes.

Who owns the tooling once it is made?

Ask, and get it in writing. Tooling is a one-time cost reused on every reorder, and the practical question is whether a reorder incurs it again and whether the die can move if you change supplier. It is one of the more common gaps in a first quote.

What is the difference between ECT and burst strength?

ECT measures compression strength on the board's edge, which is what determines stacking performance on a pallet. Burst strength measures resistance to puncture. ECT is the more relevant figure for shipping, and it has largely superseded burst for that purpose.

What does grammage mean and when is it used?

Paper weight in grams per square metre. It is used for bags, wraps and papers, where caliper is not a useful measure. Board is quoted in points or millimetres of thickness instead, so seeing gsm tells you roughly what family of material you are looking at.

What is migration in a packaging context?

The transfer of a substance from the packaging into the product — ink, adhesive components or fragrance oil moving through the material. It matters most for food contact and for fragranced products, and it is why a coated inner face gets specified.

What is a price break?

A quantity threshold where the unit price steps down, because fixed setup cost spreads across more units. The practical caution is that ordering up to a break is only a saving if you will use the stock — obsolete inventory was never cheaper.

What is the difference between a spot colour and a process build?

A spot colour is a named premixed ink laid down directly. A process build approximates that colour from the four process inks. Spot is more consistent run to run and costs an extra plate; process is included in what you are already printing.

Custom Packaging Glossary | Terms Explained

Packaging quotes use vocabulary that is rarely explained. These are the terms that appear most often, defined the way they are actually used.

Structure and materials

Caliper — board thickness, quoted in points (thousandths of an inch) or millimetres.

Flute — the corrugated wave between liners. Letter grades (F, E, B, C, BC) denote thickness and strength.

SBS — solid bleached sulphate. White coated virgin paperboard with the best print surface.

CCNB — clay-coated news back. Recycled paperboard with a coated printing surface and grey reverse.

Greyboard — thick rigid board used for non-collapsing boxes, wrapped in printed paper.

Kraft — unbleached paper or board. Brown, absorbs moisture, shifts printed colour warmer.

Moulded pulp — recycled paper slurry pressed into a shape, used for protective components.

Mono-material — packaging built from a single polymer family so it can be recycled as one stream.

Design and prepress

Dieline — the flat vector template showing cut, fold and glue positions.

Bleed — artwork extended past the trim edge so cutting variance never exposes bare board.

Safety margin — the distance critical content is held inside trim and fold lines.

Score — a pressed crease that lets board fold cleanly without cracking.

Trapping — slight overlap between adjacent colours to hide registration variance.

Rich black — a black built from multiple inks rather than 100% K alone, used on large solids.

Registration — the alignment of separate colour plates or finishing passes.

Printing

Offset lithography — plate-based printing via a rubber blanket. Best colour accuracy on flat board.

Flexography — plate-based printing used on corrugated, film and bags.

Rotogravure — engraved cylinder printing for very high volume flexible film.

Litho-lamination — an offset-printed sheet bonded to corrugated for photographic quality.

Makeready — press setup before a run begins. A fixed cost regardless of quantity.

Spot colour — a named premixed ink rather than a four-colour build.

Finishing

Lamination — a plastic film bonded to the printed surface for durability.

Aqueous coating — water-based inline coating that protects without breaking recyclability.

Spot UV — high-gloss varnish on selected areas, effective only against a matte background.

Foil stamping — metallic foil applied by heated die.

Emboss / deboss — raised or recessed relief pressed into the board.

Commercial and logistics

MOQ — minimum order quantity, set by format and print method rather than policy.

Tooling — the cutting die or stamping die made for your specification. A one-time cost reused on reorders.

Price break — a quantity threshold where unit price steps down.

Dimensional weight — the volumetric weight carriers charge on when it exceeds actual weight.

Retail-ready packaging — a case that opens into a shelf display without unpacking.

Knocked down flat — supplied unassembled to reduce freight volume.

Terms that appear on your own quote and are not listed here are worth asking about. A specification you cannot read is a specification you cannot compare, and our breakdown of what drives packaging pricing explains how these terms translate into cost.

Quality and testing terms

ECT — edge crush test. Measures the compression strength of corrugated board on its edge, which is what actually determines stacking performance on a pallet.

Burst strength — resistance to a puncturing force. Historically the standard measure for corrugated, now largely superseded by ECT for stacking applications.

Compression test — a loaded box compressed until it fails, used to predict how high a pallet can safely stack.

Grammage — paper weight in grams per square metre. Used for bags, wraps and papers where caliper is not the useful measure.

Wet strength — a board’s ability to retain integrity when damp, which is a specified property rather than an inherent one.

Food and compliance terms

Food-contact compliant — materials and inks approved for direct contact with food. Not the same as food-safe packaging generally, which may only contact a liner.

Grease resistance — a coating property, not a thickness property. Untreated board of any caliper will eventually stain with hot oily contents.

Migration — the transfer of a substance from packaging into the product. Relevant for inks, adhesives and fragrance oils.

Tamper-evident — a structure that visibly shows interference. Used loosely; the specific mechanism should always be stated.

Terms that get confused

Recyclable vs recycled. Recycled describes what the material is made from. Recyclable describes where it can go afterwards. A pack can be one without the other.

Kiss-cut vs die-cut. Kiss-cut goes through the face material only, leaving items on a backing sheet. Die-cut goes through everything so each piece separates.

Emboss vs deboss. Embossing raises the board toward the viewer; debossing presses it away. Both need a die and both need artwork designed for relief.

Rigid box vs folding carton. A rigid box is hand-assembled from wrapped greyboard and ships assembled. A folding carton is die-cut, glued along one seam and ships flat. The freight difference is substantial.

Gusset. On a bag, the depth when opened out — the third dimension after width and height. On a pouch, the fold at the base that lets it stand.

Reading a quote

A complete quote names the board grade and caliper, the structure, the print method and colour count, every finishing pass, the tooling position, the quantity band, the lead time and the freight basis.

If any of those is missing, the number is not comparable with another quote, and the gap is usually where the difference between two prices actually sits.

Custom Packaging Glossary