Packaging RFQ Guide

A request for quote (RFQ) is where a packaging project starts. The more complete your RFQ, the faster and more accurate the quote — and the fewer back-and-forth emails before you can make a decision. This guide lists what to include so we can price your box precisely the first time.

You don't need every answer to request a quote. If you're unsure about material, tell us the product and the look you're after and we'll recommend one. If you don't have dimensions, send the product's measurements and we'll size the box. If you don't have artwork, our design team can build it. The essentials to get a useful first quote are the product, an approximate quantity, and the look or use case.

Once we have the relevant details, a packaging specialist reviews the structure, material, printing, finishing, quantity, and destination before preparing wholesale pricing. A production dieline must be sized to the product and approved artwork has to align with it before print. Physical sampling can also be discussed where it is useful to confirm fit and presentation. Pilot quantities start at 100 units (250 for rigid), so you can validate before scaling.

Here's what a strong RFQ looks like in one message: "Straight-tuck folding carton, internal 2.5 x 5.5 x 1.5 in, 18 pt SBS, 1,000 units with a likely 5,000-unit reorder, full-color front and back with a two-color interior, soft-touch matte with a spot-UV logo, artwork print-ready in vector PDF, needed in hand within four weeks." That single paragraph lets us quote precisely and prep a dieline without follow-up. If you can't fill every field, send what you have and mark the unknowns — we'll recommend the rest and confirm before you commit.

Most quoting delays trace back to a handful of missing details rather than the complexity of the box. Leaving out quantity means we can't price the run, since per-unit cost depends heavily on volume. Omitting whether dimensions are internal or external forces a clarifying round before anything can be drawn. Describing color as "full color" without noting how many sides print, or asking for "premium finishing" without naming the effect, leaves the estimate open-ended. A vague deadline is another stall, because a four-week timeline and a rush both change how we plan production. The remedy is to answer each of these once, upfront: state the quantity and likely reorder, mark internal versus external, list which faces print and in how many colors, name the specific finishes, and give a real in-hand date. When those are present, a quote and a starting dieline can come back without a single follow-up question.