Knowledge

MOQ explained: why custom packaging has a minimum order

The minimum order quantity on packaging is not a sales tactic — it comes from the printing and converting process. Understanding where it comes from is the fastest way to negotiate it, or to avoid paying for a run that will never be used.

Where the number comes from

• Plate or cylinder costs. Offset cartons use printing plates; rotogravure pouches use engraved cylinders, which are the expensive part. The cost is spread over the run, so a short run carries a heavy per-unit burden.
• Set-up time. Printing, laminating, slitting, bag-making and die-cutting each have make-ready time that is the same whether the run is 5,000 or 500,000.
• Material minimums. Board and film are often supplied in minimum reels, sheets or widths; a job smaller than the material minimum wastes stock.
• Process choice. Digital printing has almost no plate cost, which is why digital cartons and labels can start far lower than rotogravure or offset.

Typical pattern by format

• Digital-printed cartons, sleeves and labels — the lowest starting points, used for launches and versioning
• Offset-printed folding cartons — moderate minimums, with plates amortised over the run
• Corrugated boxes (flexo or digital print) — lower minimums than fine print; the cutting die is the fixed cost
• Flexible pouches and printed roll film — the highest minimums, driven by cylinder engraving and film minimums
• Moulded pulp — driven by the mould tool rather than by print

How to launch with less

• Use a plain or stock-pack format for the first production run and add printed versions once the product is proven.
• Use a standard pouch or box size with a printed label or sleeve instead of a printed structure.
• Split the risk: print one item of the range properly rather than five items thinly.
• Ask what the material minimum is, not only the print minimum — sometimes the material is the binding constraint.
• If you expect to grow, order the first run at the quantity that satisfies the process and plan the second order for the versioned artwork.

What to send us

The item, the size, the quantity you actually want, the artwork status and the destination country. We will tell you the MOQ for the process that fits the quantity you need — and if a different process or a stock format would get you to market sooner at a lower first cost, we will quote that too. What we will not do is quote a quantity below the process minimum and then deliver a short run.

Frequently asked questions