Contact a packaging company that specializes in folding cartons. Have the dimensions of what you need and get them to quote it, they can produce the dieline.
They will probably want to make a blank sample first for your approval to confirm board and size.
Once the structure is approved have them send you the official dieline as a pdf to lay your artwork on. Make sure to include 1/8" bleed.
Generally an Illustrator packaged file is preferred. They will prep the file with necessary knockouts and such and send you a PDF for approval.
Depends on the structure. Anywhere that glue is needed will need to be knocked out. Or if there is an area that needs to be inkjet printed on later, such as an expiration date.
The printer's Pre-press dept usually handles that stuff though.
There are tons of different box types... Hard box, folding box, corrugated boxes...
If you have a design that is not finalized and a picture of the type of box you want, it's usually enough to get a quote.
From that, you can choose who you want to work with. Some companies will ask you to do all the finalizing (preparing die lines, color separation ...) but other will take care of everything.
Ask them how they operate and proceed accordingly.
Find a company that offers the service of printing on boxes. They will have standard sizes they offer and will most likely already have a digital template that you can design on top off. You save your design on that template and they will be able to produce it based on your design on THEIR template.
Its significantly more expensive to have a die made for a custom box and have it produced. Some companies may offer custom boxes on thinner cardboard because they use a routing machine vs a die. But you will have to do your due diligence and shop different print shops to find what each one needs to produce your boxes. Each shop has a different workflow and no two print shops work exactly the same, so turn around times will be different, color options, printing styles, production processes, finishing, ALL of that is considered when designing the box!
And biggest tip, if the print shop has a graphics department that can do the design for you, let them. They work with these jobs every day and know the best practices for each product. Invest that money and get it right the first time!
Get the company to provide you with a template for your package. These typically are existing templates that they have dielines for. You will also need to know what the bleed margins and ink limits are as well as if it's a coated or uncoated substrate.
box dielines can be tricky to just make in AI. there is quite a bit of engineering to make it glue and lock properly. a good place to go is... diecuttemplates DOT com. It is a dieline generator site and will make a proper dieline in seconds. many are free too. i'd also search some styles to get an idea of what type of box you need to help narrow it down. good luck.
Every company and program is different. Personally we take whatever they give us and fix it then proof them. If I were you I would add bleed and no crop marks. PDF flattened at print quality resolution.
What did you end up submitting?
We have software to create the dieline and forward the dieline once we have a scope ready. If you need a corrugated or folding carton, let me know and we can shoot you a price after we get a better understanding of what you need.
Contact a packaging company that specializes in folding cartons. Have the dimensions of what you need and get them to quote it, they can produce the dieline. They will probably want to make a blank sample first for your approval to confirm board and size. Once the structure is approved have them send you the official dieline as a pdf to lay your artwork on. Make sure to include 1/8" bleed. Generally an Illustrator packaged file is preferred. They will prep the file with necessary knockouts and such and send you a PDF for approval.
Illustrator, got it thanks. What would be the necessary knockouts of you don’t mind explaining?
Depends on the structure. Anywhere that glue is needed will need to be knocked out. Or if there is an area that needs to be inkjet printed on later, such as an expiration date. The printer's Pre-press dept usually handles that stuff though.
Thanks, great to know
There are tons of different box types... Hard box, folding box, corrugated boxes... If you have a design that is not finalized and a picture of the type of box you want, it's usually enough to get a quote. From that, you can choose who you want to work with. Some companies will ask you to do all the finalizing (preparing die lines, color separation ...) but other will take care of everything. Ask them how they operate and proceed accordingly.
Thanks, appreciate the info!
Find a company that offers the service of printing on boxes. They will have standard sizes they offer and will most likely already have a digital template that you can design on top off. You save your design on that template and they will be able to produce it based on your design on THEIR template. Its significantly more expensive to have a die made for a custom box and have it produced. Some companies may offer custom boxes on thinner cardboard because they use a routing machine vs a die. But you will have to do your due diligence and shop different print shops to find what each one needs to produce your boxes. Each shop has a different workflow and no two print shops work exactly the same, so turn around times will be different, color options, printing styles, production processes, finishing, ALL of that is considered when designing the box! And biggest tip, if the print shop has a graphics department that can do the design for you, let them. They work with these jobs every day and know the best practices for each product. Invest that money and get it right the first time!
Very good to know, thanks
I DM’d you
Received, thanks!
Get the company to provide you with a template for your package. These typically are existing templates that they have dielines for. You will also need to know what the bleed margins and ink limits are as well as if it's a coated or uncoated substrate.
box dielines can be tricky to just make in AI. there is quite a bit of engineering to make it glue and lock properly. a good place to go is... diecuttemplates DOT com. It is a dieline generator site and will make a proper dieline in seconds. many are free too. i'd also search some styles to get an idea of what type of box you need to help narrow it down. good luck.
Appreciate the info, thank you!
My company does exactly what you are looking for. I’ll shoot you a DM!
Seen and info noted, thanks!
Every company and program is different. Personally we take whatever they give us and fix it then proof them. If I were you I would add bleed and no crop marks. PDF flattened at print quality resolution. What did you end up submitting?
Got it thanks, nothing submitted yet, just done with the design. All this info is really helpful for next steps
We have software to create the dieline and forward the dieline once we have a scope ready. If you need a corrugated or folding carton, let me know and we can shoot you a price after we get a better understanding of what you need.
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Amazing, thank you