A sample request usually arrives with a date attached, and the date is usually driven by a launch meeting rather than by the process. That is fine — but if you know which step is consuming the days, you can often remove most of them.
The steps, in order
- Dieline and structure review — day 1. Your artwork or ours, checked against the finished size and the material. Structural problems are cheapest to fix here.
- White sample or mock-up — days 1–2. An unprinted box in the specified board, cut by hand or on the die. This is where you confirm the size is actually right for the product.
- Print proof — days 2–3. A contract proof or a digitally printed sheet for colour approval. Pantone matching happens here.
- Die cutting and finishing — days 3–8. The die is cut or borrowed, the sheet is printed, then laminated, foiled, embossed or window-patched as specified.
- Assembly — days 5–10. Hand wrapping for rigid boxes, folding and gluing for cartons, sealing for blisters. This is manual time and it does not compress.
- Courier — days 2–5. Shenzhen to the EU is typically three to five working days by express; Japan and Southeast Asia are faster.
Why the number differs by format
| Format | Working days | What dominates |
|---|---|---|
| Folding carton | 5–7 | Die availability and print proof |
| Corrugated mailer | 5–8 | Flute availability in the specified grade |
| Rigid gift box | 7–10 | Hand wrapping and jig setup |
| Blister packaging | 10–12 | Aluminium cavity tool, then first-off |
Blister packaging is the slowest because it starts with a metal tool. There is no shortcut: the cavity has to exist before a single shell can be formed. If your schedule is tight, ask whether an existing cavity is close enough for a functional trial while the new tool is cut.
Five things that push the date back
- Artwork without bleed or dielines. Pre-press has to stop and ask, and every round trip costs a day.
- Pantone approval by email chain. Colour signed off on a monitor is not colour. Expect a re-proof.
- Size changes after the white sample. A 3 mm change can invalidate a die that was already ordered.
- Speciality material not in stock. A textured wrap or a food-contact coated board may need to be ordered from the mill — add a week.
- Approval split across two offices. One person with authority is always faster than a thread with five.
What a sample is, and is not
A sample confirms structure, fit, print and finish. It is not a production guarantee at scale: a hand-made sample can sit tighter than a machine-folded run, and a digital proof can show detail that offset at speed will soften. We tell you which characteristics are representative and which are not before you sign off, so the approval means what you think it means.
If the launch date is fixed, tell us at the first enquiry. A schedule problem is solvable on day one and expensive in week three.
Need a sample in hand?
Send the finished size, board preference and print spec. Tell us the date the sample has to be in your hands and we will say honestly whether it is achievable.
Request sampling