What to send instead of a blank “make this box”

Preferred pack

Vector dieline (AI/PDF with cut, crease, bleed) plus print-ready artwork, or a physical sample we can measure. A phone photo with a ruler is a start, not a die. Wenzhou Taishan Printing Co., Ltd. cuts steel-rule dies in the Longgang plant after Kodak CTP and Heidelberg print — the drawing still has to exist.

If artwork is not ready, send structure first and the print map second. Estimating a carton without a path means we are quoting a family, not your knife. Confirm the dieline on the RFQ before anyone treats a mock-up as production.

• Cut / crease / bleed on separate layers or colours.
• State scale: 1:1 or write millimetres on the drawing.
• Spot foil and UV as separate plates, not RGB glow in a JPEG.
• File name that says structure versus print, not “final2_new”.

Special shapes

Fan, star, round, and heptagon boxes need a true dieline. We will not “make it look like the photo” without a path. See the heptagon tooling article on this site. Odd panels change steel and often change how the box collapses for freight.

A special shape is not a wrap colour. Portfolio photos of fans or stars are structure references, not SKUs you reorder by nickname. Send the path or a sample we can open on the bench at Cendong Road.

• Closed outline and the flat blank, if you have both.
• Window, handle, and hang-tab called out on the path.
• Whether the shape must match an existing retail knife you own.
• If you do not own the knife, say so — we will not assume a library of another brand’s shapes.

Who owns the die

Custom steel-rule dies made for your program stay with that program. Do not assume we keep a library of another brand’s shapes. A photo of a competitor’s carton is not permission to copy the knife.

Ask on the quote whether the die is listed apart from unit converting. Repeat orders should name the program or PO so the same knife is pulled. If the blank changes, it is a new die conversation, not a reprint.

Artwork versus structure files

Structure is cut and crease. Artwork is ink on the wrap or SBS. Mixing both in one flattened JPEG hides bleed and foil plates. Heidelberg 8-open, XL-75, and CDX102 lines print the sheet; they do not invent a missing knife from a logo.

If the designer only has a 3D mock-up, export a dimensioned flat or send millimetres on a sketch. We can draw a dieline from a measured sample. We cannot draw a production knife from a perspective render.

• PDF or AI for structure; print-ready PDF for ink.
• Spot colours and foil named, not left as RGB gold.
• Bleed stated, even if the wrap is a solid colour.

Windows, handles, hang-tabs, magnets

Call out window, handle, hang-tab, and magnet positions on the drawing. A window is a cut and a film, not a transparent layer in Photoshop. Ribbon handles and triangle handles are different converting paths on folding carriers.

Magnets on book-style boxes belong on the spine drawing with size, not as “magnetic luxury” in the email subject. If the position is still open, say open — guessing a magnet pocket after the knife is cut wastes steel.

How die-cutting sits after Heidelberg

Catalog path: design → materials → Kodak CTP → Heidelberg print → lamination or varnish → converting. Die-cutting is converting. The sheet must exist; the knife must match the blank that was printed. Changing the dieline after plates are made is a new conversation.

The plant is more than 20,000 m² with 50+ machines, die-cutting and folder-gluer in-house. That does not remove the need for a drawing. Send files to [email protected] or taishanprint.com (EN/ZH/ES). WhatsApp +86 138 6598 7984 for large packs.

What happens if you only have a photo

Say that you only have a photo. We will propose a close structure family and millimetres after you send product size or a sample. That proposal is not a clone of unknown tooling. Confirm on the RFQ after a white sample if fit matters.

Do not write “same as last year’s box” unless you can name the PO or send the sample. Nicknames and JPEGs are mood boards. Steel needs a path.

• Photo + ruler + “inner/outer unknown — please propose”.
• Product size if the box must hold a specific object.
• Whether a physical sample can be shipped to Longgang for measuring.