The Branded Packaging Checklist: 10 Things to Sort Before You Order
Ordering branded packaging for the first time can feel like a lot. Sizes, file types, print areas, colours, proofs. Get them right and your boxes, bags and mailers turn up looking exactly how you pictured them. Get them wrong and you lose time on amends you could have avoided.
The good news is that branded packaging is far simpler than most people expect, especially when you know what to prepare. Run through the ten points below before you order and your first run should sail through to print.
1. Choose your packaging type and size
Start with the product, not the print. Think about what you actually post or hand over, how heavy it is and whether it needs to fit through a letterbox. A jewellery brand and a candle maker need very different boxes.
If you’re not sure, order a sample first. It is the cheapest way to check a size in your hand before committing to a full run. Even better, any printed sample you order will be refunded when you go on to place a full order.
2. Check the printable areas before you design
This is the single most common thing first-time customers miss. At Fast Printed Packaging, we print in pre-defined print areas rather than across the entire surface, and those areas are shown clearly on every product page. Designing to fit them from the start saves you redesigning your artwork later.
So before you lay anything out, open the product page and note exactly where you can print and how much space you have to play with.
3. Supply your artwork at the right resolution and format
Quality in, quality out. For the sharpest result, send high-resolution artwork at 300dpi, ideally a .png with a transparent background. We also accept .jpg, .pdf, .ai, .eps and .psd files.
A quick tip that catches a lot of people out: the logo on your website is usually too low-resolution to print well. Always work from your original high-quality file rather than something pulled from a web page.
4. Be realistic about colour
Brand colours matter, so it helps to know how printing onto packaging works. At Fast Printed Packaging, we cannot guarantee an exact Pantone match, and that is especially true on kraft or manila materials, where the natural brown background influences the final shade.
If your colours need to be precise, white stock gives you a truer result than kraft. If you love the natural, recycled look of brown kraft, just expect your colours to sit a little warmer and softer against it.
5. Know that white prints as the material, and metallics print flat
We do not print with white ink, so any white in your design will show through as the natural colour of the packaging. On a brown box, white parts of your logo become brown. This is easy to design around once you know, but a genuine surprise if you do not.
Metallic colours like gold and silver are printed as high-quality flat colour equivalents rather than shiny foil. Embossing and foiling are not available, because our inkjet system is built for speed and fast turnaround instead.
6. Avoid solid colour blocks and live text
Two small design habits make a big difference. First, go easy on large blocks of solid colour, which can show slight banding during inkjet printing. A logo or pattern usually reproduces more cleanly than a fully flooded panel.
Second, flatten or outline your text before sending it. This stops fonts shifting or dropping out if your file opens differently on our system.
7. Have final, press-ready artwork ready
We can make minor tweaks such as resizing, but we are a printer rather than a design studio, so we do not offer a full design service. You will need to supply final, press-ready artwork.
If you do not have a designer, it is worth getting your logo professionally set up once. You will reuse that same file across boxes, bags and tape for years, so it is a one-off job well worth doing properly.
8. Factor in the setup fee, and how to avoid it on reorders
Orders under £100 excluding VAT carry a one-time setup fee of £49.95. Worth knowing before you order so there are no surprises at checkout.
Here is the part that rewards loyalty: that fee is waived on reorders of the same product using the same artwork. So once you are set up and happy, restocking your branded packaging gets cheaper.
9. Make sure you own the rights to your design
A quick but important one. You need the rights to any logo, text or imagery you send us. By uploading artwork you are confirming you have permission to use everything in it.
If you commissioned your logo, double-check your designer actually handed over the usage rights. It is an easy thing to assume and an awkward one to discover later.
10. Order a sample, then approve your proof before the full run
We will never go to print without your sign-off. Before production begins you will receive a visual proof to check, and you can amend your design until you are 100% happy (proofs apply to full orders rather than sample orders).
Treat that proof as your moment to slow down and check everything. Spelling, colours, logo placement, the lot. Approve it only when it is exactly right, and your finished branded packaging should match what you signed off.
Ready to brand your packaging?
Use this guide and your first order should run smoothly from artwork to doorstep, as fast as next day, all printed right here in the UK.
If anything is still unclear, our team is genuinely happy to advise on file formats, print areas and setup before you commit. And if you would rather see and feel the quality first, order a sample pack and start there.
