Packaging Sample and Production Lead Time
A sample takes 7 days. Production takes 15 to 30 working days after approval. Everything else here is what moves those numbers.
For buyers planning backwards from a launch date across two clocks – 7 days to sample, then 15 to 30 working days to produce. Both are typical figures we publish rather than contractual dates, and the shipping leg waits on a destination.
Working Backwards From a Launch Date
The two clocks do not overlap. Production starts once specification, artwork and sample requirements are confirmed and the proof is signed; placing the order alone does not start it.
That turnaround is 7 days from the point structure and specification are confirmed.
Budget for your own review time: a sample sitting unopened for a week is a week added to the schedule.
| Artwork final. | Before sampling starts.A revision after the sample is made restarts the sample clock; production has not begun. |
|---|---|
| Sample: 7 days. | Then your review. |
| Proof signed. | The moment production can begin. |
| Production: 15 to 30 working days. | Working days, not calendar days. Count public holidays on both sides. |
| Shipping. | On top of production, and it depends on destination and mode. We do not fold it into the production window. |
What to Send to Start the Sample Clock
Final structure, or agreement to sample the structure we propose.
Artwork state – a print-ready file starts the clock; a rough layout means a round of questions first.
Finishing choices. Lamination, spot UV, foil, embossing, windowing and die-cutting each affect how the sample is made.
Destination, so shipping time sits in the plan from the start.
What Breaks a Schedule
Artwork revised after the proof is signed.
The signed proof is the reference for bulk. Changing it means a new proof, and the production clock restarts.
A finishing choice added late.
Foil or a special die added after sampling needs new tooling, from about USD 50.
Planning with production time only.
Sampling, review, production and shipping are four blocks. Using one of them as the whole schedule is how a launch date gets set against a quarter of the work.
Which Costs Are Charged Once
Zhypacking charges tooling (die, foil plate, emboss die, printing plate) once per design, starting at about USD 50 each; a printed and finished box can carry several of them.
While the die and plates for that artwork are still held, a reorder does not pay for them again. How long they are held is a question for the quote.
The sample fee is USD 4 to 20 per sample, depending on structure and finish. A revised sample is a second sample.
Unit price depends on quantity and finishing and is quoted per order.
Where to Go Next
Print proof approval covers the signature that starts the production clock, and what that signature does and does not fix. It is worth reading before the proof arrives, because a change requested after signing restarts both clocks.
The quote checklist covers the inputs that have to be complete before sampling can begin. An incomplete brief delays the day the seven days start counting. MOQ by product covers the quantity that goes with the schedule and what moves the price per piece.
Custom packaging services covers the same journey from the production side: brief, structure, checked artwork, approval sample, quote. If the structure itself is still open, our product range is where the families sit and each one carries its own sampling considerations.
Give Us a Launch Date
Send a launch date and we will work the dates backwards: when artwork has to be final, when the proof has to be signed, and when the sample and production clocks have to start for the goods to be ready in time.
Shipping time sits on top of that and depends on where the goods are going, so send the destination with the date. A schedule built without it is the one that arrives complete and after the date it was built for.