In many industries there are minimum order requirements. And it’s a very important thing when planning about placing your order.

There are minimum order requirements for certain packaging materials, and paper-carton packaging’s are no different. Based on the individual manufacturer, additional fees may be applied when minimum order quantities cannot be met. That is why it is important to understand minimum order requirements.

After reading this blog post, we believe that this knowledge will help you to make better purchasing decisions for your packaging needs.

The minimum order quantities are based off production scheduling, run time, and material availability. Nowadays the raw materials are (in our case paper and carton) are hard to source because of the pandemic and the ongoing war. But prepared companies also have enough stocks to fulfill their customer’s needs. So, paper and carton are not the main requirement for minimum order quantities. Because for minimum quantity orders the paper-carton is not the determinant component in the total price. Even the inks are not determinant. We can say that raw materials are not determinant.

The cost comes mainly from the Pre-Printing, Printing and Post-Printing stage. And these items affect the total cost of the packaging. These include the printing plates that used to print the packaging, the die cuts that used to cut and crease the packaging, if there is hot foil then the die for the hot foil application etc.

The set-up times for each of these machines also affects the costs. Let’s say there is an order for 100.000 units of boxes. And there is an order for 1000 units of boxes. The set-up times and the Pre-Printing, Printing and Post-Printing costs of these orders are the same. These machines are fast machines so if the order quantity is low then the unit price of the product will be high.

That is why you should always inquire if the quantity you need have any minimum order requirements. And it’s best for you to discuss with your packaging supplier about your situation and a possible order forecast for the most accurate and advantageous price options.

If you want to order paper-carton packaging’s but you are not sure if your order quantity is enough, you can speak to one of our packaging specialists about possible options.