How to read a packaging tech pack (without back-and-forth)

What is a packaging tech pack?

It is the extract of the buyer's packaging manual that applies to one order: carton dimensions and construction, board specification, artwork and shipping marks, accessory callouts, test requirements and tolerances, usually a few dense pages of tables and footnotes. Treat it as contractual, because the buyer's QC team will — every measurement and marking on the finished carton gets checked against this document, not against what was discussed on a call. Reading it carefully once saves a week of clarification emails later.

Which dimensions are you actually reading?

The first trap is the oldest one: internal versus external dimensions. Internal dimensions govern whether the packed garments fit; external dimensions govern pallet patterns and container loading. A well-written pack labels which is which, but plenty do not, and a few millimetres of board thickness multiplied across a container plan is a real discrepancy. The second trap is order: dimensions are conventionally listed length × width × depth, with length the longer side of the opening. When a number is unlabelled, ask — it is one email now versus a remake later.

How do you decode the board specification?

A typical line names a flute (B, C, BC and so on), a liner-and-medium recipe in grammage, and a strength value for the finished corrugated board. The units quietly tell you which test the buyer means: kPa or psi points to bursting strength, while kN/m or lb/in points to the Edge Crush Test. The two are not interchangeable, and quoting against the wrong one is the most common substantive error we see in incoming specs — our guide to bursting strength vs ECT walks through the difference and when each applies.

What are the artwork and marking pages telling you?

Beyond the brand artwork itself, these pages fix the main and side shipping marks, handling symbols, the carton contents grid, and the placement and size of the carton barcode — usually an ITF-14 or GS1-128 symbol governed by GS1 standards, which carry their own minimum sizes and quiet zones. If the programme requires the FSC trademark on the carton, its position and the licence code to be printed are specified here too. Check ink colours against the print process before you promise them: fine reversed-out type that looks sharp in a PDF behaves differently on kraft liner.

Where do tolerances and test methods hide?

In the footnotes and general-notes page that most readers skip. That is where you find the dimensional tolerance the QC inspector will measure against, moisture limits, named test methods and the sample-approval procedure. Whatever appears there should be mirrored in the factory's own checks — it is exactly what our quality assurance team builds its inspection plan from, so a carton that passes internally also passes the buyer's audit.

Which questions should you ask before you quote?

Six questions resolve almost every ambiguous tech pack:

• Are the stated dimensions internal or external?
• Which strength spec applies — ECT or bursting strength — and at what value?
• Who issues the carton barcode numbers and final artwork files?
• Is the FSC label required, and where must it sit?
• What dimensional tolerance will QC measure against?
• What is the sample-approval loop, and who signs it off?

With those answered, a factory that corrugates, prints and die-cuts under one roof can move straight to a firm price — that single-factory loop is the heart of our services. You can sanity-check board area and weight yourself with the free packaging tools, or simply forward the pack with your request for quotation for a 24-hour response.