The standard production lead time for packaging boxes is approximately 10 days. Many clients often wonder why the printing and production process takes such a long time. Today, Shengcai Printing will break down the complete manufacturing process of packaging boxes in detail, and by the end, you will understand why this 10-day timeline is necessary.

1.Design & Sampling

A qualified packaging box starts with finalizing the design draft and basic box structure, followed by sampling. Sampling is divided into two types: pre-production samples for clients to confirm design effects, and mass-production samples for final verification before full-scale manufacturing.

2.Material Selection

The packaging box material consists of two components: facing paper and grey board. The grammage of facing paper is typically 105g, 128g, or 157g. For premium gift boxes, the grammage rarely exceeds 200g—excessively thick facing paper is prone to bubbling and appears stiff and unattractive. Grey board thickness is customized per client requirements, with common specifications including 1200g, 1500g, and 1800g.

3.High-Precision Printing

Printing is only applied to the facing paper, while the grey board (used as lining) does not require printing. Since the appearance of packaging boxes directly impacts product quality perception, the printing process demands strict standards, with zero tolerance for aesthetic defects such as color deviation, ink spots, and plate damage.

4.Surface Finishing

To enhance the premium texture of packaging boxes, special finishing processes are applied to the printed facing paper. Common techniques include: lamination (glossy/matte), spot UV coating, hot stamping, embossing, and debossing.

5.Die-Cutting Forming

Die-cutting is a core step in packaging box production, and its precision entirely depends on the quality of the cutting die. Any deviations or incomplete cuts during this stage will directly disrupt subsequent processing. Both facing paper and grey board undergo die-cutting.

6.Manual Lamination & Assembly

Unlike regular printed products that take shape immediately after die-cutting, packaging boxes require lamination after die-cutting. This two-step process prevents scratching of the facing paper and ensures the overall elegance of gift boxes—manual lamination is always adopted for gift boxes to achieve the desired exquisite finish.

7.Post-Processing & Quality Inspection

Additional manual processes such as hole punching and slotting are required for certain box types. Finally, workers wipe off residual glue on the surface, conduct a 100% quality inspection of finished products, and then package them for delivery.

After learning about these seven core processes, do you still think the 10-day production lead time is too long? If you need custom packaging boxes, feel free to contact Shengcai Printing at any time!