Glossary

Packaging terms, in plain language

The words that turn up on quotes, artwork files and packaging specifications, explained without assuming you already know them.

Materials

The words used for what packaging is made from.

Bagasse: A moulded material pressed from the fibre left after sugarcane is juiced. Used to make rigid, formed containers rather than folded ones.
Corrugated: Board with a fluted layer between two flat sheets, which is what gives it rigidity and some cushioning. Used where packaging has to hold its shape under load.
Kraft: Paper left in its natural unbleached state, giving it a brown tone. Chosen where the packaging itself is part of how a product is presented.
Laminate: Two or more layers bonded together so the finished material combines properties neither layer has alone. A word heard most often when discussing pouches.
PET: A clear plastic used for drinkware and food containers where the product inside is meant to be visible.
Food-grade: A general description for a material intended to come into contact with food. It is not a single certification, and what is required depends on the material, the food and how it is used. Suitability for a specific product is confirmed with your quote.
GSM: Grams per square metre, a measure of paper weight. A heavier paper is thicker and stiffer rather than automatically better. The figure for a specific product is confirmed with your quote rather than published here.

Formats and construction

The words used for the shape of the packaging itself.

Clamshell: A container in two halves joined along one edge, so it opens like a shell. Common for takeout food because it holds a formed shape.
Gusset: A fold in the side or base of a bag or pouch that lets it expand. A gusseted bag stands up or holds more than a flat one of the same width.
SOS bag: A self-opening sack: the flat paper bags on a block that open as you pull one out. The standard bag at a takeaway counter.
Stand-up pouch: A pouch with a folded base that lets it stand upright on a shelf without support. Often used for retail food.
Flat-bottom pouch: A pouch with a box-shaped base, which gives it a squarer footprint than a stand-up pouch and a more shelf-stable look.
Die line: The cutting and folding guide for a container, showing where the board is cut and where it folds. It is what a structural design actually is, as opposed to the printed design on the surface.
Blank: The flat, unprinted piece of board or paper before it is formed into the finished container.
Nesting: How much one container sits inside the next when stacked together. Containers that nest take far less storage space than the same count of items that do not.

Artwork and printing

The words used for the file and how it becomes print.

Vector: Artwork built from mathematical paths rather than pixels, so it scales to any size without losing sharpness. This is why logo files are usually asked for in a vector format.
Raster: Artwork built from pixels. It has a fixed resolution, so enlarging it enough makes the edges visibly soft.
Mockup: A digital image showing how your artwork will look on the finished packaging, produced before anything is manufactured. On this site it is free to prospective customers after artwork is submitted, and no production order is needed to receive one.
Proof: The version of your artwork you approve before production begins. Approving is the point at which the design is fixed.
Bleed: Extra artwork extending past the edge that will be cut, so that tiny variations when trimming do not leave an unprinted sliver at the edge.
Colour shift: How a printed colour reads differently depending on the material underneath it. It is one reason artwork is confirmed on a mockup rather than assumed from a screen.
Direct print: Printing applied straight onto the packaging material, as opposed to printing onto a separate label that is then applied to it.

Ordering

The words used when you ask for a price and place an order.

MOQ: Minimum order quantity: the smallest quantity that can be produced for a given item. It varies by product, format and printing rather than being one figure across a catalogue.
Quote: The priced proposal prepared for your specific requirement. On this site a quote request is submitted without payment, and no payment is collected at the quote stage.
Volume pricing: A unit price that improves as the quantity increases. Volume pricing applies on larger orders, and the tiers for a specific product are confirmed in your quote.
Made to order: Manufactured against your approved specification rather than taken from stock. Almost all packaging on this site is made to order, which is why the specification is confirmed before production.
Lead time: The time from an approved order to the goods being ready. It depends on the product and the quantity, and production schedules are confirmed with your quote rather than published as a general figure.
Repeat order: A second order of the same specification as a previous run. Keeping artwork on file is what makes a repeat order a confirmation rather than a new project.
Artwork approval: The point at which you sign off the artwork, after which production can begin. Anything changed after approval may affect what has already been produced.

Where to go next

Definitions only get you so far. These guides take each of the four groups above and go into the detail.

Materials guideWhich material suits which product.Read Size guideHow to match a format to what you pack.Read Lid compatibilityHow a lid is matched to a container.Read Quantity planningHow to estimate how much to order.Read

Still not sure what a term means for your order?

Ask. A specialist will explain it against the product you are actually ordering, which is more useful than any definition, and you will receive a free digital mockup before production.

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