Custom Retail-Ready Corrugated Packaging
A corrugated case designed to change from shipper to shelf display without repacking the products into a second container.
- Shipper-to-Display Format
Overview
Retail-ready packaging combines the outer case and the display tray into one structure. A planned tear-away section is removed at the destination so the remaining pack presents the product on shelf without each unit being unpacked and arranged in a separate fixture.
The tear line, product orientation and printed faces have to be designed together. A panel that is easy to remove must still remain intact through distribution, while the part left on shelf has to keep the units aligned and leave the intended brand and product information visible. These relationships are checked on a loaded sample before the structure is approved.
What to decide for this format
Tear-Away Geometry
Set which panels are removed, where the opening begins and what structure remains to hold the products on shelf.
Shelf Orientation & Visible Faces
Arrange the units and artwork so the surviving tray exposes the correct product face and retail information.
Board & material options
Natural Brown Kraft
Unbleached brown fibre, the recycled-content standard.
The lowest-processing option we stock. Remember that the brown ground shifts every ink laid over it — colours need proofing on the actual stock, not on white.
White Kraft
Strong uncoated white fibre with a natural surface.
Reads honest rather than glossy, and takes one or two spot colours well. Recycled and FSC-certified grades are available where a materials policy applies.
Recycled Content Board
Post-consumer fibre, visible in the surface.
The speckle is the point — it reads as recycled without a label saying so. Colour varies between batches, which has to be accepted up front.
Coated One Side (C1S)
Coated on the printing face, uncoated on the reverse.
The default carton and wrap board. You are paying for coating only where the print goes, so it is the economical choice whenever the inside face is not seen.
Finishing options
Die Cutting
Custom shapes, windows and cut-outs.
Windows, shaped lids, handle apertures and label outlines. A window can be left open or patched with clear film depending on whether the product needs protecting.
Aqueous Coating
A water-based protective coat applied in-line.
The low-cost seal on cartons and shippers. Water-based, so it stays inside a recyclable mono-material specification.
Spot UV
Gloss varnish applied to selected artwork elements.
Highest contrast over a matte or soft-touch base. On a gloss laminate it barely reads — the base finish decides whether spot UV is worth paying for.
Anti-Scuff Lamination
A matte film formulated to resist marking.
Ordinary matte film scuffs on dark artwork in transit. This is what you specify when the pack is dark and ships a long way.
Materials
Single-Wall Corrugated
The default for retail packs and lighter e-commerce goods, balancing strength against cube and cost.
Double-Wall Corrugated
For heavier products, tall stacking and long export transit where a single wall would crush.
Litho Face Papers
Coated art paper printed offset and laminated to the board, carrying the finishes retail print expects.
Kraft Liners
Brown or white kraft outer liners, printed direct where one or two colours is all the job needs.
Recycled & FSC-Certified Board
Recycled-content and certified board with water-based inks — corrugated is the easiest part of a pack to make genuinely circular.
Printing & Finishes
Litho Lamination
Offset-printed sheet bonded to corrugated board — photographic print quality on a structural box.
Flexo Printing
Direct printing on the liner using our six-colour flexo and water-based equipment. Economical for transit cases and high volumes.
Matte & Gloss Lamination
Applied to litho-laminated packs for scuff resistance through distribution.
Foil & Spot UV
Available on the litho face before lamination, for retail packs that sit on shelf as well as ship.
Die Cutting, Perforation & Gluing
Tear strips, handle cut-outs, shelf-ready perforation and automatic gluing on the integrated line.
What you can customise
- Internal dimensions calculated from the product and how many go in a case
- Board grade and wall construction against stacking and transit
- Print method — litho-laminated, flexo, or plain
- Tear strips, handles and shelf-ready perforation
- Corrugated dividers and fitments assessed as a fibre-based support option
- Shipping marks, carton counts and pallet configuration
Specifications
| Minimum order quantity | Standard cartons from 1,000 units |
|---|---|
| Production lead time | 15–20 working days after artwork approval |
| Converting line | Fully automated line integrating printing, laminating and gluing |
| Print processes | Offset litho-lamination on the Rapida 106; six-colour flexo and water-based printing for direct liner print |
Terms for this specification
- Sampling
- Presentation-quality sample in 5–7 working days. The sample cost is credited against your first approved production order.
- Colour matching
- Pantone references and physical samples are used where the selected print process supports them. The approval method follows the substrate, artwork and process.
- Certifications
- ISO 9001, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001 and China Environmental Labelling (Ten-Ring). ISO 22000 applies to eligible food-contact work.
- Sustainable options
- FSC-certified or recycled-content paper and board, water-based inks and adhesives, and fibre-based fitments are available where the selected construction supports them.
What drives the cost
We do not publish a price list, because no two specifications are alike. The levers that decide a quote are consistent, though.
Quantity
Most of the cost of a print job is set-up — plates, dies, make-ready, the first good sheet. Doubling a run rarely doubles the price, which is why it is worth asking for two or three volumes on the same quote.
Structure
A rigid box is formed, wrapped and often assembled by hand; a folding carton is die-cut and glued in one pass. Structure is usually the single biggest difference between two otherwise identical packs.
Material
Board grade and wrap stock. Specialty and textured papers cost more per sheet, but can replace a finishing pass — sometimes the cheaper route to the same effect.
Finishing passes
Each of foil, emboss, spot UV and lamination is a separate pass through a machine. Two effects cost roughly twice one, so the question is always which effect earns its place.
Tooling
Dies, emboss plates and foil blocks are one-off costs carried by the first order and reused on every repeat. Repeat runs of an approved specification are materially cheaper than the first.
Design & artwork
From an artwork check, through a dimensioned dieline and print-ready files, to a full concept package across a range — done by the factory that will make it.
Applications
Retail & Multipack
Litho-laminated packs and shelf-ready cases for products that ship and merchandise from the same box.
How it is made
Product, load & transit review
Weight, fragility, units per case, stacking height and journey decide board grade before anything is drawn.
Structure & cube optimisation
Internal dimensions set against pallet and container fit — the difference between shipping product and shipping air.
Print method decision
Litho-lamination where shelf quality is needed, flexo where the case is transit only.
Sampling
Samples in 5–7 working days, loaded with the actual product wherever possible.
Printing, laminating & gluing
The integrated line runs print, lamination and gluing in sequence, then die cutting and perforation.
Inspection & dispatch
Dimensional, glue and print inspection against the approved sample, then palletising and shipping marks.
Why Yuan Packaging
- Fully automated line integrating printing, laminating and gluing — serving publicly listed companies
- Litho-lamination and flexo under one roof, so print method follows the job rather than the equipment
- Corrugated made where the retail pack inside it is made — one specification for the whole shipment
- Recycled and FSC-certified board with water-based inks for mono-material recyclable packs
Frequently asked questions
How does a shelf-ready pack become a display?
A perforated or otherwise planned section is removed at the destination, leaving a tray or low-fronted case around the products. The opening action and the structure that remains are both proven on the physical sample.
Can one print specification serve both shipping and shelf display?
Yes, but the artwork has to distinguish the faces visible in transit from those left on shelf. Shipping marks, opening instructions and retail graphics are positioned after the tear-away sequence is settled.