Custom Tamper-Evident Cartons & Seals
A carton-and-seal system developed around the closure point where opening must leave visible evidence.
- Visible Opening Evidence
Overview
Tamper evidence begins with the opening path. A carton can use a glued flap, an applied seal across the closure, or a combination specified for the product and destination market. The useful feature is not decoration; it is a closure whose first opening changes in a way that can be seen.
Carton and seal should be developed as one system. The flap geometry determines where a seal can bridge the opening, while the face stock, adhesive and die shape of the seal follow the carton surface and intended behaviour. Requirements remain market- and product-specific, so the customer supplies the approved standard and the sample proves the chosen construction.
What to decide for this format
Carton Closure or Applied Seal
Choose whether visible evidence comes from the flap construction, a separate label across the opening, or both.
Seal Position & Behaviour
Set where the seal bridges the closure and what visible change is expected when the pack is first opened.
Board & material options
Ivory Board (FBB)
Bright folding boxboard with a smooth print face.
The standard carton stock in cosmetics and pharmaceutical work — clean creasing, reliable folding, white enough for small regulatory type.
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.
Coated Two Sides (C2S)
Coated on both faces for print inside and out.
Specify when the inside of the box is part of the design — an unboxing reveal, a printed inner lid, or a sleeve seen from both sides.
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.
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.
Hot Foil Stamping
Metallic foil applied by heated die, registered to the print.
Gold, silver, copper and coloured foils. Applied flat before any wrapping or forming, so registration is controlled on a sheet rather than on a curve.
Embossing
Raised relief pressed into the surface from behind.
Can be registered over foil for a sculpted metallic mark. Sequence matters: emboss after foil is standard, and reversing it damages the foil surface.
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.
Materials
Coated Folding Boxboard
The standard pharmaceutical carton stock — clean white surface for small type, reliable creasing and consistent runability.
Label Face Stocks
Paper and film face stocks for bottles, vials and tubes, with adhesive chosen for the container and storage conditions.
FSC-Certified & Recycled Board
Certified or recycled-content stock with water-based inks where your materials policy calls for it.
Printing & Finishes
Offset Printing
CMYK and Pantone spot colours on the Rapida 106 — 0.1 mm registration is what keeps small regulatory type sharp across a long run.
Batch & Variable Data Coding
Batch numbers, expiry data and serialised codes printed digitally where the specification requires unit-level data.
Matte & Gloss Lamination
Surface protection against handling and humidity, specified where it will not interfere with coding legibility.
Die Cutting, Creasing & Gluing
Automated converting so cartons arrive flat and erect square — a carton that jams your line is a production failure, not a cosmetic one.
What you can customise
- Carton structure and intended opening path
- Approved information layout and language versions
- Closure or seal position and expected visible change
- Seal face stock, adhesive and die shape where used
- Batch, expiry and serialisation coding where specified
Specifications
| Minimum order quantity | Standard cartons from 1,000 units |
|---|---|
| Production lead time | 15–20 working days after artwork approval |
| Printing | Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 eight-colour offset — 0.1 mm register at 18,000 sheets per hour |
| Quality management | ISO 9001 quality management, ISO 14001:2015 environmental management, ISO 45001 |
| Colour consistency | Pantone spot colours with a physical reference retained between repeat orders |
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
Prescription Medicines
Unit cartons with leaflets, batch coding and the information hierarchy the market requires.
OTC & Consumer Health
Retail-facing cartons that keep regulatory discipline while competing for attention on a pharmacy shelf.
How it is made
Requirement & opening review
The customer supplies the approved product and market requirement, and the intended opening path is defined.
Closure & seal layout
Flap geometry, seal position and any label face stock and adhesive are developed as one system.
Artwork & coding review
Printed information and coding areas are checked around the closure and intended evidence feature.
Sampling
The assembled sample is opened to confirm the chosen visible change and its effect on the carton surface.
Production & application
Cartons are printed and converted, with seals applied or supplied according to the approved specification.
Inspection & packing
Closure position, print, fold, glue and any applied seal are checked against the approved sample.
Why Yuan Packaging
- Pharmaceutical is long-standing business on both our label and carton lines, not an occasional job
- Carton, leaflet and primary label produced together under one specification and one approval trail
- Rapida 106 at 0.1 mm registration — what keeps regulatory small type sharp across a long run
- ISO 9001, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001 management systems across all production
Frequently asked questions
Should tamper evidence come from the carton or a separate seal?
That depends on the approved market requirement, the opening action and whether the primary carton design can carry the feature itself. Both glued closures and applied seals are supported parent formats, and they can be compared on samples.
Can Yuan produce the carton and its seal together?
Yes. Pharmaceutical cartons and labels are both established product lines, so the closure geometry, seal position, artwork and approval trail can be coordinated as one packaging specification.