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National Day orders close 5 November for branded stock. See the range

Packaging · 6 min read

What a die-line is, and why 48 hours matters

A die-line is the flat technical drawing a box is cut from. If you approve artwork without reading one, you are approving a guess.

What the drawing shows

The outline is the cut. Dashed lines are creases where the board folds. Shaded tabs are glue areas. The outer margin is bleed — usually 3mm — where your artwork must extend beyond the cut so a fractional misalignment does not leave a white edge.

What to check before approving

Three things. That the internal dimensions match your product with 2–3mm clearance. That no critical artwork sits within 4mm of a crease, because board thickness distorts anything printed across a fold. And that your logo is not in a glue area, where it will be covered.

Why 48 hours matters

A die-line is the first point at which a custom box becomes real. Getting it back in 48 hours rather than three weeks is the difference between a project that fits a National Day deadline and one that does not. We draw them in-house, which is why we can commit to that.

What comes after

A white sample — the die-line cut and assembled in plain board. This is where dimension errors surface, and it is far cheaper to find one here than after a 2,000-unit print run.

The service behind this

Gift box manufacturing

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