What actually drives the cost
Six variables set the price of any packaging print job, in roughly this order of weight.
- Run length. Fixed costs (plates, cylinders, cutting dies, press make-ready, minimum material orders) are the same whether you print 500 or 50,000. Unit cost falls steeply to around 5,000 to 10,000 units and flattens after that.
- Process. Digital has near-zero set-up and a higher unit cost; flexo and offset have set-up and a low unit cost; gravure has high cylinder costs and the lowest unit cost at volume. The crossover points decide the process, not preference.
- Substrate. Board grade and weight, paper versus film, laminate structure, metallised or clear, barrier layers. Material is the largest share of unit cost on long runs.
- Colours and coverage. Each spot colour adds a plate or station; heavy solids use more ink; white underprint on clear or metallic adds a pass.
- Finishes. Foil, embossing, spot UV, soft-touch laminate, tactile varnish. Each is a separate process with its own tooling and minimum.
- Number of versions. Ten SKUs at 1,000 each is not the same as one SKU at 10,000: every version is a plate set and a make-ready, unless the job is ganged or digital.
The processes and where each one wins
| Process | Typical use | Set-up | Sweet spot | Design notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital (toner or inkjet) | Labels, short-run cartons, pouches, prototypes | Minimal; no plates | Up to a few thousand units, many versions, fast turnaround | Full colour from CMYK; limited spot colour matching; white and varnish available on some presses; metallics simulated |
| Flexographic | Labels, flexible packaging, corrugated | Plates per colour, make-ready | 5,000 to several hundred thousand | Spot colours matched; fine type and small reversed text need care; dot gain on film and corrugated |
| Offset lithographic | Folding cartons, labels (sheet-fed), rigid boxes | Plates per colour, make-ready | 5,000 to hundreds of thousands of cartons | Highest fidelity for photography and fine type; wide finish range; best for board |
| Rotogravure | Flexible packaging and labels at very high volume | Engraved cylinders, expensive | 100,000 plus, long-lived designs | Superb solids and consistency; cylinder cost punishes design changes |
| Dry offset / direct print | Cans, tubes, cups, closures | Plates, high minimums | Set by the can or tube maker, often tens of thousands | Limited registration and colour count; design to the decorator's spec |
| Screen | Glass, rigid plastics, specialty labels | Screens, slow | Short to medium runs of premium containers | Opaque whites and metallics, tactile inks; one colour per pass |
Indicative cost ranges by format
These are 2026 Australian ranges from quoting experience and printer price lists, excluding artwork, GST and freight. They are for sensible briefs; unusual sizes, exotic substrates and rushed jobs sit above them. Always get three quotes.
| Format | Short run (500 to 2,000) | Medium run (5,000 to 20,000) | Long run (50,000 plus) | Typical fixed costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-sensitive label, paper or film, 4 colour, 70 x 100 mm | $0.20 to $0.60 each (digital) | $0.05 to $0.15 each (digital or flexo) | $0.02 to $0.06 each (flexo) | Cutting die $150 to $400; flexo plates $60 to $150 per colour |
| Premium label with foil, emboss or textured stock | $0.50 to $1.50 each | $0.15 to $0.40 each | $0.06 to $0.15 each | Foil die and emboss die $300 to $900 each |
| Folding carton, 350 gsm board, 4 colour plus varnish, small (toothpaste-box size) | $0.60 to $2.00 each (digital) | $0.25 to $0.60 each (offset) | $0.10 to $0.25 each (offset) | Cutting forme $400 to $1,200; plates $80 to $200 per colour |
| Folding carton, larger or with specialty finish | $1.50 to $4.00 each | $0.50 to $1.50 each | $0.20 to $0.60 each | As above plus foil, emboss or window patching tooling |
| Printed stand-up pouch, laminated, with zip, 150 to 250 g | $0.60 to $1.50 each (digital) | $0.15 to $0.60 each (digital or flexo) | $0.08 to $0.25 each (flexo or gravure) | Flexo plates $100 to $300 per colour; gravure cylinders $800 to $2,500 per colour |
| Shelf-ready / shipper carton, corrugated, 1 to 2 colour flexo | $1.50 to $4.00 each | $0.60 to $1.50 each | $0.30 to $0.80 each | Cutting die $500 to $1,500; plates $150 to $400 per colour |
| Printed aluminium can, 375 mL, 6 colour, via can maker | Not available; use shrink sleeve or label | Sleeve $0.12 to $0.30 each; label $0.08 to $0.20 | Printed can from the maker at minimums of tens of thousands, roughly $0.10 to $0.25 over plain | Can decoration plates; sleeve tooling |
| Laminate or extruded tube, printed | Digital label on plain tube $0.30 to $0.80 | $0.25 to $0.60 each printed | $0.12 to $0.30 each | Minimums often 5,000 to 10,000 per design |
Two patterns to notice. The gap between short and long run is five to ten times for every format, which is why a brand that launches on digital labels plans a move to flexo at the first volume step. And fixed costs are per version: a five-SKU range on flexo carries five sets of plates, five dies if the sizes differ, and five make-readies, so range architecture (shared dieline, shared base plates, variant printed digitally or as a single plate change) is a print-cost decision as much as a design one.
The costs that are not in the unit price
- Pre-press and proofing. File checks, colour management, a contract proof per version ($40 to $150 each) and a press check if you attend.
- Tooling. Dies, formes, plates, cylinders, foil and emboss dies. Ask whether tooling is owned by you or the printer; it decides whether you can move.
- Minimum material orders. Specialty board, laminate structures and some films are bought by the reel or pallet; the minimum can exceed the job.
- Overs and unders. Printers deliver within a tolerance, commonly plus or minus 10 percent, and invoice the actual quantity.
- Freight and pallets. Packaging is bulky; a long run of cartons is pallets of flat board.
- Barcode verification. A verification report from the printed job, $50 to $150 per symbol, which Woolworths requires before ranging.
- Changes after proof approval. A new plate set for a late copy change on flexo or offset; on gravure, a new cylinder.
Design decisions that move the number
| Decision | Effect |
|---|---|
| One more spot colour | One more plate per version plus ink and make-ready; on gravure one more cylinder. Converting a spot to CMYK process is the usual saving. |
| Foil, emboss, spot UV | A separate pass with tooling and minimums. Worth it on a hero SKU; expensive across a range. |
| Non-standard carton size | A new cutting forme and lower sheet yield. Standard ECMA or FEFCO styles at common sizes nest better on the sheet. |
| Full-bleed solids and heavy coverage | More ink, more drying, more waste; on flexo and film, banding risk. |
| Clear or metallised substrate | White underprint adds a colour; legibility of mandatory text has to be checked on the real material. |
| Many short-run versions | Pushes the job to digital or to a shared-plate design with a single changing element. |
| Reversed small type | Fills in on flexo and corrugated below about 6 pt; reworking it after a print trial is a plate change. |
How to brief a printer so quotes compare
- Format and dimensions: finished size, dieline reference (ECMA or FEFCO code where relevant), open and closed dimensions.
- Substrate: material, weight or thickness, grade, any barrier or laminate structure, supplier if specified.
- Print: process if known, number of colours (CMYK plus spot), white underprint, varnish or coating, sides printed.
- Finishes: foil (type and area), emboss or deboss, spot UV, laminate, window, tactile effects.
- Quantities: per SKU and total; the next two run quantities you want priced (for example 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000) so the curve is visible.
- Versions: how many artworks, what differs between them.
- Proofing: digital proof, contract proof, press check, pre-production sample.
- Delivery: where, when, pallet or carton pack, and whether you want stock held.
- Compliance: barcode verification report, food-contact declaration where relevant, FSC or recycled content certification if claimed.
Ask every printer for the same three quantities and a tooling line separated from the unit price. A single number for one quantity tells you nothing about the next run.
Where the design studio sits in this
Our cost guide explains what the design fee covers. On print, the studio's role is to design to the process the volumes justify, to specify the job so printers quote like for like, to prepare print-ready files to the printer's specification, and to check proofs and press sheets. We do not mark up print; the printer invoices the client directly, and the quote comparison is part of the project.
Questions people ask
On a sensible 70 by 100 mm four-colour label, roughly 20 to 60 cents each on a short digital run of a few hundred to two thousand, 5 to 15 cents at 5,000 to 20,000, and 2 to 6 cents at 50,000 plus on flexo. Foil, embossing and textured stock push each band up two to three times.
A small four-colour carton on 350 gsm board runs about 25 to 60 cents each at 5,000 to 20,000 on offset and 10 to 25 cents at 50,000 plus. Short digital runs are 60 cents to $2 each. A cutting forme ($400 to $1,200) and plates are extra.
Short-run digital labels on stock containers, or digitally printed pouches, with no tooling. Accept a higher unit cost for the flexibility, and design the pack so it can move to flexo or offset without a redesign when volumes justify the plates.
Plates, dies, make-ready and minimum material orders cost the same for 500 as for 50,000 and are divided across the run. At 500 units the fixed costs can exceed the material and printing combined.
Not at Morice&Co. The printer invoices the client directly. The studio specifies the job, gets comparable quotes, prepares files to the printer's spec and checks proofs.
When the run per version reaches the point where plates and make-ready cost less than the digital premium, usually somewhere between 3,000 and 10,000 units per version depending on the format. Ask for both to be quoted at your next two quantities.
Sources
- How much does packaging design cost in Australia? (Morice&Co. guide)
- ECMA Code of folding carton design styles
- FEFCO Code of corrugated case styles
- GS1 Australia, barcode verification
- Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)
Published . Last reviewed . Next scheduled review . Regulatory content is re-checked against the primary sources above at each review. See our editorial standards.
