Ontario packaging has to be bilingual before it is beautiful
Two things separate an Ontario specification from a US one: everything consumer-facing needs French as well as English, and the province has moved recycling costs onto producers. Both are settled on the dieline, not in the artwork.
Get a price for Packaging for Ontario
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
Plan for two languages from the first sketch
Federal rules require English and French on most consumer packaging. French typically runs 15–25% longer than the same English text, so a panel that fits in English will not fit once translated — and the usual fix, shrinking the type, runs into minimum legibility requirements.
The cheapest solution is to design the panel in French first and let the English fall shorter. It sounds backwards and it removes an entire round of reprints.
Bilingual requirements bite hardest on small cartons. On a 30 ml carton it is often the constraint that decides the box size.
Producer responsibility is now the producer's
Ontario has shifted Blue Box costs onto the businesses that put packaging on the market. The practical effect is the same as elsewhere: material choice now has a cost attached beyond the invoice, and hard-to-recycle laminates are the expensive end of it.
We can tell you which of our specifications repulp in a standard paper stream and which do not — the same distinction covered in our note on what each claim means.
Cold is a real specification input
If stock will sit in an unheated space over winter, say so at quote stage. It changes the adhesive, not the price by much.
- Standard hot-melt adhesive becomes brittle below about -10°C, and seams pop in transit.
- Cold-set adhesives cost slightly more and hold through an Ontario January.
- Board absorbs moisture in a damp cold warehouse and loses rigidity as it does.
- Gloss lamination is more prone to cracking on a fold in low temperatures.
Ontario questions
Do you print bilingual packaging?
Yes. We reserve equal space for English and French on the panels that need it, and lay out what you supply.
Do you quote in CAD?
Yes, for every Canadian delivery.
Do you deliver to Ottawa and beyond Toronto?
Yes — freight lands in the GTA and forwards from there. Address sets the last leg.
Is the bilingual requirement my responsibility?
What must appear in both languages is your regulator's call. Making it fit and legible on the pack is ours.
How do I contact you from Canada?
Call or WhatsApp +1 503-461-4788, or send a brief through the site.
Is there a minimum order for Ontario?
The same as everywhere — 100 units.
Does bilingual labeling change the box size?
It can — two languages take roughly double the panel space. We reserve it on the dieline before the front is designed.
Do you mark bilingual panels on the dieline?
Yes, sized for French text length rather than English, so the panel that fits in the drawing still fits after translation.
Do you supply translation?
No. We leave the space and check that the supplied text fits legibly. Translation should come from someone accountable for its accuracy.
Will seams hold through a Canadian winter?
With a cold-set adhesive, yes. With standard hot-melt below about -10°C, not reliably. Tell us if stock will be stored unheated.
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Build your packaging for Ontario in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.