Cost · 5 min read
Why 100 boxes cost nearly as much as 500
Every first-time buyer asks the same reasonable question: why is the unit price at 100 so much higher than at 1,000? The answer is that you are mostly not buying board.
Four costs, only one of which scales
On a run of 100, the first three can be eighty per cent of the invoice. On a run of 5,000 they are a rounding error. That is the whole curve.
- The cutting die. A one-off per shape. Same price whether you print 100 or 100,000.
- Plates or a digital setup. Per color, per job. Also fixed.
- Machine set-up. An hour of press time before a single good sheet comes off.
- Board and ink. The only line that actually rises with quantity.
Where the steps fall
The steps are not smooth. Jumping from 800 to 1,200 can move you onto a different press and drop the unit price more than the extra board costs. We will flag it when that happens.
| 100–250 | Digital print. No plates. Highest unit price, lowest total. |
|---|---|
| 250–1,000 | Still digital on most jobs. Unit price falls fast. |
| 1,000–2,500 | The crossover — litho starts to win on some specs. |
| 2,500+ | Litho. Plate cost is absorbed and unit price flattens out. |
Ask for pricing at two quantities either side of what you think you want. It is free and it occasionally changes the decision.
When ordering more is the wrong call
Storage is not free, artwork changes, and a box designed around a product that gets redesigned becomes waste in a very expensive form. We have seen brands take a 40% unit saving on 5,000 boxes and scrap 3,000 of them nine months later.
If the product is settled and the branding is stable, buy the volume. If either is still moving, buy 250 and accept the unit price as the cost of not committing.
Ways to hold the price down at low volume
Fewer colors cost less on litho and nothing on digital, so at short runs spend the money on finish instead. One well-chosen lamination beats four-color print on a small run.
Reusing an existing die across variants removes the largest fixed cost entirely — change the print, not the shape. Our running a range on one dieline covers how that works across a product line.
Still worth asking
Why is 100 the minimum?
Below it the cutting die and press set-up dominate the price, so you would be paying mostly for tooling rather than boxes.
What is the tooling?
A cutting die built to your dimensions, and for foil or emboss a metal die engraved to your artwork. Both are one-off and kept for reorders.
Does the unit price drop at 250 or 500?
Yes, because the fixed costs spread across more units. The steepest drop is between 100 and 500; it flattens after that.
Is a reorder cheaper?
Yes — the tooling already exists, so a reorder skips it and goes straight to press.
Can I share a die across several products?
Yes, if they share a size. Changing only the print file across a range is the cheapest way to run several SKUs.
Does the finish change the cost curve?
Foil, emboss and spot UV each add a pass and, for foil and emboss, a die. They matter most on the first run.
What is the cheapest way to look expensive at 100 units?
Spend on the board and the construction, not on the print. Weight and corners are noticed; a fourth color is not.
Is 100 really your minimum?
Yes, and it is a real minimum rather than a headline. Below it the die and set-up dominate so heavily that you would be paying almost entirely for tooling.
Do I own the die?
The die stays with the press, but it is yours to reorder against and there is no second die charge on a repeat.
Does a repeat order cost less?
Usually noticeably less, because the die exists and the set-up is faster. Ask for the repeat price at the same time as the first quote.