Artwork first, because print answers need artwork
A custom printing brief should supply the artwork, its position and its size direction, and ask the maker to confirm the print treatment for that pouch in writing, including a sample for a first printed design. Marketplace listing titles for this maker use custom printed wording, and the company site lists high-end graphics as a technology nameplate. Ask for the colour count, print method and artwork specification for your selected pouch. The brief must therefore carry the artwork facts itself.
The artwork facts are three, and all three belong in the first message: the artwork itself or its direction, the position it must occupy on the pouch, and the size direction it must print at. A brief that supplies only the artwork leaves the maker to guess at position and size, and a brief that supplies only a position leaves the maker to guess at the artwork, and either guess will cost a round of correspondence before any useful answer can come back. A printing brief is only complete when the maker can look at it and know what to print, where to print it, and at what size.
Format changes how artwork reads
The pouch format changes how artwork reads, and a printing brief should therefore name the format together with the artwork, rather than treating print as independent of shape. An artwork direction that suits an upright stand-up face may read differently on a broad flat-bottom face or on a gusseted bag, and the maker can only advise on that difference when the format and the artwork arrive together. A buyer comparing formats should ask for the print treatment to be confirmed for each format, so that the print comparison is as clean as the format comparison.
The same discipline applies to roll stock film, where the artwork must suit the film and the line together, and to spouted pouches, where the artwork must work around the pouring route. In every case the rule is the same: format plus artwork plus position plus size direction, supplied together, confirmed in writing, checked against a sample. A printing brief that omits the format is a brief that asks the maker to print blind, and a maker asked to print blind will either guess or ask the very questions the brief should have answered.
Position and size direction in plain words
Position and size direction should be described in plain words that the maker can act on without further questions, because a position described vaguely will be printed vaguely. The buyer should state which face carries the artwork, where on that face it sits, and what size direction it must print at, using the product and the shelf as reference points rather than abstract measurements. A position tied to the shelf the shopper will see is a position the maker can understand, while a position tied to nothing is a position the maker must invent.
Size direction deserves the same plain treatment, because an artwork supplied without a size direction forces the maker to scale it by guesswork, and guesswork at print stage becomes a visible error at shelf stage. The buyer should state the size direction relative to the pack and the face, and should ask the maker to confirm the scaled artwork for that pouch in writing, with a sample, before production. A sample that shows the artwork at size, in position, on the format in question is the only print evidence worth approving, and it should be requested in the first message rather than discovered to be missing later.
What the sources do not say about printing
Ask the maker to confirm the printing specifications for your selected pouch before approving a sample. This article does not list a colour count, print method menu, artwork file specification or print tolerance. Request those details for your selected pouch. A buyer who needs a particular print treatment should describe it in the brief as a direction to confirm rather than as a specification already settled, and should ask the maker to confirm the treatment for that pouch in writing, including what the sample will demonstrate.
The same honesty applies to listing titles, because marketplace listing titles for this maker use printed and resealable wording that sounds like a product promise. Listing words are not a specification for any particular pouch, and any print or closure feature should be named in the brief and confirmed in writing. A buyer who treats a listing title as a print specification will brief a feature the maker never offered for that pouch, and the sample will reveal the misunderstanding at the worst possible moment, after time has already been spent.
Sample discipline for printed pouches
A first printed design deserves a sample as a matter of course, and the sample check should cover the artwork, its position and its size direction together, because a sample that checks only one of the three leaves the other two unproven. The buyer should ask for the sample in the first message, state what it must demonstrate, and check it against the artwork direction before production, keeping the sample record with the order record. A printed pouch ordered without a sample check is an order placed on trust alone, and trust alone is a poor substitute for a checked sample, especially where the brand presentation is the point of the order.
The sample record should also carry the written confirmations that go with it, including the print treatment confirmed for that pouch and any limits the maker states for that artwork on that format. A sample without its confirmations is a sample without a record, and a record without a sample is a promise without evidence, so the buyer should insist on both together. That insistence costs one extra message at the briefing stage, and it saves the far larger cost of a printed run whose artwork, position or size was never actually agreed.
Documents, quantity terms and timing for print
Print does not change the document discipline, and a printed pouch brief should still ask for the current document for the selected structure and destination market by name, before approval. Certificates available upon request is the only certificate sentence this site prints, and it is a pointer to inquiry rather than a claim, so the buyer should treat it that way and ask for the document itself, checking the structure, the market and the currency on the document before approval. A printed pouch whose documents were never checked is a printed pouch whose approval rests on artwork alone, and artwork alone is not a document.
Quantity terms and timing for a printed pouch are confirmed in writing for the brief, because they depend on the format, the product, the print direction and the sample route, and this site publishes no figure for either. A buyer planning a printed order should send the format, the product and the artwork direction first, and then ask for the quantity terms and the timing plan in writing for that brief, because a generic figure copied from a website would not survive contact with a real order. Please confirm the minimum order quantity with the supplier before placing an order. Please confirm the lead time with the supplier before placing an order.
Mistakes printed pouch buyers make
The most common printed pouch mistake is briefing print without artwork, position or size direction, and expecting the maker to invent the missing facts. The remedy is to assemble the three artwork facts before sending the inquiry, and to send them together, because a printing answer without artwork is a guess, and a guess is not a confirmation an order can be built on. A buyer who assembles the facts first will receive a useful answer on the first reply, while a buyer who improvises will receive questions instead.
The second common mistake is assuming a colour count or a print method the company pages do not publish, which this guide has already warned against, and the third is treating a listing title as a specification, which it has also warned against. The fourth mistake is approving a printed run without checking a sample at size, in position, on the format in question, and the fifth is printing a quantity or timing figure from a website into a plan, when both are confirmed only in writing for the actual brief. Each of these mistakes is avoidable by a brief that names the format, the artwork, the position and the size direction together.
A printed pouch brief you can send
A buyer ready to inquire can send a printed pouch brief as a short list rather than a long essay, and the list should name the pouch format, the product it will carry, the artwork direction, the position, the size direction, and the points to confirm. The format and the product come first, because they decide the print conversation, and the artwork facts come next, because they decide what will actually be printed. The points to confirm close the brief: the print treatment for that pouch in writing, the sample for a first printed design, the current document for the destination market, the quantity terms and the timing plan, each requested by name.
That brief, sent as one message, will come back with answers that can be checked against the artwork, the format and the position, and the buyer should then check the sample at size, in position, on the format in question, keep the written confirmations with the order record, and treat anything not confirmed in writing as still open. Printed pouches reward that discipline more than plain pouches do, because print is where the brand lives, and a brand printed wrong is a brand presented wrong, on every pack in the run.