Music Packaging & Merchandise

What this line covers

12-inch and 7-inch vinyl sleeves, gatefolds, inner sleeves and centre labels, CD digipaks and jewel-case print, cassette J-cards and case stickers, lyric booklets, photo books, hardcover editions, box sets, posters, stickers, numbered collector cards, acrylic and metal items, tote bags and coordinated fulfilment. Vinyl pressing coordination can be arranged.

Indicative minimum order quantities

Digital short run 50–100 pcs (no plate charge, higher unit cost); offset 500–1000 pcs; gift boxes 200–300 pcs; acrylic / metal items 300–500 pcs; vinyl pressing from 300 sets, lathe-cut short runs from 50 sets. Item-level minimums vary by construction and are confirmed in the written quotation.

Typical lead times

File check and quotation 1–2 days; white structural sample 3–5 days; digital proof 2–3 days; press proof 5–7 days; digital short run 3–5 days; offset run 7–12 days; gift boxes with tooling and hand assembly 15–20 days; assembly and dispatch preparation 2–4 days. Overall typical production window is 3–20 days. Peak season and expedited schedules are confirmed in writing.

Prepress requirements

PDF/X-4 preferred; CMYK with Pantone C/U references for spot colours; images at 300 dpi or higher, vector line / foil / UV / emboss artwork at 600 dpi or higher; 3 mm bleed on four sides, 5 mm for die-cut shapes, 8–10 mm for gift-box wrap layouts; text at least 5 mm from trim and 3 mm from die-lines; total ink coverage within 300% on coated and 260% on uncoated stock; single-black K100 for small text; all fonts embedded or outlined; die-lines and fold lines on a separate spot-colour layer; barcodes with a 3 mm quiet zone.

Finishing and materials

Offset and digital printing, hot foil (minimum 0.15 mm line, 6 pt text), embossing 0.3–0.6 mm deep, die-cutting to ±0.3 mm, saddle stitching up to 48 pages, variable data and numbered editions. Stock options include 250–400 g white card, 250–350 g grey-back board, 105–200 g coated / matte art paper, 80–250 g specialty paper, 1.5–3.0 mm greyboard and 90–120 g tracing paper.

Quality reference

Signed proof is the reference: ΔE ≤ 2.0 for proofs, ΔE ≤ 3.0 within a production batch, ΔE ≤ 5.0 across batches; registration within 0.1 mm; die-cut position within ±0.3 mm; trim within ±0.5 mm. Inspection follows GB/T 2828.1 general level II, AQL 2.5 for major and AQL 4.0 for minor visual defects.

Export considerations

FSC-certified paper, soy-based inks and water-based adhesives can be specified with purchase documentation. For EU destinations we discuss REACH substance limits and PPWR packaging requirements. Tell us about plastic components and any child-contact items before the quotation is issued.