Private Label Packaging Checklist for Retail and Online

Before artwork is laid out

Confirm the channel first. A shelf pack and an e-commerce pack are different products: one needs a hang hole, a header and a face that reads at two metres; the other needs a carton that survives a courier and opens well on camera. Designing one pack for both usually produces something that works for neither.

Collect the regulatory text for every destination market before layout, not after. Adding a warning paragraph to an approved layout is how packaging gets delayed.

The checks that catch real problems

• Barcode type and number confirmed by you, placed by the supplier, and scanned on the printed proof.
• Country of origin marking present and in the required position for each market.
• Warning and age text approved by you in each language, never translated by the factory.
• Hang hole reinforced, and tested with the actual product weight.
• Dimensions printed on the pack for any product where fit decides the purchase.
• Carton dimensions and gross weight checked against your depot or fulfilment limits.
• Printed proof approved on the actual board, not on a screen.

Why a printed proof matters

Colour on a screen and colour on printed board are different, and the difference is largest in exactly the deep reds and navies that brands use most. Approving a screen file and discovering the difference on a pallet of finished cartons is an expensive and completely avoidable mistake.