Terms of business

Quotations

A quotation is based on the specification given to us. If any part of that specification changes — quantity, size, substrate, colour count, finishing or construction — the price changes with it, and we will requote rather than proceed and invoice a difference.

Quotations are valid for the period stated on the quotation itself. Paper and board prices move, and a quotation given months earlier may no longer be achievable.

Where artwork supplied later differs materially from what was described at quotation — significantly more colours, a different construction, a finish that was not mentioned — we will tell you before starting, not after.

Artwork and your responsibility for content

You are responsible for the content of the artwork you approve. That includes spelling, grammar, prices, dates, contact details, legal and regulatory text, barcodes and their encoded data, and any claim made on the pack.

We check artwork technically — resolution, colour space, bleed, fonts, separations, whether it fits the dieline — and we will raise anything that looks wrong. But we do not proofread your content and we cannot verify that a price, an ingredient list or a regulatory statement is correct.

Where you supply artwork, you confirm that you have the right to use everything in it, including images, fonts and trademarks.

For regulated packaging, regulatory responsibility for label content rests with the marketing authorisation holder. We print to the artwork you approve.

Proof approval is the point of no return

Nothing goes to plate without your written approval of a specific proof. Once you have approved it, that proof is the reference for the entire job: the press runs against it, in-process checks compare against it, and it is what a later query is settled against.

After approval, a change means new plates, a new make-ready and a new run. It is not an adjustment and it cannot be absorbed. That is why we would rather spend an extra day at proofing than a week afterwards, and why we ask you to take the proofing stage seriously even when the deadline is tight.

If you approve a proof containing an error, the cost of reprinting is yours. We say this plainly because it is the single most expensive thing that goes wrong in printing.

Colour

A screen emits light and a press lays ink on board. They cannot be made equivalent, and colour approved from a monitor is not a colour commitment. Only a printed proof on the production substrate is.

The same ink prints differently on coated, uncoated and kraft stock, and some variation between one print run and another is normal and unavoidable. Where colour is critical, agree it on a physical proof before production.

Where you require a measured colour tolerance, we can agree a ΔE value in advance and work to it. Without an agreed tolerance, colour is judged against the approved physical proof under normal viewing conditions.

Quantity tolerance on long runs

Printing is a continuous process with set-up waste and in-process checks, so the finished quantity on a long run is not exact. It is standard practice across the industry to deliver and invoice within a tolerance either side of the ordered quantity.

The tolerance that applies to your job is stated on your quotation, and we invoice the quantity actually delivered within it. If you need an exact minimum quantity — because it is going into a fixed number of retail packs, for example — tell us at quotation and we will run to guarantee it.

Minimum quantities and lead times

Minimum order quantities depend on the product and the process. Digital printing has no plates and no make-ready, so short runs are viable; offset carries a fixed set-up cost, so it becomes economical as the run lengthens.

Lead time runs from approved artwork and a signed sample, not from your order or your enquiry. That is not a technicality: the sampling stage is where problems are caught, and a job that sits waiting for approval has not started.

Rigid and hand-assembled boxes take substantially longer than folding cartons, because they are wrapped and assembled individually rather than folded by machine. Plan for that when setting a launch date.

Dies, plates and stored files

A steel-rule die is a physical tool, made to your approved dieline and specific to one design at one size. It is quoted separately from printing, and it is why a repeat order in the same size costs less than the first one.

Ownership of dies and plates is as stated on your quotation. If it matters to you — because you may move supplier, or want the tool held elsewhere — raise it before the die is made rather than afterwards.

We store approved artwork and colour references against the job number so a reprint can match the original rather than re-interpret it. Plates are consumable and are not normally retained between jobs; a reprint is usually a new set of plates imaged from the stored file.

We are not obliged to store dies or files indefinitely. If a design is commercially important to you over a long period, say so and we will confirm what we hold.

Delivery and risk

Delivery dates are given in good faith and we plan to meet them. They are not guaranteed against events outside our control, and we will tell you as soon as we know a date is at risk rather than on the day it slips.

Risk passes to you on delivery to the address you give us, or on collection. Where goods are handed to a courier or freight forwarder you have appointed, risk passes at that point.

Please check the delivery against the delivery note on arrival. Shortages and visible damage in transit need to be recorded at the point of delivery, because a claim against a carrier cannot be made afterwards.

If something is wrong

Inspect the goods on arrival and tell us promptly if there is a problem. The period for reporting a defect is stated on your quotation; report anything you find as soon as you find it, and keep the affected goods so we can see them.

Where a job does not match the approved proof and sample, we will reprint the affected quantity or credit it. Where it does match them, but the approved artwork contained an error, the cost of reprinting is yours.

Our liability is limited to the value of the work concerned. We are not liable for consequential losses such as lost sales, a missed launch or the cost of other goods the packaging was intended for. If a job carries that kind of exposure for you, tell us at quotation so it can be planned around properly.

Payment

Payment terms are stated on your quotation and invoice. Where a job requires a deposit before production — new tooling, bought-in materials, or a first order — that is set out at quotation rather than raised later.

Goods remain our property until they are paid for in full, even where risk has already passed to you on delivery.

Confidentiality

Your artwork, specifications and commercial information are treated as confidential. They are used only to quote and produce your job, are not shared outside our production team, and are not shown as work samples or published anywhere without your written permission.

This mirrors the commitment in our privacy policy, and it applies whether or not a separate agreement is signed. If you need a formal confidentiality agreement in place first, send us yours.

Things outside our control

We are not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control — including power failures, material shortages, transport disruption, industrial action and natural events. If one occurs we will tell you promptly, and we will do what can reasonably be done to limit its effect on your job.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Pakistan, and the courts of Pakistan have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.

That said, we would far rather resolve a problem by talking to you. Call 0327 2777728 and ask for whoever ran your job.