Foundation Boxes.

Digitally, as long as the run per shade stays short. The structure stays identical across a foundation range and only the shade name, number and swatch change, so the plate cost of offset is what makes versioning expensive. Digital has no plates, which turns forty versions into one job with forty files.

Once the quantity per shade gets large, offset with a shared base print and a small versioned area starts to win again.

Accurately enough with a spot colour per shade, and only approximately with CMYK. Four-colour process cannot hold the beige-to-deep-brown range without drifting warm or muddy, so we mix a spot for the swatch or mark the swatch as indicative. The second option is honest and far cheaper than matching forty colours.

Matte lamination helps, since gloss throws reflections that shift the swatch under retail lighting. Proof on the actual board before committing.

Because printed skin tones only stay honest on a neutral white. 18pt SBS at around 450gsm is the retail standard for that reason. FBB has a slightly warmer base and PCW recycled a greyer one, and both shift a printed swatch enough to notice across a range. Metallised board prints well but constrains colour accuracy underneath.

Heavier glass bottles move up to 20pt SBS so the carton doesn't bow on shelf.

Matte lamination for swatch accuracy, or gloss where scuff resistance matters more. Matte is the most common foundation finish because it does not reflect under shop lights. Gloss is tougher, and cartons handled repeatedly at a tester counter show scuffs on matte first. Spot UV over the swatch alone makes it read as wet product rather than printed ink.

Soft-touch and foil shade numbers add a tooling change per shade, so they're normally reserved for a hero range.

About 1.5 by 1.5 by 4.2 inches inside for a standard 30ml pump, and roughly 2.2 by 1.4 by 4.5 inches for an oval glass bottle. Measure the bottle with the pump in its shipping position, since a locked-down pump head is a different height from a raised one. A shade code of at least 10pt on the back panel keeps the cartons legible in a stockroom where forty look alike.

A paperboard sleeve inside holds a glass bottle upright and stops lateral movement for parcel shipping.

500 cartons per shade version. A twenty-shade range at that minimum is 10,000 boxes, so most brands launch the core shades in custom cartons and add versions as sell-through shows demand. The ceiling is 100,000 per order.

Digital print keeps the cost of a short run per shade sensible, which is the main reason it's specified for foundation.

7 to 10 business days in production for the standard schedule. A rush at 5 to 7 business days can be arranged for a launch date. A printed sample of one shade takes 5 to 7 business days and is the right way to check the swatch on the real board before all forty go to press.

The sample cost comes off the bulk invoice, and delivery is USA-wide.

Yes, with a proof first. Standard SBS is a bright neutral white and prints swatches accurately. Recycled content with post-consumer fibre has a greyer base that shifts skin tones, so we proof a swatch on it before the range is approved. Water-based inks and an aqueous coating keep the carton in the paper stream.

Keep any claim on the carton specific and backed by the certificate number.