Retail Shelf Display Trays.

The wall height, the flute and the tear line are set together so the tray holds its shape once the lid section is gone. A tray that stands square as a shipper can sag at the front the moment the perforation is pulled, because the top and front panels were doing the bracing. We keep enough wall on the side panels and specify B-flute where the product is heavy.

The angled base insert then pushes stock forward so the facing stays full as it empties.

The cut-to-tie pattern is tuned so the front tears cleanly by hand yet survives distribution intact. Too weak and the case splits on the pallet, too strong and store staff reach for a knife and cut into the print. We test the pattern on the actual board grade, since E-flute and B-flute tear differently.

The artwork is planned around the tear line so no key element is cut in half when the panel comes away.

The retailer's SRP specification document, before anything else. Shelf-ready trays exist because retailers have quantified their staff cost, and most publish the fixture depth, facing count, wall height and pallet configuration they will accept. We build to that sheet, then fit your product into it.

We will not start a design before the retailer spec is in hand, since a tray that is an inch too tall for the shelf gets delisted.

Litho-lamination where the tray is a fixture element, flexo where the artwork is simple and cost leads. Litho gives photographic print quality on a corrugated structure, and it is the standard for branded facings. Direct flexo in one or two colours does the job for plain trade cases. Kraft with a spot colour suits artisan ranges.

We also leave a price marking zone and put case barcodes on the panel that tears off at the shelf.

Common trays are 12 by 8 by 3 inches and 15 by 10 by 4 inches, but the retailer sets the envelope. Facing count and shelf depth come from their spec, then the internal size follows your unit and the divider layout. A tall wall conceals the product, a low one lets it fall out, so wall height is a compromise we settle on the sample.

Runs start at 500 trays in a single size and print. Price tiers apply from 1,000 upward and the same tooling runs to 100,000. Inserts and dividers are cut on the same job, so they do not carry a separate minimum.

Standard production is 7 to 10 business days after the proof is signed. A rush slot brings that down to 5 to 7 business days. Samples are ready in 5 to 7 business days and are how we prove the perforation tears the way it should on your board grade.

Whatever you pay for the sample is taken off the production invoice.

It has to, so the flute is specified for compression in the stockroom as well as for the shelf. E-flute is the general-purpose SRP grade and handles most food and personal care lines. For heavy products or tall pallet configurations we move to B-flute, which has more stacking strength. We can also design the pallet layout so the trays bear load on their strongest axis.