Quality Control Starts Before Production
During development and sample making we double check whether the design is workable and feasible for mass production and adjust it accordingly. A structure that assembles once by hand is not automatically a structure that assembles ten thousand times on a line, and catching that at sample stage is far cheaper than catching it in week three of production.
Incoming Material Tests
Incoming raw materials are checked against ISO quality standards.
- Ring crush and side crush test for paper and cardboard, which measures the board's resistance to compression and predicts how a stack of packed cartons behaves on a pallet.
- Moisture test for paper and cardboard. Board that arrives damp loses stiffness and will not crease or glue predictably.
- Thickness and weight test, confirming the delivered stock matches the specification you were quoted on.
- Stiffness test, which governs whether a carton stands up and whether a bag holds its shape.
- Viscosity test for the glue used in box making, because glue outside its viscosity window either fails to bond or squeezes out of the seam.
- Relative tests for accessories used in packaging boxes, covering magnets, ribbons and closures.
Printed Sheet Tests
- Colour checking with an X-Rite printing densitometer, which is what keeps colour consistent across a long run and across versions.
- Ink abrasion test, simulating the rubbing a pack takes in transit and on shelf.
- Scratch test on the finished surface.
- High and low temperature degradation test, which exposes inks and coatings that fail in a container or a cold chain.
- Quantity check for printed sheets.
- Barcode check, before the sheet goes any further.
In Process Inspection
Specific onsite QC people check each die cut sheet for box making, and specific onsite QC people check every single product coming off the production line. This is the layer that catches the drift that develops mid run rather than the fault that was there at the start.
Finished Product Tests
- Compressive strength test, for stacking in the warehouse and on the pallet.
- High and low temperature test on the completed pack.
- Humidity and dryness test, which is where paper based packs are most vulnerable.
- Transport vibration test, simulating the sustained low level shaking of road and sea freight.
- Drop test, simulating the single hard impact of parcel handling.
Reading The Results
Vibration and drop tests fail in different ways and point at different fixes. A vibration failure usually means the insert is loose and the product has worn against the pack over hours. A drop failure usually means a corner or a seam took a concentrated impact. Knowing which one happened tells you whether to change the insert or the construction.
