Print spec: folding carton (Korean cosmetics, mid-tier)

Worked example: spec for a Korean skincare brand's primary product carton. Covers dieline, regulatory content, color, finish, sustainability, and Korean labeling. Pairs with knowledge/print/packaging.md and knowledge/print/korean-print-conventions.md.

Brief

• Product: 50ml moisturizer in glass jar, secondary carton
• Brand: Reun (가상의 한국 화장품 브랜드)
• Tier: Mid-premium (clean beauty, eco-aware audience)
• Channel: Korean online (Olive Young, Coupang) + retail (boutique stores)
• Audience: KR primary; some EN secondary copy for export potential
• Volume: 10,000 cartons initial run
• Sustainability: FSC-certified board, soy ink

Specs

Spec	Value
Style	Tuck-end folding carton (TT — top-tuck-bottom-tuck)
Size	70mm × 70mm × 80mm (W×D×H)
Material	350gsm SBS (solid bleached sulfate), FSC-certified
Inside coat	None (uncoated interior)
Color	CMYK + 1 spot Pantone (brand color)
Finish	Matte aqueous coating
Special	Spot UV on logo (front panel only); deboss on brand wordmark
Inks	Soy-based
File	PDF/X-1a, fonts outlined, dieline on separate non-printing layer

Color tokens

--brand-primary:       PANTONE 5807 C  (sage green)
--brand-text:          90% K
--brand-meta:          60% K (regulatory text)
--accent:              PANTONE warm gray 5 C (very subtle accent line)

Dieline

                        Top tuck
                ┌──────────────────────┐
                │                      │
                │      TOP PANEL       │
                │      70 × 70mm       │
                │                      │
                ├───────────┬──────────┤
        ─ ─ ─ ─ │           │          │ ─ ─ ─ ─
                │           │          │
        Side    │   FRONT   │   RIGHT  │   Side
        panel   │  70 × 80  │  70 × 80 │   panel
        70×80   │           │          │   70×80
                │   PANEL   │   PANEL  │
        ─ ─ ─ ─ │           │          │ ─ ─ ─ ─
                ├───────────┴──────────┤
                │                      │
                │     BOTTOM PANEL     │
                │     70 × 70mm        │
                │                      │
                └──────────────────────┘
                       Bottom tuck

Lay flat with glue tab on outside-right; folds in.
Dotted lines = creases. Solid = cuts.

Total flat dimensions including bleed: ~330mm × 240mm.

Panel content

Front panel — brand-defining

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│                             │
│        ▣ REUN                │  ← logo, deboss + spot UV
│                             │     (top center, 30mm)
│                             │
│                             │
│      Calming Moisturizer    │  ← product name, 11pt
│      카밍 모이스처라이저        │  ← 10pt KR
│                             │
│                             │
│           50ml              │  ← net contents, 9pt 600
│                             │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Right panel (and Left, symmetric) — story

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│                             │
│  센텔라와 약쑥이 진정시키는      │  ← KR copy, 8.5pt
│  데일리 수분 크림.             │
│                             │
│  Centella + mugwort calm    │  ← EN secondary, 8pt
│  irritated skin.            │
│                             │
│  • 7가지 식물 추출물            │  ← bullet feature list
│  • 무향료, 무알코올              │
│  • 비건 인증                   │
│                             │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Back panel — regulatory + ingredient

KFDA-compliant cosmetics labeling:

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ 화장품의 명칭                  │  ← 6.5pt headers
│ Calming Moisturizer          │
│                             │
│ 내용량 50ml                   │
│                             │
│ 제조판매업자                   │
│ (주)르운, 서울시 강남구 ...      │
│ 화장품 제조업 신고 제2024-...호  │
│                             │
│ 사용기한: 박스 측면 표기         │
│ (개봉 후 12개월)                │
│                             │
│ 전성분                        │
│ 정제수, 글리세린, 센텔라아시아티카  │  ← 6pt; all listed
│ 추출물, 인삼뿌리추출물,          │
│ 베타글루칸, 히알루론산, ...        │
│                             │
│ 사용 시 주의사항                │
│ 1. 화장품을 사용하여 다음과       │  ← KFDA-mandated text
│ 같은 이상이 있는 경우에는 ...      │
│                             │
│ 소비자 상담실 080-1234-5678     │
│                             │
│ 원산지: 한국                  │
│                             │
│ ┌─┐ ┌─┐  분리배출 표시:        │  ← recycling marks
│ │종│ │플│  종이/플라스틱           │     mandatory
│ └─┘ └─┘                      │
│                             │
│ [barcode 1.5cm × 3cm]       │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Top panel — utility

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│                             │
│         ▣ REUN               │  ← small logo
│   Calming Moisturizer       │
│                             │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Bottom panel

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│                             │
│  제조번호 / Lot:               │  ← will be ink-jet printed
│  사용기한 / Best by:           │     by manufacturer at fill
│                             │
│  Made in Korea              │
│                             │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Regulatory checklist (Korean cosmetics)

• 화장품의 명칭 (product name in Korean)
• 내용량 (net contents) prominent
• 제조판매업자 (manufacturer/distributor name + address)
• 화장품 제조업 신고번호 (manufacturing license)
• 사용기한 / 개봉 후 사용기간 (use-by or PAO)
• 전성분 (full ingredients in INCI Korean naming)
• 사용 시 주의사항 (KFDA-mandated standard text)
• 소비자 상담실 (customer service phone)
• 원산지 (country of origin)
• 분리배출 표시 (recycling marks for paper + any plastic component)
• 바코드 (barcode for retail)

Sustainability + ESG callouts

Visible on packaging: - FSC certification mark (small, on bottom panel or near recycling marks). - "100% recycled paperboard" if applicable; for this case using FSC virgin fiber. - "Soy-based ink" mentioned on product website + occasionally on packaging back. - No plastic window — full opaque carton.

Production rationale

Decision	Why
Tuck-end folding carton	Standard, cost-effective for cosmetics
350gsm SBS, FSC-certified	Premium feel + eco-aware audience
Matte aqueous coating	Soft, premium look without plastic-feel of UV varnish
Spot UV on logo only	Tactile signal; subtle
Deboss wordmark	Premium tactile detail
Soy ink	Aligns with eco brand voice
Pantone 5807 C (sage)	Brand consistency across runs; CMYK fallback for less critical surfaces
KR primary, EN secondary	Domestic primary audience; export-ready secondary

Cost estimate

Item	Per unit (KRW)
350gsm SBS, CMYK + 1 spot, matte aqueous, spot UV, deboss	280-350 KRW
10,000 unit run	2,800,000-3,500,000 KRW
Dieline + setup (one-time)	200,000-400,000 KRW
Press proof	50,000 KRW
Total initial run	~3,000,000-3,900,000 KRW

For high-volume reorders (50,000+), per-unit drops to ~180-220 KRW.

File delivery

1. PDF/X-1a with:
2. Dieline on separate non-printing layer (named dieline)
3. All artwork on print layers
4. 3mm bleed
5. Crop marks + dieline output marks
6. Fonts outlined
7. All images 300 DPI at final size, embedded
8. CMYK color + Pantone 5807 C as spot
9. ICC: Japan Color 2001 Coated
10. Source files: AI master + INDD if used; layered PSD for any photographic elements
11. Spec sheet (this document)
12. Press proof required before bulk run

Pre-press checklist

• Dieline on separate layer, set non-printing
• Color mode: CMYK + Pantone 5807 C as spot
• Pantone color defined as spot (not silently converted)
• All fonts outlined
• All images embedded, 300+ DPI
• Bleed: 3mm all sides
• No critical content within 5mm of cut/fold lines
• All regulatory content present (checklist above)
• Recycling marks at minimum 8mm × 8mm
• Barcode scannable (test with phone)
• Total ink coverage: ≤ 280%
• Black: 100K for body, no rich black for small text
• Korean copy proofread by native speaker
• Korean regulatory text matches KFDA template exactly
• Spell check KR + EN

Press proof approval

• Color matches Pantone 5807 C (visually + by colorimeter if available)
• Spot UV positioned correctly (only on logo)
• Deboss depth feels premium (not too shallow)
• Matte coating uniform (no streaks)
• Trim and crease lines clean
• Box folds correctly without breaking print
• Inside (uncoated) doesn't show through to outside
• Recycling marks legible

Common things that go wrong

• Sage green prints muddy — Pantone match critical; press proof + sign-off mandatory.
• Crease lines crack the print — too-thick coating + sharp creases. Solution: ask printer to use scoring rule that pre-conditions paper.
• Deboss feels weak — depth too shallow. Specify minimum impression depth.
• Regulatory text 6pt is too small to read at retail — push to 7pt minimum where possible while staying within total panel content limits.
• Korean ingredient list mistranslated — INCI naming has standard Korean translations; use KFDA-approved table.

Don't

• Don't skip the dieline. Designing without one means wrong fold positions.
• Don't put critical content within 5mm of cut or crease lines.
• Don't use rich black for ingredient text — registration shifts cause unreadable fringes.
• Don't approve a digital proof for color-critical packaging. Press proof is mandatory.
• Don't shrink regulatory text below KFDA minimum (typically 6pt for ingredients on small packages).
• Don't skip recycling marks. KFDA / Ministry of Environment can require recall.

Cross-reference

• knowledge/print/print-fundamentals.md — CMYK, bleed, DPI
• knowledge/print/packaging.md — packaging fundamentals
• knowledge/print/korean-print-conventions.md — KR regulatory
• knowledge/patterns/brand-identity.md — brand foundation
• knowledge/i18n/korean-document-style.md — Korean voice