Types of Packaging Companies in Southern California

You’re going to find several different types of custom packaging companies in California. It’s important to understand the difference so that you can make the best choice for your particular packaging needs. 

When doing a quick search online for retail packaging manufacturers in Los Angeles and Orange County, you’ll quickly notice that their websites aren’t too clear about what their role is in the packaging manufacturing process.

Just like any other business, retail packaging companies outsource some of the work. 

While this isn’t a problem, specific outsourced tasks can increase your end cost, delay completion time, or cause avoidable mistakes. 

All about packaging companies in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Packaging Broker

A packaging broker can be either an individual or a company, though they usually aren’t labeled as such. Most often they’ll advertise themselves simply as a packaging company or supplier. 

Packaging brokers are like project managers meaning that they will handle the paperwork and money aspect of your job. They don’t do any of the manufacturing.

It doesn’t take much to become a packaging broker. A website and relationships with local packaging manufacturers are all one needs to supply packaging. 

When you contract a broker, they'll request quotes from several packaging manufacturers. Usually, the least expensive one wins. The broker needs to find the lowest price so they can remain competitive when they mark it up with their fees. 

Does using a packaging broker mean you’ll end up paying more? 

Sometimes it does and other times it doesn’t.

Depending on the relationship that the broker has with the supplier, they may get a discount and that discount will offset the broker's service fees.

Sometimes they won’t get a discount, and the broker adds their project management fees on top of the cost of the packaging.

The positive aspect of using a broker is that they will handle the project for you. However, as you'll read below, printers and experienced graphic finishers can do it just as well.

On the negative side, depending on the broker you're working with, they may focus so much on the lowest price that they overlook the quality of the work. 

Packaging Suppliers

Packaging suppliers come primarily in two varieties: the printer and the graphic finisher. Remember when we said that packaging companies often outsource some of the work? Here’s how that works. 

The printers role in the project is, obviously, the designing and printing of the graphics on the packaging. 

The graphic finisher's role is:

• Designing the structure of the box
• Manufacturing the steel rule die
• Die-cutting the packaging
• Create the score and perforations as needed
• Emboss or deboss as needed
• Foil stamp as needed
• Apply UV coating to achieve various finishes
• Folding and gluing the packaging
• Assemble as needed
• Skid pack and deliver

Although both printers and graphic finishers are considered packaging suppliers, graphic finishers are packaging manufacturers.

So when you hire a printer to create your packaging, know that they'll outsource the graphic finishing part. And when you hire a graphic finisher to handle the packaging, know that they will outsource the printing part. 

You’re probably wondering if any Southern California packaging companies do both printing AND graphic finishing? As far as we know, no there isn't. 

You see, both aspects of the manufacturing, the printing and graphic finishing, are specialized. We know this because our company had started out printing 40 years ago before we transitioned to graphic finishing several years back. 

Graphic finishing requires a lot of specialized equipment, so much so that most graphic finishers in California don’t have everything necessary to do all the work in-house. 

That’s one of the things that makes our business unique --we have all the equipment in-house (some of the machines are custom designed by us!) to complete the work

Should you choose a printer or graphic finisher to supply your packaging?

Since there is no getting around the fact that you will be working with both a printer and a graphic finisher, it comes down to choosing who you want to manage your project. 

If you go with a printer, they’ll contract the graphic finisher on your behalf. If they don’t contract us, then most likely your packaging will go change hands a few times, from graphic finisher to graphic finisher, to complete various aspects of the packaging. 

This is a risky move, however.

While it could save money at first glance (based on the quote they were given), having your packaging change hands several times increases the chance of delays. And delays have a cost too!

However, if you choose us, then you’ll know that we’ll only contract one printer --one that we’ve built a close relationship with over the years and trust to get the printing right the first time.

Then, when it comes to the manufacturing, we’ll handle it with fast precision as we’ve always done.

Need an all-in-one packaging manufacturer that you can trust to manage your packaging project too? Call us at Graphic Finishers! (714) 633-3310