Requirements every comparable factory quote should include
Packhelp-style public quote pages show a brief-first path. That observation is a process reference from 2026-09-15, not this site's factory network or a lead-time promise.
Same print assumption
Ask each factory to quote the same color count, coating and artwork revision. A six-color flexo case and a one-color code stamp are different jobs even when the board blank matches. If one supplier answers digital and another answers plates, keep those replies on two comparison rows.
Costs outside the piece price
Tooling, cutting dies, plates, freight and document copies stay as their own lines. ISO ICS 55.020 supplies packing-unit vocabulary for quantity, not a certificate this service owns. A reply that only returns a unit number without those extras cannot be ranked against a reply that itemizes them.
Sample and changeover path
Write whether a physical sample carton is required before the production lot, and whether a later artwork change restarts plates. Digital short runs can reduce plate cost when SKU counts are high; conventional flexo often keeps unit cost and spot-color control tighter on a stable long run. That trade-off is a buying choice, not a rating we assign to factories.
Limits we will not paper over
This service does not print cartons, store plates, or approve food-contact inks. Migration testing, if the fill requires it, is requested against a named ink and board lot. We will not invent a savings percentage, a standing inventory figure, or an appointed-brand badge. If a destination needs pallet pattern or moisture wrap, those notes belong in the same requirement box as quantity.
When the buyer still has an open die line or an undecided color count, the brief should say so. Factories can quote a range or decline. Forcing a fake complete spec to start a tender usually produces replies that cannot be lined up later. Read the RFQ checklist before opening inquiry options.