Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for food packaging manufacturers.
A checklist built from how food packaging manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Artwork and proof approval
- Film structure and costing
- Reel and ink lot traceability
- Print, laminate and cure tracking
- Seal, colour and weight checks
- Food-contact documents per job
- Pallet labels and delivery
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For estimators and prepress
- For press and converting supervisors
- For quality and hygiene staff
- For stores and dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Jobs by stage with press, laminator and cure room status
- Reels and inks consumed against each job, with core and offcut returns
- Rejects by cause, machine and operator
- Heat seal strength and colour readings by line over a run
- Proofs awaiting signature, oldest first
- Declarations and migration reports nearing expiry
- Pallets dispatched with job and lot numbers
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Prepress and artwork file exchange
- Barcode and pallet label printing
- Press and pouch machine counters
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Accounting software export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can a customer complaint be traced to a reel?
- Does it stop plates being made from an unsigned proof?
- How is lamination cure handled?
- Does it replace our supplier food-contact paperwork?
- Can seal and colour checks be entered on the floor?
- Can we cost a job by film structure?
- How do our reel stock and open jobs get in?
- Who owns the job and lot records?
- What decides what we pay?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Artwork versions drift
- Reel lots lose their trail
- Adhesive cure is guessed
- Declarations sit in folders
- Colour and seal checks stay on paper
Prefer to talk it through? See the food packaging manufacturers page.