A production run of a catalogue stainless steel tumbler takes 10 to 25 days after sample approval, and the spread is almost entirely explained by decoration. What sits outside that window — artwork approval, sample rounds and tooling — is where the schedule is usually lost, and it is the part a buyer controls directly.
The stages, and who owns each one
| Stage | Typical window | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Brief and specification agreed | Days, not weeks if the brief is complete | Buyer and factory together |
| Artwork checked and prepared | Depends entirely on the file supplied | Buyer |
| Sampling | 3–7 days from catalogue moulds | Factory |
| Sample approval | As fast as the buyer decides | Buyer |
| Production | 10–25 days after approval | Factory |
| Inspection and packing | Inside the production window | Factory |
| Freight | Depends on the Incoterm and the route | Agreed at quotation |
Why the production window is 15 days wide
The width is decoration. An undecorated or lightly printed body moves through forming, vacuum, coating and printing quickly. A run with a custom Pantone, multi-position printing and a printed retail box adds a coating changeover, extra print setups and a packaging lead time that is not the bottle's. The lower end of the range is real, and so is the upper end — the mistake is planning for the lower one.
What actually delays a run
- Artwork arriving late or wrong. A low-resolution logo or an artwork with no reference position is the most common cause of a slipped date, and it is entirely within the buyer's control.
- A late colour decision. The coating run cannot be scheduled until the Pantone is confirmed.
- Changes after sample approval. Any change after approval restarts part of the sequence, because the approved sample is the production reference.
Questions buyers ask
Can production be expedited?
Sometimes, by fitting the run into an existing slot for the same colour and body. That is a scheduling question rather than a capacity one, so it is worth asking rather than assuming it is impossible.
Does a bigger order take longer?
Beyond the capacity of a single shift, yes — a large run spans more line time. Under that, the setup dominates and the length of the run changes little.
When should I book peak season?
Early enough that your run is not competing for the same line as everyone else's. Our weekly capacity is a real constraint rather than a marketing figure, and the factory page publishes it.
If you have a launch date, work backwards from it and send the brief early — how we work sets out the sequence we run.
