How to Write an RFQ for Custom Packaging Paper

Prepare the Project Information First

An RFQ should not be used to discover the basic requirements of the project.

Before preparing the document, buyers should already have a reasonable understanding of the product, dimensions, quantity, printing requirements, and intended application.

If those details have not yet been collected, start with What Information Should You Prepare Before Requesting a Packaging Paper Quote?.

That guide addresses the information-gathering stage. This RFQ guide starts at the next step: turning those requirements into a standardized document that suppliers can complete and return.

Give Every RFQ a Clear Identity

Start the document with a short project-control section. Include fields such as: RFQ reference number, project or SKU name, RFQ revision, issue date, response deadline, buyer contact, and supplier name.

Revision identification is particularly useful when specifications or artwork change during sourcing. For example, if RFQ-024 Rev. B contains an updated roll width, suppliers should clearly indicate that their quotation is based on Rev. B. This prevents an older quotation from being compared accidentally against a newer specification.

Separate Requirements and Responses

A strong RFQ should make a visible distinction between what the buyer requests and what the supplier proposes. A practical structure could look like this:

The objective is not to force every supplier to propose an identical solution. Instead, the structure makes differences visible. A supplier may have a reasonable alternative. Buyers simply need to know that an alternative is being quoted.

Reference a Controlled Specification

The RFQ does not need to contain every technical explanation. A better approach for detailed projects is to attach or reference a controlled specification.

For example: Specification WP-2026-014 Rev. 02. The specification may define the approved material, grammage, dimensions, print requirements, converting format, packing, and other technical criteria.

This separation has another advantage: the RFQ can remain a commercial purchasing document while the specification remains the technical reference. Where paper weight has not yet been finalized, buyers can separately review the Paper GSM: Complete Buyer's Guide before locking the RFQ specification.

Control Artwork by Revision

Custom printed paper creates another source of quotation ambiguity: artwork versions. Avoid attaching files called logo-final.ai, logo-final-new.ai, or logo-final-new2.ai.

Instead, assign a controlled filename or revision: WP-Floral-Pattern-R03.ai. The RFQ can then state: Artwork reference WP-Floral-Pattern-R03.ai.

If the print design changes, update the artwork reference and determine whether affected suppliers need to revise their quotations. This helps distinguish a genuine price difference from a quotation based on outdated artwork.

Standardize the Commercial Response

This is one of the most important sections of the RFQ. Ask each supplier to respond using the same commercial fields: quoted quantity, pricing unit, unit price, MOQ, tooling or setup charges, sample charges where applicable, quotation validity, payment terms, production lead time, and Incoterm.

The pricing unit deserves particular attention. A price per sheet cannot be compared directly with a price per roll, ream, kilogram, or other unit without conversion. The RFQ should therefore state the requested pricing basis or require suppliers to identify theirs clearly.

This is also why packaging paper quotations vary between suppliers: different baselines and pricing units make raw price numbers hard to compare until the responses are normalized.

Make Variations Easy to Quote

Sometimes buyers want to evaluate more than one commercial scenario. Instead of issuing several separate RFQs, use quantity breaks or options where appropriate.

For example: Option A 20,000 sheets, Option B 50,000 sheets, Option C 100,000 sheets. Alternatively, the RFQ could compare printed versus unprinted, roll versus sheet, or standard versus alternative material.

Keep optional scenarios clearly separated so suppliers do not combine different specifications into one ambiguous quotation.

Require an Exceptions Statement

Every formal RFQ should provide somewhere for suppliers to disclose deviations. A simple instruction can work: Please identify any deviation from the requested material, specification, printing, packing, documentation, quantity, or commercial terms.

A blank exception field can also be included. This is valuable because a lower quotation may sometimes be based on a different proposed specification rather than a lower price for an identical product. Exceptions do not automatically make a quotation unsuitable. They make the supplier's proposal transparent enough to evaluate.

Connect the RFQ to the Actual Product

For gift wrapping paper, buyers may need to address print design, finishing, roll or sheet format, and wrapping application. Our gift wrapping range includes rolls, sheets and reams with multiple printing and finishing options.

For custom tissue paper, the RFQ may require different grammage, format, print, color, or application details. The tissue range includes sheet, roll and ream formats with custom printing.

Projects involving white kraft paper may require another set of material, printing and converting requirements, and we supply roll, sheet and custom-cut formats.

For grease proof paper, the RFQ should capture food-contact compliance, basis weight, coating or release treatment, and any migration-test documentation, since these are specified differently from non-food grades.

The RFQ structure can remain consistent while the technical specification changes by product.

Define Sampling Without Duplicating Quality Control

An RFQ can state whether sampling is required, but it should not become a full inspection document. Useful fields include: sample required yes or no, sample type, sample charge, sample lead time, and approval required before production yes or no.

Detailed approval criteria belong in the sample-approval process. Final production conformity belongs in quality inspection. Keeping these stages separate gives each procurement document a clear purpose.

A Practical RFQ Framework

Before sending the RFQ, check whether the document contains these seven sections. This structure works as a reusable RFQ template for packaging paper: copy the sections, fill the buyer-requirement side, and ask each supplier to complete the response side.

• Document Control — RFQ number, revision, dates, buyer and supplier.
• Specification Reference — Product requirements and controlled technical specification.
• Artwork Reference — Named artwork file and correct revision.
• Quantity Options — Required quantity and any alternative volume tiers.
• Commercial Response — Price, MOQ, tooling, payment, validity, lead time and delivery terms.
• Sampling and Documents — Required samples and specified supporting documentation.
• Exceptions — A mandatory place for suppliers to disclose differences from the requested basis.

Before You Issue the RFQ

At Wise Packaging, custom paper projects are easier to evaluate when technical requirements and commercial responses are kept clearly separated. The objective is not to make an RFQ unnecessarily complicated. It is to remove assumptions that could affect quotation comparison later.

For buyers researching custom paper options before finalizing the RFQ, our custom packaging paper supplier and factory guide covers the supplier, manufacturing and quotation side in more depth.

A useful final test is simple: Could another procurement team member compare the returned quotations without having to reconstruct every supplier conversation? If the answer is yes, the RFQ is doing its job.