Sampling: What a Sample Round Costs, and What It Proves

Sampling is where a project becomes real, and where most of the avoidable cost sits. This is what happens in a round, what it costs, and what to check before you approve.

What a Sample Round Is

On a stock mould, the sample is a bottle from the current production with your closure fitted and, if needed, a plain decoration for reference.

On a new mould, T1 is the first shots off the tool: geometry check, fit check, and a wall measurement at four points. It is not a finished product.

What It Costs

Stock samples are usually free, with freight paid by the customer. Custom T1 samples carry a charge that covers the trial run and the courier; it is credited against the first order in most cases.

The expensive part is not the sample, it is the round: if a sample fails on fit, a correction and a second round adds 5–7 days each time.

What to Check Before You Approve

Fill it with the real formula and leave it inverted for 24 hours. Torque the closure with a gauge, not by hand. Drop a filled carton. Measure the wall where the pump sits, not at the body centre.

Approve in writing, with a photo of the approved sample and a note of any accepted deviation. A verbal yes is where delays start.

The Three Failures We See

A closure that fits dry and leaks wet. A wall that passes on the sample and thins on the second cavity. A decoration that looks right on a flat proof and wraps badly on the shoulder.

Questions We Get on This