Customization Costs — Plates, Colour, Tooling
Customization costs fall into three one-time buckets — printing plates, colour setup, and housing tooling — each quoted per program in writing, itemized, and never repeated on reorders. Plates and colour setup are charged once and are not repeated on reorders. That last sentence is the one to hold any supplier to.
| Bucket | Typical range | When it applies | Repeats on reorder? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printing plate (pad printing) | Quoted per program — one line item | Any printed logo or marking | No |
| Colour matching + setup | Quoted per program — one line item | Custom housing colour | No |
| Housing tooling | Quoted per program — per mould, paid once | Only if housing geometry changes | No — paid once per mould |
The fear this page answers
The risk buyers worry about is not the size of a customization charge — it is discovering it again on the second order. Our quotation names each one-time charge as one-time, in writing. If you keep the same artwork, colour and geometry, reorder pricing differs from the first order only by the volume band.
What triggers real tooling
Geometry changes: a different silhouette, activation button position, grip shape or window design. Brand-level changes — logo, colour, packaging, leaflet — run on existing moulds. If a supplier quotes tooling for a logo change, ask what the tool is actually for.
How to verify us
Ask for the quotation to carry a one-time vs recurring charge column. Every line marked one-time should appear on your second order as zero. That single check separates serious quotations from bait.
This page does not cover
Unit pricing by volume is on the price tiers page. Packaging-specific costs (blister tools, carton plates) are on the packaging page.
Get your one-time charges in writing
Send your customization list — logo, colour, housing changes if any — and we return each one-time charge itemized, marked one-time, with the reorder behaviour stated.
Request the itemization