Why do plastic box pictures and prices differ for one photo?

Answer: Bare shell, printed shell with sleeve, shell with foam and a catch. The spread is 6.5 CNY and collapses once the configuration is listed.

Why is the 1 L to 45 L gap ten times, not forty-five?

Answer: Weight does not scale with volume: the 45 L projected area is 7.4 times larger and the wall grows from 1.6 to 3.4 mm.

Should tooling be paid separately?

Answer: An 86,000 CNY tool over 50,000 shots carries 1.72 CNY per piece, so no amortisation line if you already paid it.

How can 3,000 pieces be 15 percent cheaper?

Answer: Setup disappears: a 250-tonne machine needs 3.5 hours to reach steady output, and both runs absorb it.

Can weight differ from an identical photo?

Answer: Eight to twelve percent inside one tier. A 95 g and a 115 g 1 L box look alike on screen and separate on a scale.

Plastic Box Pictures and Prices: Sizes, Materials, Buying Guide

Quick answer: Plastic box pictures and prices only line up when a photo is read as a capacity tier, not a shape. The same outline runs from 4.5 CNY at 1 L to 72 CNY at 45 L; wall, resin grade and batch set the spread.

How Plastic Box Pictures and Prices Map to Capacity Tiers
Why One Photo Carries Three Price Tags
Where the Money Goes: A Cost Breakdown
Five Price Levers and Their Trade-offs
Six Fields to Fix Before a Quote
FAQ

1. How Plastic Box Pictures and Prices Map to Capacity Tiers

Read plastic box pictures and prices by capacity tier, not shape: volume sets projected area, area times wall sets shot weight, and weight is resin cost. Prices are ex-works at 500 pieces, before tooling and freight.

Tier	Internal size (mm)	Side wall (mm)	Weight with lid (g)	Material	CNY per piece	USD per piece
1 L	180×120×70	1.6–1.8	95–115	PP copolymer	4.5–6.5	0.63–0.91
3 L	260×180×95	1.8–2.2	210–250	PP copolymer	7.5–10.5	1.05–1.47
8 L	350×250×130	2.2–2.6	430–480	PP copolymer	13–18	1.82–2.52
20 L	480×350×180	2.6–3.0	880–980	PP or HDPE	26–36	3.64–5.03
45 L	640×440×260	3.0–3.4	1850–2050	Mostly HDPE	52–72	7.27–10.07

2. Why One Photo Carries Three Price Tags

One beige flip-lid photo lands on a quotation as three figures: 4.5 CNY bare, 7.2 CNY with print and a sleeve, 11 CNY with foam and a catch. A photo cannot separate a 1.8 mm wall from 2.2 mm, yet the 3 L cavity gives 210 g against 250 g.

Plastic box pictures and prices: an open beige case on a workbench, black foam dividers inside, spanners and stamped parts beside it

A Pantone match adds 0.6 to 1.2 CNY, a colour change costs 40 minutes of cleaning, and 500 versus 3,000 pieces differ by 12 to 15 percent. Compare plastic box pictures and prices on wall, shot weight, grade and batch.

3. Where the Money Goes: A Cost Breakdown

Split the 8 L tier: resin 38–45 percent, labour and energy 14–18 percent, tooling and secondary work 14–24 percent, the rest freight.

Cost item	Share	Basis	Main driver
Resin	38%–45%	Weight × pellet price, PP 8.6 CNY/kg	Monomer index
Tooling amortisation	8%–13%	Tool cost ÷ 50,000 shots	Cavities, steel
Moulding labour and energy	14%–18%	Cycle × 250 t rate, 95 CNY/h	Cycle, automation
Secondary operations	6%–11%	Rate × quantity	Print colours
Packaging and logistics	5%–8%	Cartons, film, pallets	Fill count
Inspection and freight	9%–14%	Sampling rate, port	Freight index

Tooling is the most misread line: an 86,000 CNY tool over 50,000 shots is 1.72 CNY per piece, but 8,000 pieces spread it to 10.75 CNY. Resin prices by density too: a 430 g PP box becomes 500 g in ABS.

4. Five Price Levers and Their Trade-offs

Five variables still move, each with a trade-off.

Plastic box pictures and prices: an open beige case with foam on a workshop table, shears and twine

Lever	Action	Saving	Trade-off
Material	30% regrind in virgin PP	8%–12%	ΔE above 1.5, brittle at -10 °C
Wall	2.6 down to 2.3 mm	6%–9%	Drop test from 1.2 m to 0.9 m
Colour	Five colours into two	3%–5%	Stock concentrated
Batch	500 up to 3,000	10%–15%	Two months of storage
Lining	EVA to PE foam	5%–8%	Rebound 8,000 to 5,000 cycles

Raising the batch is the best value, since it touches no structure. Cutting wall is riskier: a 2.3 mm 20 L box at 18 kg bulges 3.2 mm. Rank plastic box pictures and prices levers by trade-off.

5. Six Fields to Fix Before a Quote

Leave capacity, wall tolerance, resin grade, batch, colour or packaging open and the answer is a 40 percent range, not a quote. Confirm lead time too: 12 to 15 days for 500 pieces, 20 to 25 for 3,000, another 25 to 30 for a new tool. Plastic box pictures and prices hold 15 or 30 days only, as pellets follow the monthly monomer index.

Conclusion

A catalogue leaves a price map: capacity sets the tier, wall sets weight, weight sets resin, and resin is about four tenths of the ex-works figure. Bargain on money before structure, and plastic box pictures and prices stop being one photo for one number.

This article discusses only the container (case body) side of specifications and design intent, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.