Fillmore Container Order Checklist: 5 Things to Check Before You Buy Packaging, Print & Office Supplies

This checklist is for anyone who places quarterly business orders for packaging, custom printing, and breakroom supplies. I manage purchasing for a 60-person creative agency — maybe 65 after this quarter's hires, I'd have to check — and roughly $80k a year flows through my spreadsheet. Part of that order goes to Fillmore Container Company for packaging and print materials. The rest goes to a wholesale club for kitchen basics and coffee.

Maybe you're stocking a new office, preparing for an event, or just hitting a quarterly reorder threshold. Pause here for 20 minutes. I run the same five checks even when I think I know the item by heart.

The 5-step checklist

1. Measure the item before you pick the box or label

The internet is full of 'standard size' estimates, but your physical item is the only spec that matters. Last spring I had to order labels for 120 conference water bottles. I didn't know whether the bottles were 20 oz or 16.9 oz. My first search was 'how long is a Kirkland water bottle' — that returns roughly 8.3 inches for the Kirkland 16.9-oz version. It didn't help because our bottles had a shorter neck and a wider base.

Product pages list outer dimensions; they don't tell you how a label will sit on a curved surface. If you're labeling, cut a piece of paper to your rough label size and wrap it around the bottle. That two-minute test catches most of the label mistakes I used to make. Now I record height, width/diameter, and weight of the actual product before searching for packaging. For shipping boxes, I add the padding thickness.

2. Calculate quantities with numbers, not guesses

Once you know the item size, figure out how much you need. For office coffee, this means doing the water-to-coffee math. The question that appears in our breakroom Slack channel every few months is 'french press 8 cup how much coffee?' The answer is not eight coffee scoops. An 8-cup French press holds about 34 ounces (1 liter) of water. At a 1:15 ratio, that's about 56–70 grams of ground coffee, or roughly 8 tablespoons.

Multiply your daily use by business days and add a 15% buffer. The extra pound of coffee feels unnecessary until the week when everyone suddenly wants caffeine (surprise, surprise). The same math works for packaging materials: count how many boxes you shipped last month, add the same buffer, and compare that to what's left in the closet.

3. Compare final costs: coupon codes and the warehouse flyer

I don't assume one supplier has the best price on everything. For warehouse items, I check the Costco flyer this month before I make the trip. For packaging and print, I search 'Fillmore Container coupon' before checkout. Sometimes the coupon is on the supplier's own website. Sometimes a third-party code works for a first B2B order; retail coupons don't always apply to business accounts, but it costs a few minutes to test.

The important number is the final total after shipping and tax. A coupon can look generous and still lose to a lower base price with flat-rate freight. If you order from Fillmore Container regularly, it's also worth asking customer support about volume pricing. Coupon codes are useful for a one-off order, but a contract rate is more durable.

4. Put your print files through a prepress check

If the order includes custom printed boxes, labels, posters, or promo products, file specs make the difference between a clean lift and a do-over. I check three things:

• Resolution: commercial print files should be 300 DPI at final size. Large format can drop to 150 DPI for posters viewed from a distance, but keep 300 DPI for labels, flyers, and business cards.
• Color: request a proof when matching a brand color. According to Pantone Color Matching System guidelines, a Delta E below 2 is the usual target for brand-critical colors. CMYK conversions can shift, so it's worth seeing a proof before production.
• Bleed: extend background color at least 0.125 in beyond the trim line. Missing bleed is what makes white slivers appear along printed edges.

File format matters too: send a vector PDF where possible and make sure fonts are embedded. Requesting a proof is the part I still groan about (note to self: stop treating proofs as optional). It's cheaper than an expedited reprint.

5. Verify the invoice and lead-time infrastructure

Before hitting order, I check the operational side of the vendor: can they issue a PO-friendly quote, itemize the order confirmation, accept a resale/exemption certificate, and flag production delays before the due date instead of after?

I learned this in 2020 when a supplier sent a $2,400 order with a handwritten receipt. Finance rejected the expense report, and I ate it from the department budget. Now I verify paperwork capability before spending a dollar, even with a well-known supplier like Fillmore Container Company. I also verify that a rush option exists before promising anyone a deadline. A supplier is only fast if the paperwork can keep up.

Mistakes I still have to watch for

One is rushing the proof. I once had two hours to approve a rush job after a shipping delay. Normally I'd ask for a hard-copy proof and let it sit overnight. With no time, I approved a PDF, and the color came out wrong. Looking back, I should have paid for same-day proofing or changed the deadline. Under that constraint, I did the best I could with the information I had. Now I have a too-slowly-learned rule: never skip the proof on a reorder.

The other is the old assumption that local is always faster. That thinking comes from an era before modern logistics and integrated online ordering. In 2025, a well-run remote supplier can beat a local shop that still requires phone quotes and a pickup window. The fundamentals haven't changed — know your specs, confirm your invoice — but the execution has. I evaluate every vendor by production timeline and proof workflow, not by distance from my office.