Pack AI

Use case

Your Alibaba or IndiaMart supplier sent you a dieline. Now what?

Open the file in Pack AI, design your branding directly on the cut and fold lines, and export a print-ready file the factory can drop straight onto the production line.

The supplier-to-brand workflow

When you order custom packaging on Alibaba, IndiaMart, Made-in- China, Global Sources, or any other B2B marketplace, the factory does the structural design — the dimensions of the box, the way the flaps fold, where the glue tabs go. They deliver that as a dieline template (typically a PDF or an Adobe Illustrator .ai file) and ask you to send back the artwork laid out on top.

The problem: most small brands don't have a packaging designer on staff and Illustrator is intimidating. So either you hire someone for €200–€800 per design, or you spend a weekend learning Illustrator, or you ship plain brown boxes.

Pack AI sits between those options. Drop the supplier's PDF in, see every panel detected automatically, and design each side without Illustrator.

What suppliers usually send

Files we see from manufacturers, in order of frequency:

  • PDF — by far the most common. Works natively.
  • Adobe Illustrator (.ai) — modern .ai files are PDF-compatible, so they open the same way.
  • SVG — occasional, especially from smaller-volume custom shops.
  • CDR (CorelDRAW) and EPS — less common, not yet supported. Convert to PDF first.

The factory's dieline usually has cut lines in magenta, fold lines in another color, and a printed label like 75×75×25 cm showing the assembled box's size. Pack AI reads that label and shows it back so you know exactly what you're designing for.

Step by step

  1. Download the dieline file from your Alibaba/IndiaMart chat.
  2. Drop it onto the Pack AI editor. Pack AI auto-detects each panel.
  3. Either design by hand — add text, your logo, images, shapes — or kick off the AI brief for a 1-minute first draft.
  4. Export the finished design as a print-ready PDF (or AI for Illustrator hand-off).
  5. Send it back to your supplier. They overlay it on the dieline, add bleed, and start production.

What about bleed and color profiles?

Print shops typically request 3 mm of bleed past the cut line and CMYK color. Pack AI's exports preserve the dieline's original bleed margins (already drawn by the factory), and exports as RGB — most modern presses convert RGB to CMYK on ingest, but if your factory specifically asks for CMYK, open the AI export in Illustrator and convert with Edit → Convert to Profile before sending.

Drop your supplier's dieline in