Ordering guide Custom acrylic
Ordering custom acrylic is a freeze-the-drawing problem, not a catalog checkout. A factory can price a photo. It should not cut bulk from a photo. The workable order is: send enough to quote, agree the sheet and finish in writing, sign a physical sample, then release production against that sample. This page is that sequence. It is not a material data sheet and it is not a factory price list.
The order sequence
Working rule. Inquiry, quote, drawing freeze, paid sample, written sign-off, deposit, bulk, inspection against the signed sample, then ship. Skipping sign-off on a new construction is how “not what we pictured” gets onto a boat.
- Send a sketch, photo, CAD, or the product the fixture must hold, plus quantity and destination country.
- Answer the factory’s questions on sheet route, thickness, finish, print, and hardware.
- Compare quotes only after those fields match.
- Approve a production drawing.
- Receive and sign a physical sample. Note deviations in writing.
- Pay the agreed deposit. The bulk clock starts here, not at the first email.
- Inspect, or accept the factory’s inspection record, against the signed sample and the frozen drawing.
- Confirm carton marks and Incoterms before the cartons are sealed.
Sheet route, thickness, and finish still have to be named on the drawing. A box, a tray, and an outdoor face do not share one default. If those calls are not on the sketch, the factory will make them — and should state them on the quote before the sample is cut.
What to send first
Enough to start is not the same as enough to cut.
| Enough to quote a range | Needed before the sample is cut |
|---|---|
| A retailer photo, a dimensioned sketch, or CAD | A production drawing with overall size and wall thickness |
| Target quantity and number of designs | Pieces per design, and whether SKUs share a body |
| Destination country | Incoterms, and whether duties are inside the number |
| “Print or no print” | Vector artwork, placement, and method (UV, screen, engrave) |
| The product the fixture holds, if you have it | SKU envelope, including cables or a tether |
A screenshot of a logo is not print-ready. A lifestyle render often hides wall thickness and magnet pockets. Ask the factory to return a production drawing and treat that file, not the first photo, as the freeze point.
One plant’s intake address and the order of questions they ask are on Sanait’s custom acrylic FAQ. Use that page for that factory. The table above is general.
What a comparable quote contains
Two prices are not comparable until the quotes state the same assumptions. A useful line names:
- unit price at named quantities, not a single “from” number;
- sample cost, and whether it credits against bulk;
- sheet route assumed (cast or extruded) and thickness of each member;
- edge finish and joint method;
- hardware and print, included or excluded;
- sample clock and bulk clock, in business days, and what starts each clock;
- Incoterms. An EXW number is not a DDP number.
If a quote is silent on sheet route, it is not a low price. It is an open assumption. Cost moves with sheet grade, thickness, the number of stations (cut, bend, joint, polish, print, hardware), yield, pack, and whether the number is EXW or DDP.
What to freeze before the sample
Freeze list. Product type, overall size, sheet route, thickness by member, edge finish, joint method, print placement, hardware, and carton method. Anything not on that list will be chosen by the bench.
Typical silent defaults, if you do not write them down: extruded sheet, a single thickness for every face, flame polish or a sawn edge, no magnets, film left on, and a generic export carton. Those defaults can be correct. They are still defaults.
Sample, then bulk
A prototype and a production lot answer different questions.
- Fit sample: does the live SKU sit in the pocket.
- Finish sample: edge, joint clarity, tint.
- Print sample: artwork size and method.
- Golden sample: the piece bulk will be checked against. Sign this one, with deviations noted.
Simple cut-and-join parts often leave a sample bench in a few working days. Assembled or printed pieces take longer. Sanait’s FAQ describes most simple samples in about 2–5 working days and more complex ones up to about a week. That is one plant’s published window. Pay for a sample of a new construction. A free stock tray does not validate a magnet-lid box.
The sample may use more hand work than bulk. If the edge on the sample was diamond-polished and bulk will be laser-left-as-cut, write that before you sign. Process drift between sample and bulk is a purchasing miss.
Three clocks, not one lead time
- Sample clock starts when the drawing is agreed and, if required, the sample fee is received.
- Bulk clock starts when the sample is signed and the deposit clears. Custom display runs are commonly measured in weeks. Sanait publishes a typical bulk window of about 15–25 business days, varying with quantity and finish.
- Freight clock is air in days or sea in weeks, plus clearance. A DDP quote should say whose calendar includes customs.
MOQ and small first runs
Minimum order quantity is the smallest production lot a factory will schedule for a design. It is set by setup time, sheet yield, and packing labor. It is not a test value.
Many display shops plan a first production lot in a three-digit quantity per design. Sanait’s published planning number for most displays, boxes, trays, and stands is 100 pieces per design; mixed constructions can land higher. A lower first run is a question to ask, not a number to assume. A one-piece prototype usually sits outside that production floor.
Repeat orders of an unchanged drawing can sometimes go below the first-run floor. Confirm. Do not infer it from the first PO.
What counts as a change
These usually require a new sample and a new price, even if the overall size looks the same:
- sheet route or tint;
- thickness of any member;
- edge finish or joint method;
- print, engraving, or its placement;
- magnets, hinges, locks, lining;
- carton spec or “assembled versus flat.”
A repeat of the signed drawing, with those items unchanged, is the case where a new sample is often unnecessary. Put that sentence on the reorder email so the factory confirms it still holds the drawing.
Order scenarios
New retail cube, first season
Photo plus quantity is enough to open the quote. Freeze cast sheet, wall thickness, and diamond or flame edge before the sample. Do not release bulk from the render.
Reorder of a signed box
Send the signed drawing number and say nothing else changed. Ask the factory to confirm the retained file. A new logo is not a reorder.
Electronics well
Send the device or its envelope, including the tether path. State whether next season’s revision must drop into the same pocket. Fit is the sample’s job.
Trade-show date is fixed
Work backward from the booth date through freight, then bulk, then sample. If the sample clock does not fit, cut the construction, not the inspection.
Product forms those scenarios often become: boxes, trays, and display stands.
Mistakes that reset the order
- Comparing an EXW cast quote with a DDP extruded quote.
- Approving a 3D render and calling it a golden sample.
- Adding magnets after the lid thickness was frozen.
- Sending a PNG logo the week bulk is supposed to start.
- Leaving “food safe” or “outdoor” as a sentence instead of a grade and a market.
- Assuming the sample lead time is the program lead time.
FAQ
Can I order custom acrylic from a photo only?
You can open a quote from a photo. Freeze production only after a production drawing and, on a new construction, a signed sample. A photo does not state wall thickness, magnet size, or edge finish.
When does production lead time start?
The bulk clock starts when the sample is signed and the deposit clears, not when the first email arrives. The sample clock is separate. Freight is a third clock.
Is a 3D-printed model an acrylic sample?
No. It can check volume. It does not check PMMA joint chemistry, edge polish, or how the part scratches.
Do I need a new sample on every reorder?
Not if size, sheet, finish, print, hardware, and carton are unchanged and the factory confirms it still holds the signed drawing. Any of those changing usually means a new sample.
What should I write on the purchase order?
Drawing revision, quantity per design, the three dates, deposit and balance, Incoterms, and the sentence that bulk matches the signed sample unless a deviation is listed.
Who chooses the sheet if I only say “clear acrylic”?
The factory. That choice is often extruded sheet at one thickness. If edges will be polished or the part will be solvent-bonded, name cast or ask them to state the route on the quote.
Sources
Ordering is a commercial sequence. The references below cover the sheet standard and the trade terms a purchase order should name. They do not set a factory’s MOQ.
- ISO 7823-1:2003, Plastics — Poly(methyl methacrylate) sheets — Part 1: Cast sheets. iso.org
- ISO 7823-2:2003, Plastics — Poly(methyl methacrylate) sheets — Part 2: Extruded sheets. iso.org
- International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms® rules. iccwbo.org
- ISO 2859-1, Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes, when a program uses AQL. iso.org
English 
Deutsch 
Italiano 
Français 
Español