11 Questions to Ask Printing and Packaging Companies Before Choosing One

Selecting the right printing and packaging partner today goes beyond a simple procurement task, influencing product quality, safety, shelf life, brand presentation, regulatory compliance, and long-term sustainability.

From the inks that bring designs to life to the substrates, multilayer structures, and barrier properties that protect the product, packaging functions as a connected ecosystem, where every component plays a critical role.

Whether you are launching a new FMCG product, scaling liquid food packaging, or enhancing flexible packaging solutions, asking the right questions helps you assess more than just a supplier. It allows you to identify a strategic, long-term packaging partner.

Within this context, GLS Group stands out as an integrated packaging ecosystem, bringing together specialty chemicals, high-performance films, aluminium foils, and advanced aseptic solutions under one strategic vision.

The 11 questions below are designed to decode capabilities across products and packaging, material expertise, printing technologies, and innovation, while offering insight into how modern packaging value chains operate.

1. Do you Offer End-To-End Printing and Packaging Solutions?

Many printing and packaging companies operate in silos, outsourcing inks, films, foils, or adhesives. This often leads to inconsistencies, delays, and quality gaps.

A robust partner should integrate printing, lamination, substrate engineering, and material compatibility to ensure seamless execution across the packaging lifecycle.

2. What Type of Inks, Adhesives, and Coatings do you Use, and are they Application-Specific?

While printing starts with ink, its real impact lies beyond colour alone. Inks and adhesives must be purpose-engineered for food, pharma, or industrial use to ensure safety, durability, and performance.

GLS Specialty Chemicals expertise ensures

• Low migration and food safety compliance
• Strong interlayer bonding
• High-speed print stability
• Resistance to heat, moisture, and abrasion

In-house R&D-backed formulations often indicate higher control over print performance and lamination strength.

3. What Substrates do you Specialize in for Flexible Packaging?

The foundation of any printed pack is the substrate, and the most reliable printing and packaging companies are those that house multiple material capabilities within one integrated ecosystem.

From paperboard used in cartons and aseptic packaging, to packaging films such as PET and metallised PET, and engineered multilayer laminates for flexible formats, material selection and performance are managed cohesively rather than in isolation.

This unified approach eliminates dependence on external pet film manufacturers in India or fragmented polyester film manufacturers in India.

It ensures that barrier properties, visual appeal, and print compatibility are developed together, resulting in stronger and more consistent products and packaging outcomes.

4. Are your Packaging Films Engineered for Barrier Performance and Durability?

Film performance varies significantly, making it essential to evaluate factors such as thickness consistency, optical clarity, tensile strength, and barrier properties.

Advanced BOPET and specialty films play a vital role in protecting products from oxygen and moisture, enhancing shelf appeal, and supporting high-speed printing and lamination.

Continuous innovation in film technology remains a key differentiator among premium printing and packaging companies.

5. How do you Approach Aseptic Packaging, and What Layers are Involved?

Aseptic packaging is a science-driven domain where precision and material engineering define performance.

While a typical aseptic structure is built using multiple engineered layers, the effectiveness of the pack ultimately depends on how well each layer performs its role.

Within the GLS Group’s integrated packaging ecosystem, aluminium foil stands out as a critical functional layer, delivering a complete barrier against light, gases, and moisture.

This barrier integrity is essential for preserving product safety, nutritional value, and extended shelf life in liquid food packaging.

6. What is your Capability in Aluminium Foil Manufacturing?

In aseptic packaging, aluminium foil quality is a decisive factor that directly influences barrier performance, safety, and shelf life.

The most reliable packaging partners demonstrate capabilities such as precise micron control, wide-width foil production, adherence to global food and pharma certifications, and a clear commitment to sustainability with CO₂ transparency.

These benchmarks are embedded within the GLS Group’s integrated packaging ecosystem. Here, aluminium foil is engineered to meet the rigorous demands of high-performance aseptic and pharma applications, ensuring consistent pack integrity from material to finished packaging.

7. Can you Customize Structures Based on Product Requirements?

One-size-fits-all rarely works in modern packaging. Leading printing and packaging companies collaborate with brands to engineer application-specific structures, whether for dairy, beverages, confectionery, pharma, or industrial goods.

Customization across inks, films, foils, and adhesives ensures performance without over-engineering or excess cost.

8. Do you Have In-House R&D and Testing Facilities?

Innovation in products and packaging depends on research, not trial and error. An in-house, certified R&D setup allows

• Faster development cycles
• Compatibility testing across layers
• Continuous improvement in materials and sustainability

This is especially important when sourcing from advanced pet film manufacturers in India or aluminium-based packaging ecosystems.

9. How do you Ensure Regulatory Compliance Across Markets?

From food safety to pharmaceutical regulations, packaging must meet stringent global standards.

Key considerations include BRCGS, GMP, ISO compliance alongside strict adherence to sustainability and ethical practices.

Leading packaging partners, like GLS Group, treat compliance as a baseline rather than an add-on, holding a wide spectrum of certifications, including ISO 9001, 14001, 22000, 450001, 45001, ISO 50001, ISO 27001, ISO 37001, ISO 20400, BRCGS, DSIR, SEDEX (SMETA 4 Pillar), and DIN CERTCO PCR standards.

They also hold Halal, Kosher, and Ecovadis Silver certifications, ensuring products are safe, reliable, and globally accepted.

10. What Sustainability Practices are Embedded in your Packaging Process?

Today, sustainability is a core expectation, not just a trend. When evaluating a partner, look at how they use lightweight materials, fully recyclable or single‑material structures, responsibly sourced inputs, and transparent carbon reporting.

Indian consumers are increasingly conscious: around 52% now choose products with eco‑conscious packaging, and 75% recognise the importance of protecting the environment, signaling that sustainability influences purchase decisions locally.

Additionally, environmentally friendly packaging claims in Indian product launches have grown in recent years, with over 90% focusing on recyclability, highlighting that this isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ but a business imperative.

Partners with integrated recycling capabilities and eco‑certified operations show genuine commitment to long‑term environmental responsibility, helping protect product safety, extend shelf life, comply with regulations, and build deeper trust with a more eco‑savvy customer base.

11. Can you Scale with Consistency as My Brand Grows?

Finally, packaging partners must scale with you, without compromising quality. High production capacity, automation, and process standardization ensure consistency across geographies and volumes.

Integrated groups with expertise across films, foils, chemicals, and aseptic solutions stand apart.

Why Integrated Packaging Ecosystems are Paramount

The future belongs to printing and packaging companies that think holistically, where inks are engineered alongside films, aluminium layers are designed for aseptic integrity, and every component works in harmony.

An integrated ecosystem, such as the one built by GLS Group, brings together speciality chemicals, high-performance films, aseptic packaging, aluminium foils, and advanced polyfilms under one strategic vision.

This approach reduces dependency, improves quality control, and accelerates innovation across products and packaging.

For brands navigating today’s complex packaging sector, the right questions lead to the right partner, and the right partner builds packaging that performs, protects, and scales.

Schedule a consultation with GLS Group and see how integrated packaging can elevate your products.

FAQs

1. What are the different types of aseptic packaging?

Aseptic packaging comes in several types, including carton-based packs, multi-layer pouches, bottles, and flexible polyfilm packs. Each type is designed to maintain product safety, shelf life, and quality.

2. How does aluminium foil benefit aseptic packaging?

Aluminium foil acts as a barrier against light, gas, and moisture, ensuring long shelf life and safety for liquid foods and pharmaceutical products. It is a critical layer in high-performance aseptic and pharma packaging.

3. What materials are used in pharma packaging?

Pharma packaging typically uses multi-layer films, aluminium foils, high-barrier plastics, and speciality coatings. These materials protect medicines from contamination, oxygen, moisture, and light.

4. Why is barrier protection important in packaging?

Barrier protection prevents oxygen, moisture, and light from affecting the product. It is essential for preserving nutritional value, potency, and safety in both food and pharmaceutical products.

5. What factors should be considered when choosing packaging types?

Important considerations include product sensitivity, shelf life, compliance, material quality, and eco-friendly recyclability.