What is a PDQ display?

A PDQ display is a countertop or shelf tray that ships with the product inside and opens into a ready-made display, so a store can put it out without restacking anything. PDQ is usually read as “pretty darn quick.” They are made from corrugated board on a dieline, and we design the outside, the inside and the header card.

What is the difference between a shelf talker and a wobbler?

A shelf talker is a printed card fixed to the shelf edge beside the product; a wobbler is a smaller sign on a flexible plastic arm that sticks out into the aisle and moves as people pass. Both are read from a few steps away, so each carries one message and the brand, not a paragraph.

An FSDU is a free-standing display unit: a floor display, usually corrugated board, with shelves or hooks and a header board on top, placed in an aisle or at the end of one. It ships flat and is assembled in the store. The artwork covers the sides, shelf fronts and header, all on the manufacturer’s dieline.

Do I need a structural dieline before you start?

Yes for the final artwork, and the display manufacturer usually supplies it. They engineer the structure for the product’s weight and send the dieline; we build the artwork on it. If you haven’t chosen a manufacturer yet, we can start the layout and messaging from the product size, then fit it to their dieline when it arrives.

How do you make sure the product fits the display?

We work from the real product dimensions or a sample, and the manufacturer builds the dieline around them. Before final files, you get a 3D mock-up showing the display full of product, so you can check the facings, how many units it holds and whether the header clears them. An unprinted sample from the manufacturer is the final check.

Print & packaging design

Counter display and retail POP display design

We design point-of-purchase (POP) displays: countertop display boxes, shelf talkers, wobblers, header cards and floor-standing units, built on the display manufacturer’s structural dieline. You get artwork that fits the product, reads from where shoppers stand and folds flat for shipping. Send the dieline if you have one, the product or its dimensions, and your brand files; the fixed price comes before we start.

Ask a designer New packaging: from $195

Style references for this service, not client work.

What we design

Countertop display boxes and PDQ trays: shipping cartons that open into a ready-made display at the till
Floor-standing display units (FSDU), with shelves, side panels and a header board
Shelf talkers, shelf strips and wobblers, the small signs that sit on the shelf edge and catch the eye in the aisle
Header cards and hang-sell cards for products on peg hooks
Dump bins and promotional stands
Display artwork for an existing product line, matched to its packaging

Built on the manufacturer’s structural dieline

A display is engineered before it is designed. The display maker or corrugated supplier works out the structure, the board grade and the flute for the weight of the product, and sends the dieline. We put the artwork on it the same way as any packaging: cut, crease and glue on separate non-printing layers, bleed past every cut, and nothing important on a fold, a tab or a panel that ends up inside. See how a dieline should be set up.

How the board is printed changes the file. Corrugated printed directly, usually by flexo, suits bold color and simple shapes, with coarser detail. Litho-laminated board, a printed sheet glued onto the corrugated, holds photography and fine type. We ask which your manufacturer uses before we start.

Display sightlines and product fit

A display is read from where shoppers actually stand: at a counter, looking down at an angle, or in an aisle, a step or two away, glancing sideways. The brand and the one message go on the header and the front lip, which stay visible when the display is full. Panels hidden by product carry nothing important.

We work from the real product size, or a sample, so the number of facings, the units per row and the header height are right before the first prototype. If the product changes size, the display has to change with it, so tell us early.

Ready for the store

Flat-pack construction, with assembly steps printed on an inside flap when the store builds it
A barcode on the outer shipper where the retailer needs one, at a scannable size, made with the barcode generator or placed by us
The retailer’s rules for size, height and materials followed when you send them
A 3D mock-up with the product in it, so you approve the display, not a flat drawing

Example work

Concept piece · Retail displaysPip & Peel counter displayStudio concept: a countertop display box and its packs, on one dielineSee the case study

Price

From $195. Fixed before we start.

Send the file or the idea in the chat and a designer usually answers within minutes with a fixed price. Nothing starts until you say yes. Bigger jobs are quoted in writing first. See all prices.

Print-ready PDF plus the source file
Bleed, CMYK, fonts and dielines checked twice
A short note of what we changed
Several jobs a month? Plans from $299/month
Print shop? We work white-label

Questions

What is a PDQ display?: A PDQ display is a countertop or shelf tray that ships with the product inside and opens into a ready-made display, so a store can put it out without restacking anything. PDQ is usually read as “pretty darn quick.” They are made from corrugated board on a dieline, and we design the outside, the inside and the header card.
What is the difference between a shelf talker and a wobbler?: A shelf talker is a printed card fixed to the shelf edge beside the product; a wobbler is a smaller sign on a flexible plastic arm that sticks out into the aisle and moves as people pass. Both are read from a few steps away, so each carries one message and the brand, not a paragraph.
What is an FSDU?: An FSDU is a free-standing display unit: a floor display, usually corrugated board, with shelves or hooks and a header board on top, placed in an aisle or at the end of one. It ships flat and is assembled in the store. The artwork covers the sides, shelf fronts and header, all on the manufacturer’s dieline.
Do I need a structural dieline before you start?: Yes for the final artwork, and the display manufacturer usually supplies it. They engineer the structure for the product’s weight and send the dieline; we build the artwork on it. If you haven’t chosen a manufacturer yet, we can start the layout and messaging from the product size, then fit it to their dieline when it arrives.
How do you make sure the product fits the display?: We work from the real product dimensions or a sample, and the manufacturer builds the dieline around them. Before final files, you get a 3D mock-up showing the display full of product, so you can check the facings, how many units it holds and whether the header clears them. An unprinted sample from the manufacturer is the final check.

Free tools for thisMake a box dieline, free A tuck-end carton dieline from the inside size: cut and crease, bleed and safe areas, board allowed for.

Related services

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Or see all our print design services.

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Ask a question or send the file in the chat. A designer usually answers within minutes with a fixed price, and nothing starts until you say yes.

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