Custom label quote requests, read into a draft quote sheet for your estimator.

A label request almost never reads like your quote form. Size and shape sit in the email, the stock on an old spec sheet, the colors in a PDF of the artwork, and the roll details nowhere at all. Your estimator pulls it together, sets the quantity breaks, notes how many SKUs share a format, and goes back to the customer about whatever is still open.

For the test, AI reads copies of each request and drafts your quote sheet: size and shape, face stock and adhesive as stated, colors, finish, core and roll direction, SKU versions, quantity breaks, and a marked list of every field a person must confirm, each with the line it came from. It writes no price, picks no press and substitutes no material. Your reviewer compares each draft with what your estimator actually built.

Some buyers spell out every number. The Government Publishing Office's Program 841-S, pressure-sensitive inspection labels bought for USDA's APHIS, opened for bids on February 2, 2023, and specified a 1-1/8 by 5-1/2 inch label with all corners rounded, about 3/16 inch apart on a silicone-coated kraft backing, waste removed, wound face up on a 3 inch core. Each roll had to hold exactly 500 labels, with no plus or minus allowed. Most commercial requests say a fraction of that. The sheet keeps what was stated apart from what would have to be assumed, and marks the second group for your estimator to confirm.

Colors and versions can hide in one line. That program wanted five background colors matched to Pantone 210, 305, 802, 803 and 807, let the printer use white stock with a flood coat instead of colored stock, asked for ink draw downs on actual production stock if it did, and kept the Hawaii image identical except for the island location line across seven locations. It also said digital printing was not acceptable, while Packaging Impressions reported in 2014 that some RFQs require a digital press. So the sheet carries ink callouts, finish and any press requirement as written, counts SKU versions and shows what changes between them. Which press runs the job stays with your estimator.

Stock and adhesive stay in the customer's own words. Permanent, removable, freezer grade or FDA approved don't settle a construction. FDA's rule at 21 CFR 175.125 treats pressure-sensitive adhesive as a food-contact surface under two lists: labels on poultry, dry food and processed, frozen, dried or partly dehydrated produce under one, and raw fruit and vegetables under the other. The USDA labels named an adhesive caliper, an application range of 40 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, service down to minus 50, surfaces from luggage to ceramics and cardboard, and removal with 100 degree water. The draft repeats what the customer wrote and lists the missing fields, such as the surface, application temperature and service temperature. Choosing a construction or calling it food safe stays with your estimator and supplier, and this isn't legal or regulatory advice.

A chemical label can change the ink count. Appendix C of OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard calls for a black hazard symbol on a white background inside a red frame, so a one-color black quote that shows pictograms needs a question. OSHA told one company in a December 2012 letter that preprinted stock can't leave an unused red frame blank on the finished label, and that a frame blacked out in full is acceptable. If a request names BS 5609, the British Standard for marine-use labels, the sheet asks which part applies: Section 2 tests the label construction, including three months in seawater, Section 3 tests the printed result, and the current edition is dated 2024. Classification and whether a construction qualifies stay with your customer and supplier. We flag these as questions and give no regulatory advice.

What your reviewer will check. The Flexographic Technical Association lists what a die maker needs for a standard shape: label height and width, the cylinder's repeat size, cavities across and around, the gaps both ways, any undercut that isn't standard, and the radius, with an electronic file for a special shape. A buyer rarely sends all of that, so the sheet shows which of those it found and which it didn't. Your reviewer, usually the lead estimator, checks that the draft caught every field, kept stock and adhesive as the customer wrote them, counted versions right and raised the same questions your desk raised. Whether to quote, the price and the reply stay with your team.

Once your reviewer says yes, new label requests get the same draft sheet for about 30 days.

Your estimator approves every quote and sets every price. Nothing reaches a customer until a person sends it, and the same table keeps scoring the drafts.

Anything beyond this job is a separate decision at its own price.