How Long Does a Custom FIBC Sample Take?

For a standard four-panel bag built in a fabric we already run, a custom sample typically takes 7 to 10 working days from the point the drawing is approved, plus courier time. A fully custom build usually takes 2 to 4 weeks, because a new fabric width, a new coating, a printed panel or a baffle construction each add a step before the sample can be sewn. The largest variable is not sewing time; it is how long the drawing and the specification take to settle.

What actually drives the clock

• Drawing approval: a dimensioned drawing with filled height, base style, loop type and liner fit. Samples made before this is agreed are usually remade.
• Fabric: if the GSM and the width are already in production, the fabric is available. A new width or a coated specification adds a weaving or coating slot.
• Printing: a new print cylinder adds time at the front of the schedule. Ask for a plain sample if you only need to check construction and fit.
• Liner: liners are made after the bag sample, so a liner trial adds a short second stage.
• Courier: allow about a week for express air freight to most destinations, and treat customs clearance as outside our control.

What the sample is for

A sample proves the construction, the fit on your fill head and the way your product behaves inside the bag. It is not a production approval and it is not a test report. The bag is hand-checked against the drawing and, where you ask for it, filled with your product at your site. Sample feedback is most useful when it comes back with the fill head, the fill rate and photographs of the bag under load, because a fit problem at the fill head is not visible from outside the bag.

QINFENG’s first-hand experience

Most of our sample cycles that run long are delayed on the drawing rather than in the plant. A typical case: a distributor asks for a baffle bag, the filled height and the pallet footprint are agreed, and then the loop type changes twice after the fabric has been cut, so the first sample is scrapped and the clock restarts. On the fastest cycles the customer sends a dimensioned drawing and the product data in one message, we confirm the drawing within two working days, and the sample ships inside ten working days. We keep every approved drawing against the sample it produced, so the production order is built from the same revision that was signed off.

What the timeline does not cover

These are typical ranges and not commitments, and every project is confirmed per project at quotation. The range assumes the drawing is approved without further changes, that the fabric is either already in production or uncoated, and that no new print cylinder is required. Tooling, printing plates, peak-season scheduling and any third-party test required before shipment all sit outside the range. Third-party testing is arranged on request and quoted separately.