---
id: KB-AL-028
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/food-and-beverage/who-prints-the-pack-and-what-it-says
idioma: en
categoria: sector-alimentacion
subcategoria: packaging
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-AL-014, KB-AL-027]
citadoPor: [KB-AL-026]
---

# Who prints the pack and what it says

_The printer answers for the material and for printing what they were sent. That what was sent is true is the sender's problem._

**Responde a:** who is liable for a label error · food packaging printer documentation · declaration of compliance for packaging · printing error in food labelling

Two responsibilities live on a label and almost nobody separates them: **the material it is printed on** and **what is printed**. The first belongs to whoever makes the packaging; the second to whoever sent the artwork. When something goes wrong, the trouble is that both get argued as if they were one.

## Who answers for what

| What fails | Whose it usually is |
| --- | --- |
| The material is not fit for food contact | The packaging maker's |
| Ink migrates or the material fails in process | The maker's, if they knew the use |
| **The text says something untrue** | **Whoever sent the artwork** |
| An old artwork version was printed | Whoever failed version control. Usually a tangle of both |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **The fourth row happens most often and is the only one avoidable at no cost: artwork version control.** Artwork circulating by email under names like «final label», «final label good» and «final label v2» reaches the printer in the wrong version — discovered with twenty thousand units made. One version, one date and one written approval before each run solves the whole thing.

## What to ask the packaging maker for

1. **Their declaration of compliance for food contact** — Referring to the material supplied to you, not to their catalogue.
2. **That they know your intended use** — Hot, frozen, fatty, acidic: it changes whether the material works.
3. **Notice if they change material or supplier** — A silent change invalidates what you have on file.
4. **And a record of which run they supplied and when** — It is what bounds things if a material problem appears.

> [!WARNING]
> A case settled in a minute that costs thousands when it is not: **the printer cannot check whether what you send is true, and it is not their job**. If the artwork names an ingredient no longer used, a weight that is wrong or a claim you cannot support, it will be printed exactly and perfectly. Checking the text is true happens before the file is sent, and only whoever knows the product can do it: you.

> [!NOTE]
> What requirements a food-contact material must meet, what documentation must accompany it and which label statements are mandatory is set by the applicable rules. **Your adviser or quality manager settles that**; here we cover the practical split that avoids arguing with the run already printed.

**Is the maker's generic declaration enough?**

It must refer to the actual material supplied and to your use.

**Who pays for a mis-printed run?**

It depends where the failure was: the artwork or the printing.

**How do I avoid printing an old version?**

One version, one date and one written approval before each run.

## Ejemplos

**Artwork named «final label good» reaches the printer and was not the latest.**

- Approves a dated version in writing before each run

→ What was approved gets printed, not whatever last circulated by email.

**The packaging maker changes material without notice.**

- Agrees change notification and asks for a declaration covering the supplied material

→ What is on file still describes the packaging actually in use.

**The label claims something the product stopped containing two runs ago.**

- Checks every pack claim against the product sheet before sending artwork

→ The pack says what the product is — the one thing the printer cannot check.

**Text that is no longer correct is sent to print.**

- Reviews the final artwork before sending

→ Reprinting a whole run is avoided.

**The printer keeps the version they printed and you do not.**

- Keeps each final artwork with its date

→ You know what was printed and when.

**An ingredient changes with packaging already printed.**

- Checks how much packaging stock is affected

→ The decision is taken knowing the volume.