Designing a CDU That Ships Flat and Sets Up Fast
When a counter display ships to hundreds of stores, the person assembling it isn’t a designer — it’s a busy staffer with thirty seconds and no tape. A great CDU (counter display unit) is engineered so setup is foolproof. Here’s what that takes.
Auto-lock and pop-up bases
The base should lock into shape by folding, with no glue or tape required in-store. Auto-lock bottoms and pop-up structures let a flat-packed unit become a rigid display in one motion.
Design the dieline and graphics together
Print and structure must be designed as one. If the dieline and artwork are developed separately, panels misalign and the header ends up cropped. We build them together so folds land where they should.
Ship flat, save freight
Flat-packed corrugated stacks tightly and ships cheaply — a major cost saving at scale versus pre-assembled units. It also stores flat until stores are ready to set up.
| Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Auto-lock base | No tools or tape in-store |
| Combined dieline + art | Perfect print alignment |
| Flat pack | Cheap freight, easy storage |
| Clear setup guide | Consistent builds everywhere |
Include a simple printed setup guide and your display looks identical in every location. We handle the structural engineering and the print in one file.
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