Nº 01 · DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

Read the file. Rebuild the die.

Most packaging lives in a PDF or an AI file nobody can safely edit. PackOS understands the structure inside it — then rebuilds it as a living, parametric model you can resize, proof, and price without ever re-drawing a line.

Built to run Calyx's own production since 2016 · no signup · files stay private

Nº 01 How it works

From flat file to living structure.

STEP 01 · DETECT

Every line gets a meaning

Cut, crease, perf, bleed, safety — identified by convention and geometry, the way a die maker reads them. The structure family (pouch, carton, label) is recognized, and the real dimensions are measured off the file.

STEP 02 · REBUILD

The outline becomes parametric

Not a tracing — a model. Width, height, gusset, seal, zipper position become editable parameters. Change one and every seam, notch, and panel updates to match.

STEP 03 · PROOF

A proof that behaves like the object

Photoreal 3D on the real material — foil, emboss, spot-UV, soft-touch where they will actually land — so approval means approving the thing, not imagining it.

Nº 02 The instrument

The parametric playground.

This is the pitch, touchable: drag a dimension and watch the entire die — panels, seals, zipper, notches — rebuild itself. Then dress it in finishes. It isn't a demo loop: the spec you build here opens as a live Quick Quote, pre-filled.

PARAMETRIC DIE · STAND-UP POUCHCUT — SOLID · CREASE — DASHED · LIVE REBUILDTRY ▸ DRAG WIDTH
CUT BLANK · W × (2H+G)
FILM / POUCH · INCL. BLEED · DRIVES MATERIAL COST
DIE REBUILDS
0
HAND RE-DRAWS
0
Every drag is a full die rebuild. The link opens at 10,000 units on a standard laminate — every field stays editable there; foil, emboss & spot-UV get re-applied from your real artwork in the studio. Open 127×203+51 MM in Quick Quote

Nº 03 The spec sheet

What the design engine does.

D·01

Dieline detection

Available

Reads uploaded artwork and dielines, identifies cut, crease, perf, bleed, and safety, recognizes the structure family — stand-up pouch, folding carton, label — and measures the real dimensions off the file. Files that carry several pieces on one sheet — N-up copies, a jar label ganged with its box — are detected, counted, and split into separate line items.

REPLACES · squinting at a PDF and emailing "can you confirm the gusset?"
D·02

Parametric reconstruction

Available

Turns the detected die into an editable parametric model. Change a width or a gusset and the whole die — seams, panels, seals, tear notches — updates to match, not just the outline.

REPLACES · a studio re-draw for every size variant
D·03

Photoreal 3D proofing

Available

A production-aware WebGL render of the exact structure on its real material — with foil, emboss, deboss, spot-UV, and soft-touch shown where they'll actually land, so a proof looks like the finished object, not a flat mockup. And the seal zones stay honest — art is composed the way the jaws actually crush it, not stretched over the seams.

REPLACES · paid comp rounds and "we'll see it at press check"
D·04

AI artwork & layout

In Preview

From a brief to concept art direction — color, hierarchy, and placement mapped onto the die's live panels, so the design is born on the structure instead of retrofitted to it.

REPLACES · flat-canvas design that breaks when it meets the fold lines
D·05

The structured record

Available

Every decision lands as a first-class field — dimensions, material, closure, colorway, embellishment — not a note buried in a file. That record is what everything downstream reads.

REPLACES · the truth living in one person's inbox

Nº 04 The impact

What that does to a launch.

<60sfrom upload to a rebuilt, measurable structure — versus the days a studio re-draw round takes.
VARIANTSevery size variant is a parameter change on the same die, not a new art file to manage and version.
1 SOURCEartwork, die, and spec stay attached to one record — the file can't drift from the paperwork.
3D FIRSTstakeholders approve a photoreal object with real finishes — fewer surprises at the press check.

THE STACK One record flows through all four engines

RECORD · THE SPEC YOU BUILD ABOVE RIDES THESE LINKS — EVERY ENGINE READS THE SAME FIELDS

None of this is theoretical. These engines exist because Calyx needed them to manufacture at scale — the dieline reader, the parametric rebuilder, and the 3D proof were production tools before they were ever a product.

EST. 2016 BOSTON + SLC

Nº 05 Questions

What packaging teams ask.

What files can it read?

PDF and AI (saved PDF-compatible — Illustrator’s default) artwork or dielines. It reads vector structure (cut/crease separations, spot colors, layer roles) and measures dimensions from the geometry — the same signals a prepress operator uses.

My dielines are... not tidy. Will it cope?

That's the normal case, not the exception. Detection is built on hundreds of real customer files — outlined text, missing layers, decorative "dielines" that are actually art. When something is ambiguous, it says so rather than guessing silently.

Do I lose my original file?

No. The original stays the original. The parametric model lives alongside it as the working structure — and everything exports back out as production-standard files (PDF/X-4, DXF) when it's time to make plates.

Who sees my artwork?

Your file is used to build your dieline, proof, and quote — nothing else. It isn't shared or published. How we handle files.

Do I have to talk to sales to get numbers?

No. The quote is self-serve — spec, proof, and pricing in the browser. Email it to yourself, or bring in our team when you're ready.

What if it reads my file wrong?

Every detected dimension is shown and editable before anything is priced — you approve a spec, not a black box. Ambiguous reads are flagged, not guessed.

Your dieline is already readable. Prove it.

Upload one file and watch it get detected, rebuilt, and proofed in 3D — in about a minute.

No signup · files stay private · how we handle them

Rolling this out across a team? Request an Enterprise Preview

NEXT · Nº 02 · QUALITYCatch it before the press does.The die you just rebuilt is now a spec — next, the artwork gets inspected against it.