Short answer
On many packaging quotes, M means one thousand—not one million. A quantity shown as 50M commonly means 50,000 units or impressions. Confirm the quote's unit definitions before issuing a purchase order because notation is not perfectly consistent across every supplier or system.
Confirm both quantity and price basis
Ask the supplier to state the total quantity, price per individual unit, and price per thousand. Writing the same economics in more than one form catches misplaced decimals and unit misunderstandings.
Impressions are not always finished pieces
For rollstock, one impression is one repeat of the printed image on the web. Depending on lane count or converting layout, the relationship between impressions, packages, and finished units needs to be stated explicitly.
Source basis: PC-015, PC-054. Customer details, prices, volumes, and identifying artwork are intentionally excluded.
Written byMatt Louie
PublishedAugust 11, 2026
Last reviewedAugust 11, 2026
Review statusGeneral packaging education
SourcesPC-015PC-054
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