A photograph can help you choose a design. It cannot settle how the nail looks from the side, how the card feels in your hand, or exactly what will be included in the delivered set. Before a bulk press-on nail order, review a physical sample and leave a written record of what is approved and what still needs changing.
For our orders, the sequence is: choose the design, confirm the sample scope and cost, pay for sampling, receive and review the sample, then approve the production requirements. This guide focuses on four practical checks: color, card material, quantities and visible workmanship.
If you have not settled the order quantities yet, start with the mixed-design and MOQ quote guide. A sample review and a quantity decision solve different problems.
Agree what the sample is meant to prove
Ask what will actually be sent: an individual nail, a set, the sizes included, and whether the packaging is part of the sample. A nail design sample and a printed-card or box proof are separate requests. One cannot stand in for the other without an explicit agreement.
A reference image is a starting point, not a guarantee that a particular material, shape or decorative technique can be reproduced. If your brief includes a new technique or a precise construction requirement, ask us to review it before paying for the sample.
It helps to separate the response into three decisions: approved, change requested, and not yet reviewed. “Looks good” is easy to misunderstand when the design is approved but the card material is still undecided.
Four checks to record before production
1. Color and finish
Compare the physical sample with the agreed design reference. Look at the base color, decorative details and overall finish. Screens and lighting can change how a color appears, so a phone image alone should not be treated as a precise color standard.
If the color needs changing, identify the area and keep the current sample reference with the comment. A useful note is specific: “the base color needs review before production,” followed by the agreed next step. Do not leave an unresolved change inside a message that otherwise reads as full approval.
Agree which physical sample will be the color reference and discuss any critical differences before production.
2. Nail-card material and packaging
Check the actual card material, not only the logo artwork. A correct printed design can still arrive on a card that feels different from what you expected. Confirm whether the reviewed sample uses the proposed production material and whether the box or other packaging is included.
Keep the approved material and artwork version identifiable in the order record. For print layout, card proofs and an assembled packaging check, use the separate press-on nail packaging proof checklist. This article does not replace that packaging approval.
3. Nail count, set count and design quantities
Write down the sample's nail count and size scope. Then check the production quantities separately: the number of finished sets for each design and the total order. An approved sample does not automatically confirm the quantities in a later quote.
If you need a particular set composition, submit it for confirmation. Do not assume every sample or every product uses the same number of nails. Packaging quantities should also match the final written order, rather than an earlier draft shortlist.
4. Visible workmanship
Review the front, side and details that matter to your selected design. If an edge, decoration or finish needs clarification, point it out on the sample or in a close-up image and ask how it will be handled.
Handmade work can have small variations. That is a reason to agree the acceptance reference, not to label every difference acceptable. Distinguish an agreed handmade variation from a defect or an unapproved change.
If you need extra views before choosing a sample, the product photography guide can help you request useful front, side and detail photographs. Images supplement the physical review; they do not replace it.
What our manual inspection means
SENAILGLOBAL checks every finished set by hand, rather than checking only a proportion of the order. The checks include color consistency, card material, quantities and visible workmanship against the agreed requirements. Items found to be nonconforming before shipment are returned for correction.
This is not a claim of certified inspection or an AQL acceptance-sampling plan. ASQ's explanation of sampling describes inspecting a subset of a population; that is different from the every-set manual check described here. Neither phrase is a substitute for agreeing the product specification.
We do not currently present a photographed QC record for these checks. The collection photograph on this page shows real sample designs, not an inspection report or proof that a particular shipment has passed review. If you need order-specific review materials, request them so their availability and scope can be confirmed.
A short approval note to keep with the order
Use the checklist below to keep the sample review and production approval in one record.
- Design reference and sample identifier: [__].
- Physical sample received and reviewed on: [__].
- Sample nail count and size scope reviewed: [__].
- Color and finish: [approved / change requested / not yet reviewed; details].
- Card material and artwork version: [approved / change requested / not yet reviewed].
- Box or other packaging: [scope reviewed; unresolved points].
- Visible workmanship: [agreed reference; details needing correction].
- Production quantities: [sets per design and total, matching the final quote].
- Outstanding changes: [what must be resolved and reviewed before production].
- Production approval: [written confirmation once the required points are settled].
Keep the approved physical sample and the written specification where possible. If the design or packaging changes later, identify the new version and confirm whether another review is needed. The old approval should not silently become approval of a different specification.
What happens if there is a problem?
Before shipment, nonconforming items are returned for correction. If goods arrive damaged and the problem was not caused by the customer, replacement can be arranged after the issue is reviewed. Send the order reference and clear details of the affected items so we can assess what happened.
Please confirm the handling process, replacement arrangements and any shipping charges with us for the specific issue. For a broader supplier review, see how to assess a press-on nail supplier.
Arrange the sample before the bulk order
Design samples are USD 5 per design plus shipping. Custom samples normally take about one week to make after payment and specification confirmation; complex work is confirmed separately, and transit takes additional time. Existing designs may be faster. Confirm the sample's nail count and sizes in the quote.
Packaging or card proofs are separate, usually about USD 20 plus shipping, with the final price depending on materials, printing and specifications. The buyer pays sample and sample-shipping costs. Review the current sample terms, then request a design sample.
You can send the design reference and the points you need to inspect to sales@senailglobal.com or visionailsjp@gmail.com. We normally reply within 1–3 days. A clear approval record is useful only when it describes the actual sample and the order both sides have agreed.