Custom Advertising Boxes
Custom advertising boxes built around a campaign — an influencer mailer, a press kit, a sampling drop — printed inside and out with the message and sized to what goes in, from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
When the box is the advert and the product is the proof
- Board
- E flute mailers; wrapped grayboard rigid; 18–24pt cartons for sampling
- Builds
- Mailer, rigid lift-off or magnetic, drawer, fold-out; insert for product
- Full color inside and out; foil, spot UV, soft-touch
Get a price for Advertising Boxes
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Campaign box formats
| Influencer mailer | A printed mailer with an insert and a card; opened on camera; the reveal matters |
|---|---|
| Press kit | A rigid box or a folder with product, print and a USB or QR; sent to media |
| Sampling box | A small carton with a sample and a coupon; handed out or posted in volume |
| Street drop | A striking box left or handed over; one message, big |
Every surface says something
Inside print is not optional on an advertising box. The opening is the advert.
- The outside: the campaign line, large, and the brand — it is photographed before opening.
- The inside of the lid: the message that lands as the box opens.
- The insert: the product or sample presented, with a card carrying the call to action.
- The base: a QR code or a URL, seen last, for the person who wants more.
Construction for a reveal
A mailer with a self-locking lid that opens flat, a rigid box with a lift-off lid, a drawer that slides — the opening is chosen for how it looks on video. A magnetic flap gives a clean, quiet reveal; a fold-out box with four panels gives theater. Our creative boxes with a mechanism cover the openings in detail.
Runs, deadlines and what to send first
Campaign boxes run 100 to 500 and have a date fixed by the campaign. Send the product or sample, the recipient count and the date first; the artwork can follow the dieline. A plain sample and a printed proof are turned round fast, and the run is scheduled to the date rather than quoted in days.
Send one finished box to yourself before the run ships. Seeing it arrive is the only test that counts.
The shipper, and arriving intact
A presentation box that arrives crushed is a wasted campaign. A B-flute shipper with 20 mm of clearance and end pads is quoted with every advertising box that goes by courier, and it is printed plain so the reveal is inside.
Advertising Boxes — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- E flute mailers; wrapped grayboard rigid; 18–24pt cartons for sampling
- Builds
- Mailer, rigid lift-off or magnetic, drawer, fold-out; insert for product
- Full color inside and out; foil, spot UV, soft-touch
- Insert
- Die-cut board, pulp or foam; card slot
- Extras
- QR code, USB, coupon, personalized name on each box
- Shipper
- Plain B flute with clearance and pads, quoted alongside
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. One side or both, with spot colors where a match has to hold.
- Color
- CMYK as standard. Uncoated and kraft stocks print lighter and warmer; a spot color is the only exact match.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, creasing plus or minus 0.5 mm, confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, made once and kept. Foil and emboss dies per artwork, also kept.
- Food contact
- Food-grade board and inks where the carton touches food, with the interior left plain.
- Sustainability
- Mono-material board wherever the product allows; recycled-content and FSC stocks; no claim printed the pack does not earn.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build advertising boxes on
A folding carton is one sheet of board, so the board is the product. These are the stocks we run for cartons, what each is good at, and where it lets you down.
Natural kraft
Unbleached folding board. Warm, hides marks, costs least. Mutes color — one or two flat colors print well, photographs do not.
250–350gsm sleeves; 14–24pt cartonsWhite SBS
Solid bleached sulfate: bright, coated, the retail carton standard. Takes accurate color and every finish. Shows scuffs sooner than kraft.
14–24ptWhite lined chipboard
A recycled gray core under a white printing face. Cheaper than SBS and slightly duller; the back of the sheet stays gray.
16–24ptKraft-look coated
A kraft face over a coated inner. The natural look with a barrier behind it — the answer where oil, grease or moisture would mark plain kraft.
14–20ptRecycled-content board
Post-consumer fiber with a gray-brown cast. Right for outers and inner components; poor for bright whites and photography.
16–22ptMicro-flute E and F
A fine corrugated layer where a carton needs structure it cannot get from board — a large panel, a heavy product, a box that ships alone.
E 1.5 mm; F 0.8 mmUncoated and textured
No clay coat, or a linen or laid grain. Print reads softer and warmer; a deboss goes deeper. Photographs do not sit well on it.
280–350gsmMetallised and pearlescent
A metallic or pearl face for a shelf that needs to catch light. Costly, and it fights a photograph — a mark or a pattern suits it better.
16–20ptNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Every finish here is a decision about light on a shelf, not about luxury.
Matte lamination
Reads considered, hides marks, takes a ballpoint.
Gloss lamination
Lifts color; glares under shop lighting.
Soft-touch
Velvet in the hand; shows fingerprints in a bag.
Hot foil
Real metal leaf — the most reliable premium signal.
Emboss / deboss
Shape with no ink; works in the dark.
Spot UV
Gloss shapes on a matte field.
Uncoated kraft
Warm, natural, mutes color.
Textured stock
Texture in the paper; cannot scuff off.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a folding carton so the die comes out right: advertising boxes
Measure the product, not the box it is in now. A carton is built around what has to fit inside it, assembled — cap on, lid fitted, folded if it folds — at its widest point in each direction. Send those three numbers and say which is which.
- Length x width x height
- Internal, always. External dimensions include the board and are what the carrier measures, not what the product needs.
- Clearance
- 2–3 mm a side for a snug fit; more where an insert or void fill goes in. A carton cut exactly to the product is slow to pack and transmits every knock.
- Board thickness
- Heavier board takes internal space from the product. It matters most on small boxes, where four walls of 24pt is a real share of the cavity.
- Varies between batches?
- Glass, textiles, molded parts and cured soap all do. Measure several and build to the largest.
- Cutting tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm on folding board. Confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Units
- Metric or imperial, as long as you say which. Mixing them in one spec is where mistakes happen.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Advertising Boxes in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about advertising boxes? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
What is an advertising box?
A box built for a campaign — an influencer mailer, a press kit, a sampling drop — printed with the message on every surface and holding the product as the proof.
Is the inside printed?
Always. The opening is the advert, and the inside of the lid is where the message lands.
Can each box be personalized?
Yes, with a name or a message printed digitally on the insert card or the box itself.
How fast can a campaign box be made?
It is scheduled to your campaign date. Send the product, the count and the date first; artwork follows the dieline.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Can it include a QR code or a USB?
Yes, a QR code printed on the base or the card, or a USB in the insert.
Which opening works best on video?
A magnetic flap for a clean reveal; a fold-out for theater; a drawer for suspense. We suggest one from the product.
Will it arrive intact?
In the plain shipper we quote with it, with clearance and end pads, yes. The reveal stays inside.
Can the box hold a full-size product?
Yes, in a die-cut, pulp or foam insert drawn from the product.
Can I get a sample first?
Yes, a plain sample and a printed proof, turned round quickly for a campaign.
Can I reuse the box for a second campaign?
Yes. The die is kept; a new campaign is a print change.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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