Custom Assorted Retail Boxes
Custom assorted retail boxes — three sizes for three products, or one shape in five colorways — ordered together and printed to one system, from 100 per size. We plan the dies to share what they can and quote the set the same working day.
A range needs a family of boxes, not one box five times
- Board
- 14–24pt folding boxboard; rigid grayboard where a set includes a gift piece
- Builds
- Any mix of tuck, crash-lock, sleeve and rigid; planned as a set
- Sizing
- Family proportions held where the products allow; one dimension shared
Get a price for Assorted Retail 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.
What an assorted order looks like
Each size is its own line on the quote with its own minimum of 100, and the whole set is scheduled and shipped together.
- Three sizes of the same carton for small, medium and large versions of a product.
- One size in several colorways or flavors — the same die, different print.
- Different builds for different products in one range: a tuck box, a sleeve and a rigid box that match.
- A seasonal set: a standard box plus a gift edition.
Sharing dies, and where you cannot
Two boxes of the same footprint and different depth can often cut from one die with a modification; two boxes of different footprint cannot. Where the range has three footprints there are three dies. We look for the shared cases first, because a die shared across two sizes is tooling paid once instead of twice. The quote lists every die so the saving is visible.
Print planned across the set
| Shared design system | One template: logo position, color bands, type sizes scaled to each box |
|---|---|
| Ganged print | Several small boxes on one sheet; cheaper per unit when sizes are similar |
| Color coding | One color per variant against a common structure — reads as a range instantly |
| Consistent finish | The same lamination and foil across every size, so the set feels like one |
Sizing a family so it stacks and shelves
Boxes in a range are shelved together, so proportions matter: a small and a large that share a width stack and face up neatly; a set with three different widths does not. Where the products allow it we hold one dimension constant across the range. Our standard product boxes for single items are the building block each size in the set is made from.
Send every product in the range at once, even the ones that ship later. The set is planned once; adding a size afterwards means a new die that may not match.
Who orders in sets
Skincare and cosmetics ranges, tea and coffee with several blends, confectionery in flavor variants, supplement lines, craft and hobby brands with a small catalog. Anyone whose shelf presence is the set rather than the single product.
Assorted Retail 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
- 14–24pt folding boxboard; rigid grayboard where a set includes a gift piece
- Builds
- Any mix of tuck, crash-lock, sleeve and rigid; planned as a set
- Sizing
- Family proportions held where the products allow; one dimension shared
- One design system; ganged on the sheet where sizes are similar
- Tooling
- Dies shared across sizes where the footprint allows; all listed on the quote
- Scheduling
- Set made and shipped together
- Minimum
- 100 boxes per size
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 assorted retail 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: assorted retail 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.
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Build your Assorted Retail 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 assorted retail 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.
Can I order several sizes at once?
Yes. Each size is a line on one quote with its own 100-unit minimum, and the set is made and shipped together.
Do different sizes share a cutting die?
Sometimes. Same footprint with different depth can share a die; different footprints cannot. We look for the shared cases and list every die on the quote.
Is it cheaper to order sizes together?
Usually. Similar sizes can be printed on one sheet, tooling is planned once, and there is one setup and one shipment instead of three.
Can each variant have a different color?
Yes. One die and one structure with a color change per variant is the most economical way to make a range read as a range.
What is the minimum per size?
100 boxes.
Can I mix box styles in one set?
Yes: a tuck box, a sleeve and a rigid gift box in one order, printed to the same system.
Can I add a size later?
Yes, but it needs its own die and may not match the family proportions. Sending every product at the start avoids that.
How do you keep the set looking consistent?
One design template scaled to each box, the same board and finish throughout, and a proof of the whole set together before press.
Do all sizes ship at the same time?
Yes, as one order, unless you ask us to stagger them.
Can I get samples of every size?
Yes, a plain sample of each so you can see the set together and check every fit.
Do you send dielines for each size?
Yes, one per size, with the quote.
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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