Custom Auto Light Boxes
Custom auto light boxes for headlamps, tail lights and bulbs — a corrugated carton with a cradle for the lamp, a window carton for the bulb — sized to the part from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
Packaging for a part that is glass on one end and wires on the other
- Board
- B flute for assemblies; E flute and 20–24pt boxboard for bulb cartons
- Builds
- Cradle carton, window tuck carton, twin pack, divided kit carton
- Insert
- Die-cut corrugated cradle from the part; board insert for bulbs
Get a price for Auto Light 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.
Lamp assemblies: a carton with a cradle
Headlight and tail-light units ship in a B-flute carton with a die-cut corrugated cradle that supports the housing at its mounting points and keeps the lens off every wall. The cradle is drawn from the part — a scan or a set of dimensions with a photograph is enough — and it is what turns a plain shipper into a part-specific box. Our corrugated boxes cut to any size are the outer.
Bulbs and LED kits: a window carton
| Single bulb | Small tuck carton with a window, hang tab, board insert holding the base |
|---|---|
| Twin pack | Two cavities in a board insert; window over both |
| LED conversion kit | Carton with a divided insert for bulbs, drivers and cable |
| Fog or auxiliary lamp | Window carton in E flute with a plinth |
The information the box has to carry
The reserved label panel is the detail that saves money: one printed box, many SKUs.
- Part number, bulb type and fitment on the front and one end, readable on a shelf and in a rack.
- A barcode on a matte patch with the quiet zone clear.
- Voltage, wattage and any regulatory marks for the markets sold in.
- A reserved panel for a fitment label applied later, so one box serves several part numbers.
Board and the warehouse stack
Parts cartons are stacked on racking and picked by hand, often for years. B flute for assemblies, 20–24pt boxboard for bulbs, and a matte laminate on the retail carton so it does not scuff on the shelf. A crash-lock base for the bulb carton lets it be loaded fast on a line.
Send the part or a scan. A lamp cradle drawn from a photograph alone is a guess; from the part it is right the first time.
Who orders auto light packaging
Aftermarket lamp and bulb brands, LED conversion makers, importers relabelling for a market, and distributors consolidating a range under one look. Runs are 100 to a few thousand per part, repeated, which is why the cradle die and the print system are kept and reused across the range.
Auto Light 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
- B flute for assemblies; E flute and 20–24pt boxboard for bulb cartons
- Builds
- Cradle carton, window tuck carton, twin pack, divided kit carton
- Insert
- Die-cut corrugated cradle from the part; board insert for bulbs
- Full color, matte laminate on retail; 1–2 colors on shippers
- Panels
- Part number, fitment, barcode, regulatory; reserved label panel
- Loading
- Crash-lock base on cartons for line filling
- 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 auto light 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: auto light 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 Auto Light 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 auto light 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 you make a box for a specific headlight?
Yes. Send the part or a scan and we cut a corrugated cradle that supports it at the mounting points with the lens clear of the walls.
What board do you use for lamp assemblies?
B flute corrugated for the outer and the cradle. It survives racking and repeated picking.
Can bulb boxes have a window?
Yes, over a board insert that holds the bulb by the base, so it does not rattle.
Can one box serve several part numbers?
Yes, with a reserved panel for a fitment label applied later. One printed box, many SKUs.
Where does the barcode go?
On a matte patch with clear space around it, usually on the back or an end panel.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Can the box hang on a peg?
Bulb cartons can, with a hang tab. Lamp cartons stand or rack.
Do you make kit boxes for LED conversions?
Yes, with a divided insert for bulbs, drivers and cable so nothing moves.
Do the boxes ship flat?
Yes, cartons and cradles both. The cradle folds and drops in when the lamp is packed.
Can I have regulatory marks printed?
Yes, in the markets you specify. The dieline reserves the space.
Do you keep the cradle die?
Yes, per part, so reorders and new print on the same part skip the tooling.
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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