Custom Black Gable Boxes
Custom black gable boxes — a handled carton in black board or printed black, with your mark in white, gold or a color — sized to the contents from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
A gable box in black stops being a party box
- Board
- Black colored board 18–20pt; white board printed black; kraft printed black; E flute
- Builds
- Gable box with integral handle; crash-lock or glued base; window optional
- Sizes
- Small, medium, large, custom
Get a price for Black Gable 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.
Black board or printed black
Colored board gives a black box with black edges and a soft matte surface; printed black gives a deeper black that can be laminated gloss or soft-touch.
| Black colored board | Black through the sheet; cut edges black; no print needed for the color |
|---|---|
| White board printed black | Full-coverage black; any finish; white at the cut edge |
| Kraft printed black | Black over brown; a matte, rustic black |
Three sizes from a favor to a hamper
Our paper bags and handled boxes cover the bag alternatives in the same category.
- Small, about 100 × 60 × 100 mm — a favor, a cookie, a candle.
- Medium, about 150 × 100 × 130 mm — a lunch, a gift set, a bottle.
- Large, about 220 × 130 × 180 mm — a hamper, a shoe box alternative, event swag.
- Custom to the contents, with the handle sized to a hand.
The handle and the lock
A gable box closes by folding the two gable ends up and locking the handles together through a slot. The handle is die-cut into the gable, doubled on heavy boxes, and it carries about a kilogram on 18pt board and two on E flute. A base that is crash-lock or glued takes the weight; a tuck base is for favors only.
Black board shows scuffs as gray. A matte laminate on a printed-black box hides them; colored black board hides them best.
Printing on black
White ink, gold or silver foil, or a single light color — that is the palette on black. White ink is printed as an opaque layer; foil is stamped; a metallic ink sits between. Full color on black needs a white underprint and is rarely worth it here. A window in the side shows the contents.
Events, gifts and premium food
Corporate events and conferences, weddings and parties with a dark palette, premium takeaway and gift food, retail gift sets, Halloween and Black Friday runs. The box ships flat, folds in seconds, and the die is kept per size.
Black Gable 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
- Black colored board 18–20pt; white board printed black; kraft printed black; E flute
- Builds
- Gable box with integral handle; crash-lock or glued base; window optional
- Sizes
- Small, medium, large, custom
- White ink, gold or silver foil, metallic or light color
- Handle
- Die-cut, doubled on heavy boxes; ~1 kg on board, ~2 kg on E flute
- Supply
- Flat; folds in seconds
- 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 black gable 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: black gable 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 Black Gable 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 black gable 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.
Is the black printed or is the board black?
Either. Black colored board is black through the sheet with black edges; white board printed black is a deeper black that can be laminated.
What prints well on black?
White ink, gold or silver foil, and light single colors. Full color needs a white underprint and is rarely worth it.
How much can the handle carry?
About a kilogram on 18pt board and two on E flute, with a doubled handle on heavy boxes.
Does it show scuffs?
Black shows scuffs as gray. Colored black board hides them best; a matte laminate helps on printed black.
Can I have a window?
Yes, in the side, cut on the same die.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, and folds with the handles locking together in seconds.
Is it food safe?
In food-grade board with a plain interior, yes, for wrapped or boxed food.
Can I use it for a lunch or takeaway?
Yes, the medium size is the takeaway and lunch format, in food-grade board.
Can I have foil on a black box?
Yes, gold or silver foil is the classic mark on black.
What base should I choose?
Crash-lock or glued for anything with weight; a tuck base only for light favors.
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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