Custom Candy Tubes
Custom candy tubes with a printed wrap and a cap that goes back on, from 250 units. A shape that stands out in a bowl of rectangles, a food-safe inside, and a diameter sized to how the candy is meant to be poured.
A shape that pours, and stands up on a counter
- Body
- Wound paperboard with food-grade liner, or clear food-grade PET
- Diameter
- 1.0–3.0 in; height to your fill weight
- Ends
- Crimped metal or paperboard base; push-fit or screw cap
Get a price for Candy Tubes
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.
Diameter decides how it is eaten
A narrow tube — around 1.2 in — pours one or two pieces at a time and is right for mints, dragees and anything eaten singly. A wide tube of 2 in or more is reached into rather than poured, which suits gummies, malt balls and mixed candy. The difference in how the product is consumed is entirely a function of that measurement, and it is usually chosen by eye.
Height then follows from the fill weight, and it is worth checking against a shelf: anything over about 9 in falls over in a counter display and has to be laid down, which loses the whole advantage of the format.
| 1.0–1.4 in diameter | Mints, dragees, sprinkles — pours singly |
|---|---|
| 1.5–2.0 in | Gummies, chocolate lentils, mixed candy — pours a handful |
| 2.0–3.0 in | Reached into; gift and sharing sizes |
| Over 9 in tall | Needs a stand or a lay-flat display |
Paperboard or clear
A paperboard tube is wound from spiral or convolute board, wrapped in a printed paper, and lined for food contact. It is opaque, so the candy is a surprise and the print does all the selling. A clear PET tube shows the product, which for brightly colored confectionery is most of the appeal, and takes a printed label or shrink sleeve instead of a wrap.
The middle option is a paperboard tube with a die-cut window, which keeps the printed surface and shows a strip of the contents. The construction of the wound tube itself is the same one described on our round gift boxes built as wrapped tubes.
Sweets abrade a plain paper inner over time. A food-grade liner or a poly-lined board is not optional on anything with sugar crystals or acid coatings.
Ends and caps
Resealability matters more than it sounds. A tube that will not close is eaten in one sitting or transferred to a jar, and either way it is not reordered.
- A metal or paperboard base crimped on, and a push-fit cap of the same material at the top — the classic, and it reseals reasonably.
- A screw cap on a threaded neck, which reseals properly and costs more.
- A shrink band over the cap for tamper evidence, which confectionery in retail generally needs.
- A hang hole in the cap for a peg display, punched rather than drilled so it does not split.
Printing on a curve, and the seam
A wrapped tube has one vertical seam where the printed paper meets itself, so a logo placed across it never lines up. We mark the seam on the template and place the main artwork opposite it, with a solid or a fine pattern at the join. The two flat surfaces — the cap top and the base — are where foil and embossing work.
For a clear tube the equivalent decision is label against shrink sleeve: a label is cheaper and leaves the product visible around it, a sleeve covers the whole tube and can be printed edge to edge. The file setup for either is in our guide to print-ready artwork files.
Candy Tubes — 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
- Body
- Wound paperboard with food-grade liner, or clear food-grade PET
- Diameter
- 1.0–3.0 in; height to your fill weight
- Ends
- Crimped metal or paperboard base; push-fit or screw cap
- Decoration
- Printed wrap, die-cut window, label or shrink sleeve on PET
- Extras
- Tamper shrink band, hang hole, foil or emboss on the cap
- Minimum
- 250 tubes
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to six colors, printed on the outer face only and before any lining goes on.
- Color
- Food-safe inks throughout. Kraft mutes color; a white board or liner is needed for anything photographic.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, and fit confirmed by filling a plain sample from your own kitchen or line.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, kept. Molded pulp needs a tool per shape, which is a longer lead and a larger one-off.
- Food contact
- Every board food-contact grade, with grease resistance built into the sheet and never a PFAS treatment.
- Sustainability
- Aqueous linings and unlined boards repulp with ordinary paper. PE-lined cups need cup collection, and we say which you have.
- 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 candy tubes on
Food packaging is chosen for what the food does to it: grease, steam, heat and time. Every board here is food-contact grade, and none of them uses a PFAS treatment for grease resistance.
Food-grade virgin board
Bleached board made for direct food contact. Clean, bright, no recycled fiber and no mineral-oil risk from recovered paper.
14–24ptGrease-resistant board
Resistance built into the sheet rather than sprayed on. Holds fries, pastry and butter without darkening. PFAS-free.
16–24ptPE-lined cupstock
Board with a polyethylene film for hot and cold liquid. Microwave-safe for reheating; recycled only where cup collection exists.
260–350gsmAqueous-lined cupstock
A water-based lining instead of PE. Repulpable in ordinary paper recycling in more places, and compostable; a slightly shorter hold time.
260–320gsmGreaseproof and glassine
Dense, calendered paper that resists fat through the fiber. Wraps, liners and interleaves; breathable, so pastry stays crisp.
30–55gsmFood-grade corrugated
E and B flute with a food-contact liner, vented where steam has to leave. Pizza, catering and anything hot and heavy.
E and B fluteMolded pulp and bagasse
Fiber pressed into a shape. Holds heat, resists grease with no lining, composts, and takes only an embossed or one-color mark.
Molded to shapeRecycled board
Post-consumer fiber. Used for outers, sleeves and anything that does not touch food directly — not for direct contact.
Non-contact onlyNot 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.
Food finishes are limited by what may touch food, and that is the point.
Food-safe inks
Printed on the outer face only. Every food pack we make uses them, laminated or not.
Uncoated kraft
No coating at all. Breathable, so pastry stays crisp, and it takes one or two colors.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance without a plastic film, so the pack still repulps.
Molded emboss
A logo pressed into pulp or bagasse. No ink, nothing to rub off, and it survives grease.
Grease-resistant face
Not a finish you can see. It is in the sheet, it is PFAS-free, and it is why the print stays clean.
Matte lamination
Available on outers and sleeves that never touch food — a cake box lid, a carrier, a gift sleeve.
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 food packaging around a portion, hot: candy tubes
Food is sized by serving, not by dimensions, and it is served hot, heaped and in a hurry. Send us the portion — or better, the box you use now with the food in it — and we size to how it is actually filled.
- Portion, heaped
- Fries, popcorn and salad are served above the rim. A box sized to a level fill looks mean and spills in a bag.
- Lid clearance
- Enough that a loaded burger or a topped cake does not touch the lid. This is the single most common complaint about a food box.
- Venting
- Hot food steams. Vents in the lid keep pastry and fries crisp; a sealed box is right only for cold food.
- Grease path
- Where the fat sits decides the board. Say if the food is fried, buttered or sauced, and whether it is held for minutes or an hour.
- Stacking in a bag
- Delivery boxes are stacked five high on a bike. The lid has to hold the box above it off the food below.
- Sample fill
- A plain box filled from your kitchen settles the size in one try, and we send one before the run.
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 Candy Tubes 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 candy tubes? 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 diameter should I choose?
Narrow, around 1.2 in, if the pieces are poured one at a time. Wider than 1.5 in if people reach into it. That measurement decides how the product is eaten.
How tall can a tube be?
Practically, under about 9 in — taller tubes fall over in a counter display and have to be laid down, which loses the format's advantage.
Paperboard or clear?
Paperboard when the print sells it, clear when the candy does. A window in a paperboard tube is the middle option.
Is the inside food safe?
Yes, with a food-grade liner or poly-lined board. Sugar crystals and acid coatings abrade a plain paper inner, so the liner is not optional.
Does the cap reseal?
A push-fit cap reseals reasonably; a screw cap properly. It matters — a tube that will not close does not get reordered.
Can I have tamper evidence?
Yes, a shrink band over the cap. Most retail confectionery needs it.
Can it hang on a peg?
Yes, with a punched hang hole in the cap. Punched rather than drilled, so it does not split.
Is there a print seam?
One vertical seam where the wrap meets itself. We mark it on the template and place the main artwork opposite.
Where can I put foil?
The cap top and the base — the two flat surfaces. Foil on the curve shows the seam.
Label or shrink sleeve on a clear tube?
A label is cheaper and leaves the product visible around it. A sleeve covers the tube and prints edge to edge.
Why is the minimum 250?
The tube is wound on a mandrel per diameter and the caps are tooled parts. From 250 the set-up spreads sensibly.
Will you send a sample?
An unprinted tube in your diameter, so you can fill it, pour from it and close it before print.
Same range
